Whoever said “never trust a skinny cook” didn’t consider the ones burning calories pedalling around town with crates of food.

Executive chef Ted Drewniak at the Lobstick Lodge entered Freewheel Cycle’s Biketown contest at the beginning of the summer, with the idea that the cooks in his kitchen could use a bike to transfer materials between sister Mountain Park Lodge hotels.

And so far it’s been a success. Though Drewniak was surprised to learn his was one of two contest entries submitted by a corporation, he said the Lobstick is conscious of its impact on the environment.

In his entry essay, he wrote: “The Lobstick Lodge is going more green every year as we continue to institute ways to become more environmentally friendly and help preserve our precious natural park.”

Now, staffers haul the bike out the kitchen door and down the back steps when they’ve got a quick errand to run. They document when and why they use the bike, and at the end of the bicycling season, the Lobstick will review the documentation and purchase four more bicycles to add to its fleet for next year if it’s decided the pilot went well.

Since the bikes were awarded June 7, Lobstick has used its wheels at least 40 times.

Drewniak said using the bike at work is fun for the kitchen staff. “The guys like getting out to pick up stuff,” he said. “They’re not allowed to call guest services anymore, now they have to ride.” Before this summer, the kitchen would put in a request to the hotel’s guest services vehicle to collect and deliver supplies they needed.

The project, unofficially titled Project Greenbike, was Drewniak’s idea, one he thinks fits with the company’s eco-friendly mindset. “We’re trying to go biodegradable in the coffee shop, for one,” he said. “We’re just trying to think of it in every way we can.”