‘Grateful to help’: Flin Flon Chicken Chef owners feeding front-line workers in evacuated city

A Chicken Chef restaurant in Flin Flon has been helping firefighters and people keeping infrastructure running in the city fed.

The owners of Chicken Chef in Flin Flon, Man. have gone from serving up fried chicken and pizza to feeding hundreds of essential workers and first responders who have stayed behind in the evacuated city.

Dawn and Dan Hlady have owned and operated the restaurant for 20 years.

After a fire in neighbouring Creighton, Sask. broke out late last month, the city was evacuated.

Dan, who is a Creighton town councillor, stayed behind to help the municipality respond to the crisis.

Dawn initially left, but duty soon called.

“As I was sitting in my friend’s basement as the evacuee, I just felt like I needed to be here too because he was helping.”

She pitched in the only way she knew how – food.

Dawn and Dan started cooking for all those who stayed back when others were forced out – municipal and provincial front-line workers and firefighters from both provinces.

To feed the hungry heroes, the Hladys are working 14 to 16-hour days.

They’re up at 4 a.m. every morning so breakfast can be cooked in the restaurant, packed up and transported to both Flin Flon and Creighton feeding sites by 7 a.m.

They’ve had to get creative with the menu, not only because two weeks of straight Chicken Chef would make even the most die-hard fan long for a different meal.

“It’s changing every day depending on what kind of products we have,” she said.

“The fire commissioner just sent in another truck, so that was your basics of bread and pasta and potatoes and stuff.”

Dan, who is a chef, has used AI to help generate menu ideas from the limited supplies to keep things interesting for the diners.

“A person can only eat scrambled eggs and bacon or oatmeal for so long,” Dawn joked.

They’re feeding more than just humans.

Dawn said the community is running out of dog and cat food, so the city’s pets are dining on leftover chicken and rice.

“They’re getting a gourmet meal,” she joked.

While Dawn is tired, every person she feeds, be it with meatloaf or spaghetti or another round of bacon and eggs, is thankful, just as she is for them.

“They’re putting in hard days as well, and we’re really grateful to help everybody get through,” she said.

“It’s not even just being a cook. It’s being a shoulder to vent on. It’s being supportive of others that aren’t around their families. It’s just sticking together and staying strong as a community.”