Preparing Food For A Cast Of Thousands

6/29/2005

By Ron Gustafson MIDDLEBURY, Conn. - Preparing food for the thousands of guests who visit Quassy Amusement Park here each summer has been a family affair for three generations. The tradition in the Quassy Restaurant kitchen is being carried on today by Marty (Martin) Toma, the director of food operations at the popular lakeside facility. The 31-year-old Waterbury, Conn., native has been a fixture at the park since he was 15, starting as a busboy for his uncle George Katsaftis, Quassy’s former restaurateur. “It seemed that he was food director here forever,” Toma recalled of his late uncle. Katsaftis took his aspiring young nephew under his arm and taught him the tricks of the trade - probably in much the same way Katsaftis was instructed by his father, William, at the 20-acre park years ago. When George Katsaftis died in 1999, his apprentice was ready to fill the tall order of preparing food for the steady stream of guests that visit Quassy April through October. “I really learned the in and outs from him,” Toma acknowledged, while also admitting the riggers of the tough seasonal schedule are not for everyone. Busy Weekends On any given weekend Toma’s Lakeside Caterers – the in-house catering service at Quassy – will prepare the menus for usually three or four private group functions. An outing might be as small as 50 people or larger than 1,000. While many of those groups chow down on a traditional summer fare buffet of hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and cole slaw, there is a streaming list of menu options to select from. “We do everything from the hamburger and hot dog buffet, to porterhouse steaks and lobsters for our outings,” he noted. In fact, catered groups can select from a list of more than 75 options including leg of lamb, prime rib of beef and baked Virginia ham. One of the latest twists Toma’s staff has added to the mix is themed parties that include a Hawaiian Luau on the lakefront and a Texas Barbecue. Even tying the knot is not out of place at Quassy as a wedding took place during the summer of 2004 on the beach with the reception held at the park’s Lakeside Pavilion. Long Days A typical day at the park for Toma starts at 7:30 a.m. and can end at 8 or 9 p.m. depending on the attendance and weather. Fridays during the height of the season bring out large crowds of families for the park’s traditional “Quarter Night.” The amusement rides, soda and cotton candy are only 25 cents with hot dogs 50 cents. “We will do 4,000 hot dogs on any given Friday night, and sometimes I’m here until 11,” he said. That means a short night’s rest – especially if there is a large group outing to prepare for on Saturday. It’s not unusual to find Toma in the restaurant kitchen early in the day chopping ingredients for fresh garden salads, while a huge pot of clam chowder is simmering on the stove and chickens are roasting in the ovens. “Every outing is different as is the menu,” said the self-made chef, who now resides in Middlebury and is only minutes from his “full-time commitment.” In the winters Toma works at Connecticut’s Mohawk Mountain ski resort, which has turned out to be a “great fit” during Quassy’s off-season. Recipes From Memory As for what’s cooking in the Quassy kitchen, Toma’s recipes for his specialty dishes are locked in memory from his years of first-hand experience. He has also owned and operated restaurants in Waterbury and Southbury, Conn., and attributes his recipe for Quassy’s “famous Calamari” to those experiences. “The Calamari recipe is one which another chef and myself came up with,” he noted of this dish that park diners rave about. And don’t ask Toma to share the recipe either, as it remains an “in-house secret.” Weekend outings are not the only functions held at the park as school groups come during the weekdays and there are numerous weeknight gatherings as well. Several times a year Toma and staff really get to put on the Ritz with an appetizer buffet that features assorted cheese, vegetable and cold meat trays, bruschetta, a variety of pizzas, broccoli rab, Pene’ Al La Vodka, fried mozzarella and – yes – that famous Calamari. Large Staff “I’m fortunate to have some returning staff each summer,” he said of the 60-member workforce he oversees at the park. Not only does Toma head up the restaurant and catering, but also he is responsible for a number of park concessions that serve other prepared foods, ice cream and novelty items such as cotton candy and Slush Puppies. “My biggest challenge is breaking in the first-jobbers and teaching them sanitary food methods,” he noted. At the same time he is juggling inventory, rotation of existing stock and placing orders for the half-dozen food and related locations in the park. “The challenges and routines change daily and it’s important to keep the staff happy and make them feel like they are part of the operation,” he added. “Foreign students have been a great help in recent years through an exchange program as well as regional college students.” That’s A Lot Of Food During any given week at the height of the season the park will go through nearly a ton of hamburgers and an equal amount of hot dogs. That includes catered outings as well as individual dinners at the restaurant and the separate hot dog stand. But Toma and staff really like sinking their teeth into the large outings. “Preparing massive amounts of chicken and ribs can be very challenging, and I like that,” he acknowledged. The largest single outing he has handled was an automobile group that brought nearly 10,000 people to Quassy. “We worked round the clock a couple of days ahead cooking the barbecued chicken,” Toma recalled. The chicken was then placed in the park’s huge walk-in coolers and re-heated for the “park-wide” food service provided the day of the event. Not For Everyone Rarely will you see Marty Toma sitting down when he is at Quassy Amusement Park, except when he is filling out order forms or looking over a work schedule. He delegates his seasoned staff with the chores of preparing grilled items and serving guests at the catered outings while he maintains the buffet lines with a steady stream of salads and other freshly-made dishes coming out of the main kitchen. Toma also works the deep fryers and grill in the restaurant as needed and on Sunday evenings you will usually catch him in the Fried Dough stand lending a hand as guests line up for novel treat. “The family atmosphere that the owners bring to the establishment is a real plus,” he said of the family-owned (Frantzis and Anderson) business. “The park is striving now and getting busier every year.” “Marty is a talent beyond his years,” exclaimed George Frantzis II, a co-owner of the park, “and considered part of our family.” Quassy’s thousands of summertime guests speak for themselves as they gobble up the variety of food items being dished up by Toma and associates. “This is a tough seasonal job and not for everyone,” he admits. “It’s very unique in comparison to a regular restaurant, but I love going along for the ride here.” ---30---