Extra Sauce: Cooking for the Circus

  It’s one thing to cook for a full house every night; it’s another to do it on the road. That’s the task Liz Samatis takes on as head chef for Cirque du Soleil’s traveling show, Varekai, which comes to the Lou Jan. 7 to 11 at the Chaifetz Arena. Samatis and her kitchen crew cook two full meals a day for more than 100 performing artists and crew members from nearly 20 countries. Not only does her food have to fuel athletes for grueling physical performances, but the Johnson & Wales graduate also tries to create menus sourced from and inspired by the places they visit. After nearly a year on the road and almost 40 cities, this roving chef shares what’s its like to literally feed a circus.     Cirque du Soleil contracts with Spectrum Catering for its food service. How did you end up on the Cirque team? I actually knew somebody who worked on a rock 'n’ roll tour cooking and I thought, "Wow, that's a really cool job." I just went out and searched different companies that do tour catering, and I fell upon this job. Do you use onsite equipment or do you carry it all with you? I have a truck. It's a completely mobile kitchen that gets unloaded into the arena. Everything is in a case, then we set it up somewhere. It could be anywhere from a tent outside the arena to the Zamboni room to a hallway. They fit us in where ever they can. … As far as our operation goes, we are completely sustainable. We bring everything you would need to cook. How do you balance meals to be both tasty and nutritious enough for athletes? We offer a full salad bar, a juice bar and a deli bar. I always have to serve one lean protein, and I have to keep in mind I'm cooking for the technical staff as well, who don't necessarily eat the same way the artists do. The most important part is to give as many options as possible to keep everybody happy.  How do you keep meals fun and interesting? I write a different menu every week. I've never repeated a menu, though there are some items people enjoy that I will bring up every once in a while. Another thing I try to do is stay true to the local cuisine. When we're in the Midwest, I'm not going to try to get seafood from the East Coast. I try to source the products that are readily available ... that way I can bring a little bit of flavor of whatever city we're in. When we were in Maine, I drove down to the lobster dock, cut a deal, and bought lobsters from them. Two weeks before I go to the city, I do a lot of research; what they have, what's abundant. There are people from all over the world on staff. Do you prepare a lot of international fare? I try to ask people, "What do you like to eat from your country that you don't get to eat in America?" I'll try my best to mimic that dish, say, Russian borscht or goulash. We have a lot of Russians on the staff. They're used to eating a lot of salmon, so I try to incorporate salmon into the menu once a week. Is there a staff favorite? Everybody loves taco day. Any time they can build their own thing, that goes over really well. Once a week we do a live-action station. On Sunday (brunch), we'll do omelets to order. ... We do Asian stir-fry, crepes, things like that. That way there's interaction. They get a fresh, hot meal, and it's personalized to their tastes. Do you go out to eat when you visit cities? Absolutely! I get two days off a week. I love going out to eat and trying the local cuisine, especially when I'm about to try to cook that style of food.