Meet Madden Surbaugh, new OISD Food Service Director

— from Orcas Island School District —

Do you have pets?

I have a six-year-old 70 lb. lab/shepherd mix named Zoe.

Any favorite hobbies or interests outside of work?

Food is my biggest interest – eating, cooking, learning.

What kind of music do you like?

I like most music. I grew up in the 80s & 90s, so grunge
and 80s new wave are some of my favorites.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to own a restaurant.

What lessons has your work life taught you?

Be flexible and don’t make assumptions. Things will happen, so just be prepared to pivot and move on.

If you could do anything now, what would you do?

I would love to take a year off to travel with my family through South America to show my daughter a less materialistic way of life and open her eyes to other cultures.

Do you have any favorite stories from your work life?

One night, members of a visiting soccer team from Italy came into my restaurant in Friday Harbor. They did not speak English, but had a person to translate for them. After their dinner, the translator came over to the open kitchen and explained to me that the team wanted to serenade the kitchen because they had been traveling through America for the past eight weeks and this meal was the first that they had eaten that reminded them of food from home; it had made them so happy, they wanted to sing. We turned off the music in the restaurant, and the group of Italian men sang to the entire restaurant. I had no idea what they were saying, but it was a truly moving experience to feel their appreciation at that level.

Do you have any favorite stories from school?

I began cooking at age five, and knew I wanted to open my own restaurant by age 10. In the 6th grade, I took Home Economics and had an instructor that was a bit old fashioned and didn’t think boys could cook. We had a project to make something to eat at home and bring it in. I made a cheesecake to bring in. The teacher accused me of lying when I said I had made it all by myself and sent me to the principal’s office and called my parents. The principal had actually previously been my elementary school principal and knew that although I was definitely a troublemaker, I was also a competent cook and baker and he had tried my baked goods in the past. I aced the class.

Did you ever see yourself living on an island?

I began living on islands in 1997 when I moved to Key West, and have lived on multiple islands throughout my career including Nantucket, Bermuda and San Juan. I love island life and have a hard time imagining living on the mainland now.

What do you like the most about living on Orcas?

The most is the community and lifestyle we have here. We may not all get along but we are ultimately very supportive of each other. We make a lot of sacrifices to live here but the lifestyle makes it worth it for me. When I describe it to people I bring up the fact that in one of the places I lived for five years I did not ever have a house key and that not only is hitchhiking legal here, but that we promote it with hitchhiking stations.

Was there a teacher or teachers who had a particularly strong influence on your life?

I had an instructor named Chef Dana at the New Market Skill Center culinary program I attended in high school (after being expelled and labeled as a “Lost Cause” kid). He recognized my skill and passion for food and realized that keeping me cooped up in a classroom (even a culinary classroom) would be more detrimental than positive. After a month of working with him, he contacted a local bakery and set me up with a full time job as a baker’s second. My boss reported back to him on my progress and I had to occasionally appear to test my skills; but, for the most part, I was free to pursue my passion and received the high school credit I needed to graduate on time, with my classmates. I am certain that had he not stepped in and stood up for me that my life would have taken a different path. I thrived in kitchens and that work brought out the best in me. It set me up for the career and life that I have now.