Salvation Army to serve up feast
Published 3:34 pm Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Bob Nelson was in the kitchen at 5 a.m. Wednesday prepping a Thanksgiving meal. It seems a little early, but Nelson is head chef for a very large party. He is in charge of carving 350 pounds of turkey this year. He’ll also prepare 50 pounds of ham, bake 18 pies and peel 150 pounds of potatoes. It is about 24 hours of labor — but he’ll have a lot of help from other volunteers.
Chef Nelson, owner of The Restaurant Warehouse in Austin, is preparing the Annual Thanksgiving Day Feast at the Salvation Army for the third consecutive year.
The Salvation Army serves the free meal Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. All are welcome. Local residents and churches have also teamed up to offer free delivery to Austin residents that cannot leave their homes.
“Anybody can come in for a great meal. There are no income restrictions,” Nelson said.
“If you are alone for the holiday, it is especially nice to come in and enjoy the fellowship,” he added.
Hormel Foods Corp., local restaurants, residents and churches donated the food for the meal.
Maj. Marlys Anderson of the Salvation Army said she was not sure how many meals they would serve Thursday.
Last year the Salvation Army served 150 Thanksgiving meals, about half of which were to volunteers.
Maj. Anderson said they are significantly reducing the number of volunteers this year, but preparing the same amount of food.
Wednesday, after putting the turkeys into an oven that was donated by Ron Meyer of Piggy Blue’s, Nelson was headed to Albert Lea’s Salvation Army to help prepare their meal with Meyer. Thanksgiving dinner is served in Albert Lea Wednesday evening. Nelson would be back in Austin to take the turkeys out of the oven later, and then head back to Albert Lea to help serve their meal, and return to Austin in time to carve the turkeys.
“It’s nice once a year to come in here and do all of this; I kind of miss cooking,” Nelson said.
Nelson, a retired chef, worked in kitchens for more than 20 years. He got his start cooking meals for big crowds in the army. At age 17 and 18, he cooked for thousands.
As owner of The Restaurant Warehouse, Nelson’s specialty has switched to kitchen equipment.
“I sneak into the kitchen of the restaurants I work with sometimes, because I miss it,” he said.
But, Nelson said his 24-hour yearly shift at the Salvation Army is just enough of a fix.
Nelson and the volunteers work hard to ensure that the free meal is as fine as any could be.
The menu includes oven-roasted turkey, smoked ham, mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie and an assortment of fruit pies.
“Everything is cooked by hand, from scratch. We don’t cut corners,” Nelson said.
Patrons can be sure Nelson is telling the truth. When he is done cooking and serving, and his kids are finished helping out, Nelson’s family celebrates Thanksgiving together at the Salvation Army, indulging in Thanksgiving dinner with those whom they served.
“I just make sure to get out of there when it’s time for clean-up,” Nelson said with a laugh.
“We’re going to do this every year though. It’s a lot of work and a lot of fun,” he added.
To have a Thanksgiving meal delivered Thursday call 437-4566.