PROVINCETOWN — On a cold Monday, 200 or so guests gathered at the United Methodist Church for lunch at the Soup Kitchen in Provincetown, or SKIP. Some had been in line for half an hour, eagerly awaiting the sound of the bell announcing the start of lunch. It rings here every weekday from Nov. 4 to April 4.
SKIP is celebrating its 33rd season. And this winter, the thousands of meals it serves will be prepared by a new head chef, Raul Garcia.
Garcia has had a long career. Originally from Manhattan, he studied at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and cut his teeth in kitchens in New York City. He then opened a restaurant in Florida but sold it after six years. Around the same time, he came to visit a friend in Provincetown for what he thought would be a few days. “I came and never left,” he said, 22 years later.
In Provincetown, Garcia has consulted on the food at Liz’s Café and Angel Foods, and he’s been the chef at the former Café Edwige and at Backstreet. More recently, he was chef de cuisine at Strangers & Saints.
Despite living in Provincetown for so long, he said, he had never actually been to SKIP. Then, one day, he got to chatting with SKIP board member Eric Cordes, who told him that the soup kitchen was looking for a new chef. He got the job.
When Garcia spoke to the Independent on Nov. 18, he was two weeks into his new role. He said he couldn’t be happier: “I’m loving it. Everybody’s so nice.”
He said he is still learning the ropes, but soon he plans to help SKIP expand its offerings beyond its usual weekday lunches: people will be able to pick up a second meal on Fridays to eat on Saturdays. The program is set to start Dec. 13.
“What I love the most is that I’m feeding people who really need it,” he said. “Some of these people, it’s the only hot meal they’ll have all day.”
But people come to SKIP for more than just a hot meal, Garcia said. “It’s a social event as well.”
This was evident last Tuesday as people young and old sat together. Some engaged in lively conversation, while others seemed to relish quiet mealtime company.
Robert Perry, who has been coming to SKIP for 27 years, looks forward to reconnecting with community again each winter. “During the summer, you don’t get a chance to see your friends,” he said. “It’s a nice place to sit down and gather with people.”
Tom Sayers echoed the same sentiment. What he likes about eating at SKIP is the chance to be with “a cross-section of the town.”
“It’s my favorite place to connect socially in the winter,” said Sayers’s friend Sean Flyr. “In summer, we all split into our separate worlds. In winter, we come back together.”
For Garcia, the biggest adjustment has been the size of the workforce. A volunteer group of 150 calls for much more delegation than the small teams of people in the kitchens at the upscale restaurants where he’s worked. “It’s like a big family,” he said.
As he talked about the people who come out to help at SKIP, Garcia started tearing up. “I’m getting a little emotional about that,” he said. He paused to wipe his eyes.
Karen Click is one such helper who has volunteered at SKIP for four years. She said her favorite part of the job is the people — “They are so appreciative.”
Garcia said he already feels right at home. And since taking the job, he said, he is stopped on the street constantly by new friends.
“I’ve been a chef for 42 years, and I’ve worked in the nicest restaurants in P’town,” he said, “but I’ve never gotten such recognition.”
A complete list of Provincetown’s food pantries and meal services will be found in this week’s Currents.
