Alaska Lodge Cooking

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 18 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #4,596 in Food, #97,511 overall

Vacations In The Last Frontier - Alaska Lodge Adventures!

Alaska lodging, Alaska fishing - a dream vacation! Thousands of Alaska lodges fill with excited fishermen and hunters during salmon runs and big game seasons. Open-air adventures in Alaska make you hungry and nothing is better than a big tasty meal in the comfort of your lodge. That's where I come in...

For the last eleven seasons, I cooked up a storm for the guests of the Driftwood Lodge in SE Alaska, right next to the mouth of the Bering glacier.

This is my story.

Gourmet Food - In A Remote Alaska Lodge? 

It's possible - with a lot of extra effort.

No roads or boats lead to the Driftwood Lodge, and the next town is Cordova, 85 air miles away.The groceries get flown in from Anchorage. Our "delivery truck" is the famous "work horse" of Alaska - the DC-3. This incredible machine has big tires and can land on the sandy beach, close to the lodge.



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One year, when I hitched a ride to the lodge on the jump seat, the pilots told me that this plane had flown on D-Day in the Normandy, over 60 years ago. The rest of their on-flight conversation revolved around the many currently not working things on the plane, until I asked them to tell me if the landing gear was functioning alright. They laughed and offered me a cigar...("This is a smoking plane, bud!")


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A DC-3 Approaches Our Lodge... 

Close encounter of the loud kind!

The pilots love to buzz the living daylights out of us!
In the foreground, see our own small plane, a Cessna 206.

DC-3 buzzing our lodge

A DC-3 is "buzzing" our lodge in SE Alaska. See more fun Alaska lodge clips and stories at http://www.squidoo.com/chefkeem

curated content from YouTube

A Commercial Lodge Kitchen In Brown Bear Country, Alaska 

Almost everything had to be flown out there into the wilderness...

Driftwood Lodge Sunset

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The logs for the lodge came from the huge deposits of driftwood on the beach. Everything else had to be flown in with either our small plane or the DC-3. I have a walk-in cooler, ranges, chest freezer and walk-in deep freeze, stainless steel tables and sinks, a dish sanitizing machine and a number of small kitchen appliances - just like in a regular restaurant kitchen. Cool, huh?

Announcement!

This lens is an overview of my annual culinary adventures in Alaska. In the following weeks, I will create a large number of lenses on specific related topics such as my Alaska lodge kitchen recipes, cooking methods, bear and moose hunting, salmon fishing, stories about our guests, my antics, and much more.

I will feature these lenses in modules below as I complete them.

Please check the module "Alaska 2008" further down for updates.

Thank you for your interest!
October 2008

A Typical Day At The Driftwood Lodge In SE Alaska 

Somehow, it's all about food...

Upon sunrise and after a hearty breakfast the guests go fishing (yes, that's a bear across the river)...


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I greet them when they come back with "dinner"...


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Then we fillet their catch...


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And cook it...


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Maybe a little dessert?


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A little after-dinner entertainment...


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And the sun goes down for today...


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Images From The 2008 Season At The Driftwood Lodge 

To whet your appetite for more detailed lenses...

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Would You Like To Be Our Guest At The Lodge? 

Here are some relevant links...

Alaska Expedition Company
Homepage of the lodge owners - Charles and Jody Allen.
Cabelas Outfitters
Find all the gear for fishing and hunting at Cabelas. Some of their top managers have been our guests several times.

A Once-In-A-Lifetime Dream Vacation - Fly Fishing In Alaska! 

If you really want to "get away" from it all...

So many people have seen my pictures and listened to my stories. They all say, "I wanna go!" How about you?

Our space at the lodge is limited, of course. We have many regular guest who come every year. Please book as early as possible!

My prediction:

chefkeem, at 8pm on October 3, 2008 predicts:

The Driftwood Lodge will be fully booked in 2009 and we'll have to turn away late-comers!

Reader predictions:

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mulberry, at 6pm on November 4, 2008 predicts:

I think you're right! With food that looks like that how can it not book up immediately!

adez7, at 1pm on October 9, 2008 predicts:

They had, and will have in the future one of the greatest Chefs in the world!

hesika, at 12pm on October 5, 2008 predicts:

The Driftwood Lodge will be fully booked until 2020 :-) That's why you have to build some more houses there in 2010...

 
 
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You'll Need Warm Clothing In Alaska! 

Look what Amazon has to offer...

Columbia Sportswear Women's Benton Springs Fleece

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Amazon Price: (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now
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Columbia Sportswear Men's Steens Mountain Fleece

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Columbia Sportswear Men's Ibex Rainsuit

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Columbia Sportswear Women's Sapphire Sky Fleece Vest

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Duofold Women's Mid-Weight Two-Layer Thermal #627A

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Amazon Price: (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $14.99
Used Price:

Fly Fishing Gear On EBay 

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eBay

Knives Of Alaska - The Best! 

Charles Allen field-tested and designed these knives

Our lodge owners founded this company many years ago, based on their extensive experience with the needs of fishermen and hunters.
Could not locate item B001GT0IDS. Please try again.Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.

What Are Your Thoughts About An Alaska Lodge Vacation? 

Have you been there? Would you like to go?

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Bears Love Alaska! 

Do you love bears?

I don't know about "loving" bears, but they are quite impressive animals. I filmed this from the lodge entrance: brown bears eating berries about 50 - 60 yards away from us.

The bears I've met...

A few clips showing brown bears as they come around our lodge in Alaska. They are attracted by the scents from Chef Keem's kitchen, but they also like the wild strawberries on the surrounding grounds.

curated content from YouTube

More Great Knives Of Alaska 

Designed for specific tasks during hunting or fishing

Knives Of Alaska Combo Set With Rubber Handle Md: 035FG

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $116.26 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $122.05
Used Price:

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Knives of Alaska Brown Bear Skinner Suregrip Cleaver

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $146.99 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now
List Price:
Used Price:

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Columbia River Knife and Tool's 2770 Wrangell Range Fixed Blade Utility Hunting Knife

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $92.92 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $149.99
Used Price:

Usually ships in 24 hours

Knives Of Alaska D2 Steel Scout Folding Knife With Black SureGrip Handle Md: 181FG

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $98.66 (as of 12/01/2009) Buy Now
List Price: $102.95
Used Price:

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

My Previous Alaska Lenses... 

My 2008 Alaska Lenses... 

More From The 2008 Season... 

Alaska Lodges In The News 

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Some Of My Other Squidoo Lenses... 

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by chefkeem



Hi, I am Chef Keem, sentenced to Squidoo-for-life.
Born and raised in Munich, Germany. First career in pop music as A&R Director, record arranger an... (more)

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