Black Saturday was of the size and magnitude to test the limits of a range of highly trained, experienced service providers, not only the emergency response crews, including firefighters, DSE crews, National Parks personnel, Defense forces and Police, but also other providers such as kitchen suppliers.
Crawford Kitchens got a call at 9pm on Black Saturday to provide a mobile kitchen to feed 200 people in Alexandra. No-one anticipated the devastation, the enormous loss, the emotional and physical trauma that was unfolding. By 3am the morning after Black Saturday, a team was assembled, the packing had begun and by mid morning a marquee was erected on the Alexandra football oval (with the full complement of tables and chairs). A self-contained kitchen and cool room/dry store were in place and cooking had commenced for the first lunch.
A typical day might include 1400 hot breakfast, 1500 lunch packs, 1500 hot dinners, snack packs for fire crews working through the night, continuous tea and coffee – all delivered out of one kitchen. Three kitchens from Crawford Kitchens were deployed at other towns near the scene of the fires throughout the emergency at Whittlesea, Healesville and Wesburn. Emergency service crews were impressed by the ease of set-up and the range and volume of food that could be produced.
The kitchens were really put to the test as were the catering crews involved catering for members of DSE, CFA Vic and NSW, Police and Emergency services, SES, Australian Defense Force, evacuees, Fire services ACT, WA, NSW, SA, National Parks – Vic, NSW, Tas and ‘the Americans.’