HANOVER — Each Tuesday and Wednesday, Justin Dain spends a few hours cooking for more than 50 people.
But Dain, the executive chef at Pine, is not serving patrons at the upscale Hanover Inn restaurant. He is cooking to provide furloughed employees with a hearty meal to share with their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(It’s) something to give back to them when they’re going through these hard times,” said Dain, who specializes in regional American cuisine. “We want to let them know we’re thinking about them.”
Due to social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders instituted by the Twin States, many restaurants and hotels have had to temporarily close. Pine continued to provide takeout meals until the Hanover Inn closed to guests on April 1.
After Pine stopped operating, Dain invited employees to take home produce and other perishable items. Then he started with the meals. The first week was lasagna, Dain said. They then paused for a week before picking back up again with meatloaf.
“It was a massive portion,” David Belanger said of the lasagna he received that first week. “I got that and cut it up and froze it.”
Belanger, of Enfield, has worked as a waiter at Pine for three years and was furloughed in mid-March. Belanger, who has been able to collect unemployment benefits, said the weekly meals are reminiscent of the staff meals Pine employees enjoy together each day when the restaurant is open.
“Even though we’re not working now, this is a cool continuation of it, where the restaurant provides for its family,” Belanger said. “It’s nice to feel appreciated by my employer. This is one of the few places I’ve worked where, even though it is a corporate job, it still has a family feel to it.”
The staff has kept in touch via a Facebook group where they provide support to each other. Dain, who lives in Grantham, lets the group know what he is going to make, and employees sign up for the meal along with how many portions they need for their families. After some prep work on Tuesday, Dain made 50 pans of chicken parmesan with baked ziti and garlic bread on Wednesday morning for employees to pick up. Each of the 50 employees who requested the meal this week received enough portions for four people.
Dain has been using food from Pine’s freezers as well as purchasing food using money contributed by the Hanover Inn and Dartmouth College. (The college owns the Hanover Inn, but the inn and restaurant workers, including Dain, are employees of the Boston-based Pyramid Hotel Group.)
“I’m starting to try to use up things that we have, then buying produce to go along with what we’re making that week,” Dain said. “It’s just on us.”
The meal pickups also provide Dain with an opportunity to check in with employees to see how are they doing.
“Their spirits when they’re here have been very good,” he said. “It’s been really rewarding for me to be able to do this for them.”
The Hanover Inn is currently closed through May 31, and Dain said when it reopens, he’d like Pine to reopen in some capacity.
Emily Chism, Pine’s restaurant manager, said the meals speak to the family relationship that develops among employees who work in a fast-paced restaurant environment and their desire to keep caring for one another even though they’re separated by the COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s amazing to be able to have somebody else to cook for you,” said Chism, who has worked for Pine for seven years and was furloughed earlier this month. She also has been able to collect unemployment.
Last week, Chism, of Bethel, picked up about eight slices of Dain’s venison-blend meatloaf. “Chef makes the best meatloaf,” Chism said.
She’s also grateful that employees have been able to maintain their strong bond even though they are no longer working side by side.
“We’re just extremely thankful for it. It gives us the opportunity to come together as a work community online,” Chism said. “I’ve checked in with quite a few employees. and everybody is just keeping their head up.”
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
