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The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning: A Polar Journey
A visually captivating, novelistic travelogue that chronicles the first civilian environmental cleanup expedition in Antarctica—an engaging true story told through anecdotes, journal entries, vignettes, recipes, and archival and contemporary photography.
“The first thing that comes to mind about Antarctica is not likely the food. But if you are going there, it is the second.” —Wendy Trusler and Carol Devine
The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning is a unique journey through an austral summer, when a group of dedicated individuals—fifty-four people from five countries—picked up nearly three decades’ worth of garbage during a three-month period in Antarctica.
In this visually captivating polar journal, Wendy Trusler and Carol Devine transport readers back twenty years and thousands of miles to Bellinghausen, the Russian research station that became their temporary home. Devine, a humanitarian who piloted the project, and Trusler, a visual artist and cook, use journal entries, letters, provision lists, recipes, and menus to document their voyage. They share pithy, insightful observations on life, food, science, politics, and the environment. Showcased throughout are modern and vintage photos and vignettes from Antarctica’s short history—all of which add delightful color and warm detail to this unique book.
Trusler reveals the challenges of cooking in a makeshift kitchen during long, white nights at the bottom of the world. While the dozens of eco-tourists strive to help preserve the continent, she must figure out how to cook for all of them in the small camp kitchen, using limited ingredients. The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning includes forty-two eclectic, tasty, and hearty recipes tinged with Russian, Chinese, and South American influences, such as Honey Oatmeal Bread, Cheese Fondue, Great Wall Dumplings, Roasted Pepper Goulash with Smoked Paprika, Roast Leg of Pork, and Frozen Chocolate Cream. All beautifully photographed, these dishes reflect the expedition’s colorful cultural fabric and the astonishing raw beauty of their surroundings—a continent uniquely devoted to peace, cooperation, and science.
“The first thing that comes to mind about Antarctica is not likely the food. But if you are going there, it is the second.” —Wendy Trusler and Carol Devine
The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning is a unique journey through an austral summer, when a group of dedicated individuals—fifty-four people from five countries—picked up nearly three decades’ worth of garbage during a three-month period in Antarctica.
In this visually captivating polar journal, Wendy Trusler and Carol Devine transport readers back twenty years and thousands of miles to Bellinghausen, the Russian research station that became their temporary home. Devine, a humanitarian who piloted the project, and Trusler, a visual artist and cook, use journal entries, letters, provision lists, recipes, and menus to document their voyage. They share pithy, insightful observations on life, food, science, politics, and the environment. Showcased throughout are modern and vintage photos and vignettes from Antarctica’s short history—all of which add delightful color and warm detail to this unique book.
Trusler reveals the challenges of cooking in a makeshift kitchen during long, white nights at the bottom of the world. While the dozens of eco-tourists strive to help preserve the continent, she must figure out how to cook for all of them in the small camp kitchen, using limited ingredients. The Antarctic Book of Cooking and Cleaning includes forty-two eclectic, tasty, and hearty recipes tinged with Russian, Chinese, and South American influences, such as Honey Oatmeal Bread, Cheese Fondue, Great Wall Dumplings, Roasted Pepper Goulash with Smoked Paprika, Roast Leg of Pork, and Frozen Chocolate Cream. All beautifully photographed, these dishes reflect the expedition’s colorful cultural fabric and the astonishing raw beauty of their surroundings—a continent uniquely devoted to peace, cooperation, and science.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published May 5, 2015
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317 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
March 13, 2016
3.5 stars.
This is an attractive book. In format it resembles a travel journal/scrapbook. It is the work of two Canadian women, environmentalist Carol Devine and cook and artist, Wendy Trusler. It chronicles journal entries by Devine, the woman who organized a three month volunteer effort January until March, 1996 to clean up 30 years of garbage at the Russian Antarctic station, Bellingshausen . Trusler was the cook, hired to feed 54 volunteer workers who arrived and left in shifts.
