After 26 years as the consummate good cop Cpl. A.J. Mand is hanging up his Mountie cap for a toque blanche.
Cooking has been a hobby he has loved for many years, and the toque blanche, better known as a chef's hat, will be ready for action almost immediately after his last day on the job as a shift supervisor at the Innisfail RCMP detachment on Jan. 31.
His first post-Mountie cooking gig will be in Phoenix, Ariz. where he will be feeding seven National Football League hopefuls who are college gridiron stars wanting a shot at the big show.
ìMy nephew is an agent for CFL and NFL players and he has seven players who will be in Phoenix training for the draft,î said Mand. ìI'll be providing three meals a day for seven players, six days a week.î
Mand is modest about his cooking expertise. He laughs at the suggestion he is an ìexpertî or a ìprofessionalî cook. But he will take the label ìaccomplishedî, adding his specialty is Indian food and that he has enthusiastically catered on the side while performing his RCMP duties.
In the meantime, there is a lot to think about as he winds up his long and dedicated law enforcement career. There are many memories from many places he has served.
His career with the national police force began in Vancouver where he was first a public servant. In 1991 he successfully applied to become a regular member and he was off to Regina Depot for training. His first regular member posting was to the Red Deer Rural detachment where he served until 1994. He then transferred over to the Red Deer City detachment and was there until 2002.
From Central Alberta he was posted to the gorgeous mountain venue of Kananaskis. Mand, who fondly recalled his spectacular scenic living quarters at the edge of a gloriously beautiful golf course, served in that detachment until 2007, the year he was promoted to corporal.
The next stop was Nanton where he was in charge of the detachment. And finally in 2011 he was posted to his last stop in Innisfail.
For the last 18 months Mand has been a fixture in the community. He loves the town and its people. And of course he adores cooking but while he will never be far away from the kitchen he is not looking at the culinary arts as a second career.
ìIt is really more of a hobby,î he said.
After Phoenix, he may choose to relax for a while with his family at his lakefront house in Montana. But he is also thinking seriously of becoming a driving and skid car instructor. There is a plan to take training in March.
For now though, he already concedes he will miss being a Mountie. He will especially miss the special camaraderie that exists between members.
ìI will miss the thrill. I will miss the guys and girls I work with. The thing I will also miss is that every day there was always something different,î said Mand.
He leaves the RCMP with scores and scores of great memories, like sling training from a 100-foot rope attached to a helicopter over the breathtaking beauty of the Kananaskis, and helping citizens of each community he has served, like a group of kids with cancer at his mountain posting and helping them catch fish in a pond. It has all been a wondrous experience for this good cop but he knows it is now time to move on.
ìI am looking forward to the next adventure,î said Mand.
"I will miss the thrill. I will miss the guys and girls I work with. The thing I will also miss is that every day there was always something different."RCMP Cpl. A.J. Mand
