Chef Jason

Today saw the start of an amazing summer. Today it rained... but it didn't slow anyone down. Today I got a message from an old friend from my hometown of Pennsauken... out of the blue... that simply said "Make some good food tomorrow! My boy is going to be hungry!" I had no idea his child was coming to start at our Day Camp tomorrow... but it thrilled me beyond belief. Today I got to see a lot of familiar and friendly faces. Old friends & new acquaintances. Today I got to take part in the power of social media [...]

Hello dear readers... This year, not only do I share my Birthday with Father's Day... it was also the first day of General Staff Training here at YMCA Camp Ockanickon and Matollionequay... with Lake Stockwell to join us tomorrow. That's pretty a pretty epic day in the life of a person... father... and Camp Staff member. And what a fantastic amalgam of a day it was. I have been truly blessed to be a part of this magical place for a long time now... and now to see my own daughter entering one of our own programs, our Pre-School Day [...]

Hello dear readers... I am writing this, sitting on my porch here at Camp on Sunday evening... a cool breeze blows... mosquitoes ignore the citronella candle burning by my side and pester my legs and neck and arms and... I think a real "go getter" just got me right through my shirt... The last of the Conference groups who stay overnight have checked out... two more day groups to go... and our Ad Staff training beginning tomorrow... and I am excited. Excited for what the Summer will bring. Hot and long days in the Kitchens for myself and my crew, [...]

Hello all!! The recpie today comes from my new assistant, Chef Kimmie. If you missed out on attending our Annual Board Dinner in May then you missed a stellar dessert that was concocted by both Kimmie and I. Sadly I did not get a photograph of the gorgeous plates but it was comprised of a slice of homemade banana bread, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with hot buttered toasted cinnamon walnuts. Sounds amazing, right? Well... here is Chef Kimmie's Banana Bread recipe if you'd like to give it a try! 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 [...]

Hello dear readers… Every so often, when the time is right, I like to dive back in to our recipe archives and bring back an old favorite or Camp standard to share with any new readers or remind old ones about something delicious that’s cooking here at Camp. I thought this one was fitting, since we are in the middle of our Labor Day Family Camp Weekend… and we had these as part of our BBQ Dinner last night… Ribs!! […]

Hello friends, family, alumni and campers... I am proud to announce the newest addition to our staff here at Camp... our new Assistant Food Service Director, Kimberly Graham. Kimberly... or Kimmie as she is known... has been on staff here at the Camp for a few years now, starting as a counselor at Matollionequay. She has worked for our Schools Out program, Lake Stockwell Day Camp and our Outdoor Recreation program. Kimmie has even helped in the kitchen from time to time when we needed an extra hand! And guess what?! She is actually a trained professional Chef. Kimmie is [...]

Hello all... We had an wonderful weekend here at Camp. We held one of my favorite event weekends... Roll Up Your Sleeves... where alumni, campers & parents and interested citizens from all walks of life come out to lend a much needed hand to help us tackle all sorts of projects around Camp in order to spruce up the place. Jobs ranged from fixing up flower beds to replacing parts of our boardwalks that have deteriorated to cleaning windows and clearing brush. The weather was a bit chilly but as you can imagine, working hard sure builds up a sweat... [...]