When I started reading the book I realized a connection. I was a tourist on one of two small ships transporting the volunteers, food and other supplies to the Russian research station. We tourists were not informed of the project, but there were two Hawaiian women onboard who said they were going to the Antarctic on holiday to pick up trash. They are briefly mentioned in the book. Very little is mentioned about the volunteers in the book, maybe because they only stayed in shifts for a short time. On the way back we picked up two men who had completed their time there as volunteer workers and were on their way back home.
The book contains beautiful colored photos taken at the time, vintage photos of historical expeditions, provision lists, and many recipes with detailed instructions for preparation and photos of the food served. The authors describe many of the Russian scientists and workers at Bellingshausen and their kindness and generosity.
I thought the recipes would be very basic, but seems they were well supplied with some hard to get ingredients. There are clear and careful instructions on how to prepare each meal with lavish illustrations of the food. The cook borrowed recipes from the Russian station cook, and from the nearby scientific research stations of China and Chile, so there was no lack of variety at meal time.
This volume emphasizes the need to keep the breathtakingly gorgeous landscape the way it was before mankind arrived. This is not an easy task as no incinerators are permitted. The birds and mammals are protected. It also shows how various countries are so far able to cooperate in their scientific research on the Antarctic continent.
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This is an attractive book. In format it resembles a travel journal/scrapbook. It is the work of two Canadian women, environmentalist Carol Devine and cook and artist, Wendy Trusler. It chronicles journal entries by Devine, the woman who organized a three month volunteer effort January until March, 1996 to clean up 30 years of garbage at the Russian Antarctic station, Bellingshausen . Trusler was the cook, hired to feed 54 volunteer workers who arrived and left in shifts.
When I started reading the book I realized a connection. I was a tourist on one of two small ships transporting the volunteers, food and other supplies to the Russian research station. We tourists were not informed of the project, but there were two Hawaiian women onboard who said they were going to the Antarctic on holiday to pick up trash. They are briefly mentioned in the book. Very little is mentioned about the volunteers in the book, maybe because they only stayed in shifts for a short time. On the way back we picked up two men who had completed their time there as volunteer workers and were on their way back home.
The book contains beautiful colored photos taken at the time, vintage photos of historical expeditions, provision lists, and many recipes with detailed instructions for preparation and photos of the food served. The authors describe many of the Russian scientists and workers at Bellingshausen and their kindness and generosity.
I thought the recipes would be very basic, but seems they were well supplied with some hard to get ingredients. There are clear and careful instructions on how to prepare each meal with lavish illustrations of the food. The cook borrowed recipes from the Russian station cook, and from the nearby scientific research stations of China and Chile, so there was no lack of variety at meal time.
This volume emphasizes the need to keep the breathtakingly gorgeous landscape the way it was before mankind arrived. This is not an easy task as no incinerators are permitted. The birds and mammals are protected. It also shows how various countries are so far able to cooperate in their scientific research on the Antarctic continent.
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September 18, 2022
I bought this for my son several years ago when he showed signs of interest in travelling to Antarctica. I picked it up now, after he left home for a different continent. What I had thought was a kind of gimmicky cookbook ended up being so much more. It’s about a non-profit venture by some Canadians to bring attention to pollution and clean up in Antarctica in 1996. They work at a Russian base, so it’s also a kind of time capsule to a different post-Soviet pre-Putin world of collaboration, which seems so far away today. And the main author, Wendy, the cook, is a woman, so the whole gender politics side is likewise fascinating — all these men from different national bases and only a couple of women. I wondered if her studied obliviousness was self-defense or a Canadian trait I myself share.
September 30, 2024
I am really fascinated by the journey to Antarctica, and the rarity of living and working there. This book was an unusual depiction of this experience, with journal entries, recipes, and interspersed with some vignettes and quotes from the initial, harrowing expeditions to the Antarctic continent, related to food and provisions. I did appreciate this particular piece of the Antarctica story, but it was unevenly told, and maybe intended to be a more artistic rendering of the experience rather than something I could gain some more factual understanding.
The rest of my review is about the structure of the book and not exactly spoiler-y.
The journal entries start from two women (Carol Devine and Wendy Trusler) who were part of an environmental cleanup effort at Bellingshausen research station. I thought the whole concept of bringing volunteers to Antarctica to embark on this cleanup was ambitious and inspiring - even though it would literally be chipping away at a much larger problem, it was creative to come up with a program to educate people who were willing to make the journey, and have them help with this effort.
