As the sun rises over the placid lake at The Omega Institute in upstate New York, Tim the Baker has already put in several hours laboring over the dough. By the time the conch-shell horns sound for 7am breakfast, he’s turned out a couple thousand raspberry muffins, prepped dozens of dill and garlic foccaccias for lunch, and kneaded and formed some of the 275 loaves of bread he bakes each week.
Like Diddy, Tim and several of his co-workers are known by only one name. You won’t see Tim’s picture here, I’m afraid. Though I spent two weeks as his immediate neighbor, my tent pitched in front of the swanky new van he calls home, his vampiric work hours provided few opportunities for an encounter, and when I did spot him he was usually snoozing in his hammock.
He and several other hardworking souls are spending the summer season at The Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, a campus spread across 195 acres of beautiful hilly green land and lake in the Hudson River Valley. Founded in the late 70's, over 12,000 participants a year come here to attend classes on art, yoga, nutrition, tantric sexuality, philosophy, spirituality, building rustic furniture, tennis, dance, and a myriad of other subjects.
John, with the help of an energetic young guy named "L", manages the food operation. They are also
both cracker kundalini yoga instructors. John joined the permanent staff a few years ago, bringing an extensive background in the culinary business, at one point overseeing the kitchens for the Archdioses in Florida. Gliding through the dining hall like a monarch perusing his estate, he keeps everything flowing, clean and food-friendly…not easy when a large percentage of the staff are seasonal volunteers, some of them untrained and only there for 2 weeks at a time.
An organic garden in the center of the campus provides greens and herbs, but John also deals with local farmers and growers to find the considerable amount of fresh produce needed to supply the dining hall as well as the café. He keeps everything as organic and sustainable as possible, using Dean’s Beans coffee, unbleached flours, whole grains such as quinoa, and non-hormone milk from a local dairy.
There is always an impressive display of fresh fruit in the dining hall, and at meals the vegetables have a taste I can best describe as alive. Dining hall food is included in the price of a stay on campus, but the café is optional and cash is exchanged. It’s an airy bohemian-tech space with cool music punctuated by the sound of milk steaming, the perfume of quesadillas wafting by, old comfy couches to lounge in, and wireless internet service throughout.
The dining hall offers a hot and cold buffet l with the freshest, crunchiest salad bar, divine homemade dressings, a soup at each meal including breakfast, and mostly vegetarian food throughout with the exception of fish once a week. Every second night there is a gooey desert such as banana cake with cream cheese frosting or fruit, cake and cream trifle.
Here’s a list of some of the hot food I had at Omega during my two weeks:
Salad salad salad
Falafel and pita bread
Vegetable tagine with raita
Grilled Asian sesame tofu
Baked Tilapia with aioli
Pizza
Lasagna
Chilaquiles
Beet burgers
Tempeh vegetable stirfry
Macaroni and cheese
Cheese and broccoli frittata.
As a volunteer, I worked as a camp counselor for 8 and 9 year old kids for a week, then “floated” the second, running hot food out to the dining room, handling the Hobart dishwashing machine, stripping and making beds, and hoisting suitcases onto a van, for a total of 30 hours per week.
It's not for nothing they call this "work", so after a day of this, a girl's gotta take advantage of the short
trek uphill to the Wellness Center for a sauna and a massage. Also available are reflexology appointments, facials, shamanic work, psychic readings or whatever caretaking your body and soul need.
The perks of volunteering at Omega are pretty amazing. There is a choice of two to three yoga classes a day, a dance class at noon, lakefront Tai Chi in the morning, meditation, shamanic journeys, movie screenings, concerts, kayaking in the lake, art classes, and a neverending supply of good food. And there is that sense of oasis and community with lovely people who really want the world to be a great, thriving place and to have a part in making it so.
Plus you don’t have to wash your own salad greens.
Omega accepts applications for seasonal staff volunteers starting
sometime around December. They generally contact potential staffmembers in February for a phone interview. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and view their time as a real commitment. For me it was an absolutely worthwhile one. www.eomega.org/omega/job/seasonal/
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