Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) is known for many things, including, old farm equipment, horse-drawn wagon rides, old-fashioned candy and thousands of artefacts which tell the story of the first Mennonites who settled in southern Manitoba. But for many people, when they come to MHV, they come for the food at the restaurant. I thought it would be nice to know a bit more about our Food Service Coordinator, Geri Dyck, and the work of the restaurant, so I asked her to tell us about her experiences over the summer. Here is her response.
“Hi there, my name is Geri Dyck, and I am the Food Service Coordinator at the Livery Barn Restaurant which is located on the MHV grounds.
This is my 3rd season here. My job consists of running the restaurant with our dedicated staff (which I wouldn’t be able to do well without their hard work), managing catering which we offer for weddings here on the grounds. This year we have started catering for more company picnics, meetings and family get-togethers. We hope to continue to grow this area of food service in the future.
Our goal is to provide our customers with the traditional meal of Perogies, Farmer Sausage, homemade Cabbage Borsht, Keilke, and Rhubarb Platz made from rhubarb that is grown here in our gardens and packaged by our wonderful Auxiliary ladies. We also bake and serve homemade brown bread which is made from the flour that is milled in the Windmill. A highlight of the week for many visitors is our delicious Sunday Buffet.
I enjoy being here and working with a great group of volunteers (at the big events) and wonderful staff that are necessary to make this place work so well.
I also enjoy all the different people and cultures that come to visit the museum and have stories to share about certain buildings on the grounds or of a time when they worked at MHV in the past.
When I first started here, I was surprised at how many visitors we had and yet was also surprised at how many local people didn’t know that we have a restaurant on the grounds. It’s been rewarding to see many guests return numerous times during the summer once they know the Livery Barn Restaurant is open 7 days a week.
Being here I had to learn to speak German again since many of my kitchen staff didn’t speak English very well. I have also enjoyed seeing the joy and relief on customers faces when they find out we have staff that can speak Low German, High German and Russian with them. It seems to make their experience even better and they are very thankful for a conversation in their home language.
In a few more weeks, the Livery Barn Restaurant, along with some weddings and Sunday buffets will be coming to an end again (September 30th is the last day open), but the museum itself will still be open for gallery visits, walking around the pond, and activities such as skating and snowshoeing throughout the winter.
So don’t miss out now! We hope to see you again this September.”
Thank you, Geri, for preparing great food that enhances the experience of every visit to the museum.