The book has both women describe the journey to Antarctica and setting up "Canada House" as their base of operations. Then Carol Devine's entries end, because she didn't intend to stay the entire season, although she started the whole program. So then we're left with the main author, Wendy Trusler, who is the cook on this effort, and she describes her experience preparing the food for the waves of cleanup volunteers and the Russian scientists/inhabitants of Bellingshausen. Her journal entries are interesting, talking about the different research stations from different countries, setting up the kitchen, exchanging recipes with others who visit or work at other research stations nearby. It's an ironically claustrophobic accounting of the experience, because we get such a personal and limited description of the people she interacted with almost daily (and I could not keep all the different people straight, how she named them), and not a very satisfying description of what the cleanup effort accomplished overall - because it's her journal entries, and not a complete telling of the experience.
There were beautiful photos throughout and the recipes were very interesting (although in the kindle version, something funky happened to the fonts to make any fractional numbers in a tiny, unreadable font size).
This was maybe an artistic way to describe this cleanup effort but I feel like I could have gained much more understanding from it.
The rest of my review is about the structure of the book and not exactly spoiler-y.
The journal entries start from two women (Carol Devine and Wendy Trusler) who were part of an environmental cleanup effort at Bellingshausen research station. I thought the whole concept of bringing volunteers to Antarctica to embark on this cleanup was ambitious and inspiring - even though it would literally be chipping away at a much larger problem, it was creative to come up with a program to educate people who were willing to make the journey, and have them help with this effort.
The book has both women describe the journey to Antarctica and setting up "Canada House" as their base of operations. Then Carol Devine's entries end, because she didn't intend to stay the entire season, although she started the whole program. So then we're left with the main author, Wendy Trusler, who is the cook on this effort, and she describes her experience preparing the food for the waves of cleanup volunteers and the Russian scientists/inhabitants of Bellingshausen. Her journal entries are interesting, talking about the different research stations from different countries, setting up the kitchen, exchanging recipes with others who visit or work at other research stations nearby. It's an ironically claustrophobic accounting of the experience, because we get such a personal and limited description of the people she interacted with almost daily (and I could not keep all the different people straight, how she named them), and not a very satisfying description of what the cleanup effort accomplished overall - because it's her journal entries, and not a complete telling of the experience.
There were beautiful photos throughout and the recipes were very interesting (although in the kindle version, something funky happened to the fonts to make any fractional numbers in a tiny, unreadable font size).
This was maybe an artistic way to describe this cleanup effort but I feel like I could have gained much more understanding from it.
November 2, 2024
4.5 Part travelogue and part cookbook, this book brings together two of my favorite things: cold, isolated settings, and food! This isn’t a complete, full story of the cleanup expedition as it is told primarily in journal excerpts, so it’s more like slices of life. Interspersed with this is snippets from Shacketon’s expedition, which I thought was a nice touch. There are lots of beautiful and interesting photos (and they are not glossy, which I appreciate.) It must be noted that this book contains the only recipe I have ever seen that is honest about how long it takes to caramelize onions, and for this my respect for Wendy Trusler has only increased. This book feels very special, and perfect for a fairly niche audience, so I’m almost surprised it was even published and also quite grateful because I *am* that niche audience. A real delight!
April 18, 2023
I loved this cookbook! It's a really engaging read, full of stories and anecdotes about an expedition to clean up 50+ years of accumulated garbage in Antarctica. I had never considered that the researchers who live in Antarctica don't have a way to dispose of their garbage. Plus, it was really interesting to learn about the different research stations, the kind of food they eat, and what foods are available.
Most of the meals are vegetarian, and the recipes are accompanied by really beautiful pictures and thorough instructions. I have made a handful of the recipes, and they were very good! Even if you never make any of the food, though, this book is still a worthwhile read. Highly recommend!
Most of the meals are vegetarian, and the recipes are accompanied by really beautiful pictures and thorough instructions. I have made a handful of the recipes, and they were very good! Even if you never make any of the food, though, this book is still a worthwhile read. Highly recommend!
