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Dena'ina Center chefs cook up new ways to keep people happy

by Ted Land
Monday, September 21, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- One thing that helps keep business meetings and conventions coming back to Anchorage is the food.

At the Dena'ina Center kitchen, chefs are on the cutting edge of keeping patrons happy. Channel 2 spent a day there to see how they do it.

It's five hours until dinner and we're already late -- prep work started three days ago when bakers started mixing dough.

On one end a team finishes the salads with strawberries and goat cheese. Across the room a chef mixes sea salt into the leek and shallot cream sauce.

"There's not very many kitchens like this in Alaska, or even on the West Coast," said Richard Hubbard, the center's executive chef.

This place is hot seven days a week, providing the fuel for hungry minds who gather in Alaska's largest convention space.

On this day workers set up for more than 1,200 members of the National Association of Postmasters who are in town for a meeting. It's a pretty average-sized gathering, and the staff can handle a lot more.

"If we utilize both our ballroom here on the third floor and our exhibit hall on the first floor, we can serve 5,000 people," said Gayle Devers, director of food and beverage at the Dena'ina.

The menu features fresh Cook Inlet sockeye salmon, paprika-roasted potatoes from the Valley, and a decadent chocolate mousse cake to finish it off.

Hubbard insists everything is made from scratch.

"Whatever it takes -- I mean I'll air freight it, next-day FedEx it, whatever it takes to get the ingredients that we've committed to our clients," he said.

When it comes to banquets it's unusual for bakers, pastry chefs, butchers and line cooks to all work out of the same kitchen without pre-made ingredients.

But that's where this operation stands out.

"For the most part most facilities don't have the storage -- refrigerated space, freezer space and storage space -- to store homemade products," said Devers.

"We've grown a lot, we've added a lot of new staff and a lot of new ingredients and recipes that we're executing every day," said Hubbard.

With just an hour to go the main course plates up and dinner is served.

The kitchen tries to use local ingredients wherever possible -- sometimes you'll see reindeer or bison on their menu, and this time of year they're stocking up on salmon to get them through the winter.

How much does a dinner cost there?

Dinner costs anywhere between $30 and $60 a head depending on what's on the menu. There are companies and groups who'll do whatever it takes to keep their guests well-fed during their visit here.

Contact Ted Land at tland@ktuu.com