He's chef for the 'Greatest Show on Earth'

By Lauren Bull
Newhouse News Service
Sunday, June 22, 2008

Lesson learned - grandma is always right. When Michael Vaughn was just a kid, his grandmother began baking individual pies as a way to supplement her income. As the business started to take off, Vaughn was asked to help out. The future chef was less than thrilled.

"I hated every minute of it," he says, laughing.

Despite the lack of enthusiasm, his grandmother must have seen some potential.

"She said, "Oh, you never know, you might do this for a living one day,"' he recalls. "I thought that was the craziest thing I ever heard in my life. And the craziest thing was that she was right."

But one has to wonder whether his grandmother could have even predicted the kind of kitchen Vaughn would end up in. The Louisiana native, who now calls Jersey City, N.J., home, spends most of his time in the mile-long train owned by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, preparing daily menus for 350 circus performers, crew members and their visiting families.

Vaughn, however, didn't so much run away with the circus, as follow it reluctantly in 1992.

"Initially, it was only supposed to be a temporary thing. I was only supposed to help them out for one weekend in Louisiana," he said. His response to their requests for a more permanent position was fairly straightforward: "You're out of your mind."

Vaughn eventually agreed to go for a month and was sold on the idea. And though he left the circus for two years to pursue other work, he found himself, not surprisingly, bored by those jobs.

He is now the director of food and facility services, handling the daily needs of circus employees as well as the company parties and events, "whether it be a black tie event or a barbecue."

One of the main challenges Vaughn faces in designing menus for a business that is constantly in motion is finding local vendors to supply ingredients.

"You never know what you're going to run into in terms of cost," he says. Delivery can also be tricky considering that the vendors are trying to locate a train (albeit a mile-long one), where Vaughn's staff does most of the cooking.

Vaughn must also be mindful of the range of people for which he prepares menus. Performers often want salads; crew members tend to prefer meat and potatoes. On a pre-show day, the menu typically includes fare like beef, fish, two soups and three different desserts to choose from.

"I try to mix it up a lot," he says.

But despite any minor challenges, Vaughn has the kind of upbeat attitude that could only come from spending so many hours with circus folk. The schedule is tough, but he manages to see his wife and child frequently. "I have zero complaints," he says.

And perhaps one of the reasons for that is the constant variety - cooking for so many nationalities at such a wide range of events. It's not every chef that's preparing grilled cheese one day and filet mignon the next.

"We cook from one extreme to the other," Vaughn said. "If you could make it in this job for a year, you can make it in any kitchen."

Here is one of Michael Vaughn's menus:
Adventure Menu:

Entrees, all served with red skin garlic mashed potatoes and flame-roasted corn and black beans: Potato Crusted Cod Fish Filet, Fried Chicken, Meat Loaf.

Salads and sandwiches: Eggplant Parmesean Sandwich, Grilled Ham and Cheese, Grilled Turkey and Swiss, Jumbo Chicken Chef Salad.

Soups: Cream of Broccoli, Mexican Tortilla.

Desserts: Strawberry Cheesecake, Mini Chocolate Bundt Cake.