November 12, 2016
This was a quick read that I found awkwardly written in some spots. However I overall enjoyed this book as it gave me a bit of a different view of the reading I have already done on life in Antartica.
December 3, 2018
This was largely comprised of journal entries and letters, interspersed with recipes and lists. It really conveyed the feel of a trip to Antarctica. The authors were staff members on a series of eco travel opportunities: cleaning up trash on king George island.
April 1, 2018
Interesting.. but, not really a cookbook. Basically blog entries. :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2018
It took me a good minute to get into the book. I'm glad I stuck with it though. I learned a few things and the photography is beautiful.
June 10, 2020
Half cookbook, half journal about an antarctic cleanup expedition. Saved some good recipes. Makes me want to study Russian again.
August 7, 2020
Too choppy and disjointed. More of a treasury of short stories.
September 12, 2022
Who would have guessed that such extravagant dining could be had in Antarctica! The accounts of living in close quarters with others for an extended period makes for fun and interesting reading. the urgency of climate change and pollution make this book a timely read.
October 6, 2021
Interesting mix of journal entries, photos, and recipes. I think the two aspects that make this travel memoir uniquely Antarctic is the lack of national borders and challenges of cooking. Interestingly, there seems to be less information about fauna and weather.
September 22, 2015
I picked up this book after reading a post about it on the Brain Pickings blog. It narrates the story of two Canadian women who, in the mid-90s, organized a volunteer trip to clean up junk/debris around a Russian science station in Antarctica. The story is presented in a sort of bricolage format, mixing together contemporaneous journal entries, current essays, recipes (one of the women went primarily to be the cook for the group), contemporaneous photos, and photos from historical Antarctic expeditions. I thought it ended up working pretty well. I ended up copying out two of the recipes (one for cinnamon rolls, the other for a bean and garlic soup), and will try the latter this week.
I especially enjoyed the book because it gave me this nostalgic sense of environmentalism, reminding me of when I was a kid. I feel like the environmental movement has changed so much in the 20 years or so since the expedition recounted in the book, mostly as climate change has taken the role of marquee environmental issue. This book hearkens back to the era of Captain Planet, where "pollution" was the biggest environmental concern. Not that there is anything warm and fuzzy about pollution, but oddly, there is something more human scale about it. The volunteers on the expedition weren't kidding themselves that they could free even this small area of Antarctica of decades of waste over a few months, but I guess there is a sense of being able to make a small difference in a local area that seems absent with climate change. I remember very vividly being a kid and inventing clubs for cleaning up garbage at the duck pond and such things. (I'm not sure that these clubs ever had more than one member, nor whether that member did more than pick up a Coke can.)
The authors also did a good job of relating the experience of being two of only three women among many male Russian scientists at the base. The only thing I found myself wishing for more of, when reading the book, was description of the interaction with the volunteers. I suppose each was only there for a fairly short time (they came in shifts of maybe a week or so), so the authors didn't become that close with them, or at any rate not nearly as much as with the other permanent residents of the base. But it is a little odd to read a book about a volunteer trip with only passing mention of the volunteers!
I especially enjoyed the book because it gave me this nostalgic sense of environmentalism, reminding me of when I was a kid. I feel like the environmental movement has changed so much in the 20 years or so since the expedition recounted in the book, mostly as climate change has taken the role of marquee environmental issue. This book hearkens back to the era of Captain Planet, where "pollution" was the biggest environmental concern. Not that there is anything warm and fuzzy about pollution, but oddly, there is something more human scale about it. The volunteers on the expedition weren't kidding themselves that they could free even this small area of Antarctica of decades of waste over a few months, but I guess there is a sense of being able to make a small difference in a local area that seems absent with climate change. I remember very vividly being a kid and inventing clubs for cleaning up garbage at the duck pond and such things. (I'm not sure that these clubs ever had more than one member, nor whether that member did more than pick up a Coke can.)
The authors also did a good job of relating the experience of being two of only three women among many male Russian scientists at the base. The only thing I found myself wishing for more of, when reading the book, was description of the interaction with the volunteers. I suppose each was only there for a fairly short time (they came in shifts of maybe a week or so), so the authors didn't become that close with them, or at any rate not nearly as much as with the other permanent residents of the base. But it is a little odd to read a book about a volunteer trip with only passing mention of the volunteers!
