Cooking by Numbers

Wellingtonian Matt Moss, 36, left New Zealand 16 years ago to play rugby in Britain, Germany and the United States winding up in Beijing working for catering company, Aramark as operations manager at the Olympic village. Moss oversees the cooking for 10,000 athletes, who consume tonnes of vegetables, seafood, dessert, and some 300 Peking ducks daily. “Asian food is always popular,” said Moss, who is now based in Baltimore. “Our local partners help educate us on special flavours needed for making authentic Chinese food.” Moss’s job is a big responsibility, and not surprisingly, food safety is Aramark’s top priority. Once it reaches the village it enters temperature-controlled zones and is prepared by an army of chefs whose every move is monitored by video. “At this point you probably could not eat safer anywhere in the world,” says Moss.