The Chadar Experience
Creating a sense of kehillah (community) is core to our mission and is an element that keeps chanichim returning year after year. Creating kehillah in different layers and spaces at camp is essential and Kehillah is felt strongly in the Chadar Ochel (dining hall, sometimes referred to as “the chadar”) and in keeping with our eye towards camping in the 21st century, we are excited to announce plans for this kayitz to strengthen the chadar experience.
Over the past year we have surveyed you, our community, and have been working with a consulting firm to better understand opportunities for our chadar setup, our recipes and menu, meal times and so much more. While many commercial facilities use pre-prepared or frozen ingredients, we do not! Nearly every meal served at Camp Ramah is a product of scratch cooking, and we provide a wide variety of fresh produce at every meal.
Every loaf of bread, roll, challah, muffin, and cookie is baked fresh in our parve bakery, with the exception of gluten free items. We strive to provide high quality and nutritious meals throughout the summer. As a year-round retreat facility our kitchen staff work year-round too. This continuity provides for greater expertise among our staff and a greater experience for all.
PLANS FOR KAYITZ 2019
- Layout:
- We are implementing various configurations of the space, and may divide up the chadar into three smaller spaces
- It will be smaller, quieter, and easier to navigate
- This will also allow for easier access to vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free food options.
- We will experiment with different table layouts as well to provide the best community feel at a tzrif/ohel/edah level
- Timing: We will experiment with additional staggered meal times
- Staggered meals create age appropriate eating times and room configurations
- Shabbat dinner will still be camp wide as this is a highlight and hallmark of Camp Ramah.
We know that to create kehillah, we need to think creatively and explore how to improve these everyday experiences. Our team is excited to continue to reimagine the Chadar Ochel experience. We look forward to seeing these changes through this kayitz and look forward to hearing your feedback after.