June 28, 2015
When I have some spare time, I love to just walk into a bookstore and peruse the shelves. I spend a fair amount of that time in the cookbook aisle, as I love to read them like books and have started amassing a fairly decent collection. It was during one of these spontaneous trips to the bookstore that I ran across this book. As a flipped through the pages, I became convinced that this was a book that just called to me. Having read it from cover to cover, I remain very, very glad that I gave in to the impulse and brought this treasure trove home with me.
The book is modeled like a scrapbook - it has journal notes, recipes, menus, and blurbs from others who have visited Antarctica in the past. Based off of an expedition of groups of volunteers who paid to go and help clean up many years' worth of garbage at Bellingshousen, a Russian research station, the authors were two of the small staff who took part. Carol conceived the idea and hired Wendy, who remained during the entire project as camp cook. Much of the book is from her journals, and the recipes are foods she cooked during her stay.
The story within (for it really is a story) speaks not only to the project, but to those scientists from all over the world who have given such a large part of their lives to study in Antarctica. The friendships and the lessons learned on behalf of everyone were, to me, just as vital as the overall cleanup project. And being able to read this not only reminded me how important the smallest efforts can be, showed how much people around the world have in common when allowed to forgo the usual politics.
Anyway, those impulsive purchases sometimes just don't work out the best. I'm thrilled to say that I absolutely love this book and will be adding it to my shelves. As for the recipes - I look forward to trying several of them, but most particularly the Honey Oatmeal Bread. A staple recipe that is used for a variety of other bread-based recipes in the book, it was both meal necessity and gift option during the time in Antarctica. And, while I hope that as humans we are able to slow the rate of glacier melting, I will also keep this book as a possible reminder of what used to be.
The book is modeled like a scrapbook - it has journal notes, recipes, menus, and blurbs from others who have visited Antarctica in the past. Based off of an expedition of groups of volunteers who paid to go and help clean up many years' worth of garbage at Bellingshousen, a Russian research station, the authors were two of the small staff who took part. Carol conceived the idea and hired Wendy, who remained during the entire project as camp cook. Much of the book is from her journals, and the recipes are foods she cooked during her stay.
The story within (for it really is a story) speaks not only to the project, but to those scientists from all over the world who have given such a large part of their lives to study in Antarctica. The friendships and the lessons learned on behalf of everyone were, to me, just as vital as the overall cleanup project. And being able to read this not only reminded me how important the smallest efforts can be, showed how much people around the world have in common when allowed to forgo the usual politics.
Anyway, those impulsive purchases sometimes just don't work out the best. I'm thrilled to say that I absolutely love this book and will be adding it to my shelves. As for the recipes - I look forward to trying several of them, but most particularly the Honey Oatmeal Bread. A staple recipe that is used for a variety of other bread-based recipes in the book, it was both meal necessity and gift option during the time in Antarctica. And, while I hope that as humans we are able to slow the rate of glacier melting, I will also keep this book as a possible reminder of what used to be.
July 13, 2015
What an interesting book!
Carol Devine worked for the VIEW Foundation and set up the beach cleanup camps in Antarctica. Yes, Antarctica. Apparently, there is no trash pickup or incinerator on the planet so there are lots of pipes and waste that is left behind by explorers. She had the cooperation of the Russian government to live next to their station at Bellingshausen which is on the peninsula closest to South America. Wendy Trusler was hired to be the camp's cook. From December - March 1986, volunteers would pay to visit Antarctica and help with the beach cleanup.
This book is from Carol's & Wendy's diaries and also includes her recipes. Being so close to the Russian station, many of the recipes use beets. She also includes Chilean recipes since their camp was also nearby.
In their walks around their camp, they found an old piece of wood that must have been from before the Ice Age, before the continent was ice. From the pictures, their camp was not located in snow - until it started snowing in March. They also felt an earthquake rumbling. Who would have thought that would happen in Antarctica but why not?
"This continent, for now, is reserved for dreaming and discovery." The Madrid Protocol is an international agreement that prohibits mining in Antarctica and calls for environmental protection on the continent, including tourism. This treaty will be in effect until 2048. Then??
Antartica seems like a place I would want to visit to see the penguins & sea lions but would be too cold for me.
I'm going to have to try some of the recipes like mulled wine, Spiced Tea (Russian Tea), borscht, or chicken teriyaki bouchees. Wendy didn't have toothpicks for her bouchees so she sterilized nails to skewer the pieces.
Good read.
Carol Devine worked for the VIEW Foundation and set up the beach cleanup camps in Antarctica. Yes, Antarctica. Apparently, there is no trash pickup or incinerator on the planet so there are lots of pipes and waste that is left behind by explorers. She had the cooperation of the Russian government to live next to their station at Bellingshausen which is on the peninsula closest to South America. Wendy Trusler was hired to be the camp's cook. From December - March 1986, volunteers would pay to visit Antarctica and help with the beach cleanup.
This book is from Carol's & Wendy's diaries and also includes her recipes. Being so close to the Russian station, many of the recipes use beets. She also includes Chilean recipes since their camp was also nearby.
In their walks around their camp, they found an old piece of wood that must have been from before the Ice Age, before the continent was ice. From the pictures, their camp was not located in snow - until it started snowing in March. They also felt an earthquake rumbling. Who would have thought that would happen in Antarctica but why not?
"This continent, for now, is reserved for dreaming and discovery." The Madrid Protocol is an international agreement that prohibits mining in Antarctica and calls for environmental protection on the continent, including tourism. This treaty will be in effect until 2048. Then??
Antartica seems like a place I would want to visit to see the penguins & sea lions but would be too cold for me.
I'm going to have to try some of the recipes like mulled wine, Spiced Tea (Russian Tea), borscht, or chicken teriyaki bouchees. Wendy didn't have toothpicks for her bouchees so she sterilized nails to skewer the pieces.
Good read.
January 27, 2016
I will save you all from muddling this terrific performance piece that just happens to be bound as a book. In 1996, Canadian Carol Devine organized a volunteer program to clean up around research stations in the Antarctic. Carol was able to get space next to the Russian Research Station and hired Wendy Trusler to cook for the volunteers over a four-month period.
Authors Trusler and Devine have created something that is a non-fiction hybrid of recipes and memoir and musings on the state of global warming, white bean and roasted garlic soup, Russian comrades and the light on icebergs. There are so many ways to enjoy this book--just leafing through the gorgeous photographs, maps and historical information on past Polar explorations and yes, smells of baking seem to rise up from the pages.
Booking passage now--
Authors Trusler and Devine have created something that is a non-fiction hybrid of recipes and memoir and musings on the state of global warming, white bean and roasted garlic soup, Russian comrades and the light on icebergs. There are so many ways to enjoy this book--just leafing through the gorgeous photographs, maps and historical information on past Polar explorations and yes, smells of baking seem to rise up from the pages.
Booking passage now--
September 7, 2015
Journals of two Canadians staying with the various science camps of Antarctica during a 1995 mission to push the clean up of debris left behind by human activity. One coordinating the logistics of the cleanup with the Russians and various voluntourists, and the other a camp cook, with logging camp experience and recipes to make the most of what's available into delightful meals for the isolated crews. Great mix of Antarctica observations and recipes to try at home.
November 6, 2019
A unique combination of observations about how humans from a variety of backgrounds interact when thrown together in a remote location, and recipes for feeding multiple people with minimal resources. I have not made any of the dishes but the pictures are sumptuous. YUM.
August 1, 2015
Gorgeous pictures and great recipes. I'd love to take this trip and do what these ladies did. Maybe someday.....
September 5, 2015
Very interesting and inspirational book! Makes me want to go to Antarctica!
November 18, 2016
I didn't finish this. While it's interesting, and beautifully presented, and I think important, it just didn't make my soul sing. It'll be making its way onto the Christmas present pile.
Read
October 29, 2017Uninteresting. Will not review. DNF.
Owned book, will be given to a charity (Thrift) shop.
Owned book, will be given to a charity (Thrift) shop.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews