Cooking At Sea, a Guidebook

Cooking at Sea, A Guidebook

By Eric Mahoney

Copyright © 2018 Eric Mahoney

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any

manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use

of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing 2018

ISBN 978-1-387-89988-3

Published by Eric Mahoney

Preface

I wrote this guidebook based on the 5 plus years I cooked on a tugboat, more years of teaching the job to others, and over 20 years of eating galley cooking.

After loaning out my tattered recipe book to several new cooks, I looked at it one day and realized I needed to type up the recipes. The recipes were faded, stained, and difficult to read.

I was talking to one of the cooks I had helped. I was mentioning that I could hand over the entire typed book of recipes to a new cook. He suggested I add my menu plan because that had really helped him.

The more I thought about it, the more information I thought should be included. I also realized it would cost less to actually have it published instead of printing off a copy for every new person wanting a job as cook.

My experience is based on cooking for a crew of 6-8 people. However, the basic ideas in this book will help someone cooking on small vessels, larger vessels, mining or logging camps, or even cooking for your family at home.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my wife Renee for all the nights she put up with me pecking the keyboard until 4am while I wrote this book, and also for all the days I frantically called her asking, How the hell do I cook this?.  She has supported every adventure I have ever embarked on, and none of it would be possible without her.

I would also like to thank all the crew members of the Samson Mariner who ate my food and put up with all my moods in the galley for just over 5 years.

Getting Started and Going Shopping

Getting Started

I have included the information on this page for anyone not already in the industry. If you are already working on a ship or boat, skip past the links to the galley familiarization.

Getting into the maritime industry

Most jobs at sea require certain credentials. I have listed the links for the appropriate agencies below. The TWIC Card (Transportation Worker Identification Credential) is required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act for workers who need access to maritime facilities and vessels. This card, once issued, is currently good for 5 years. Read the information on the website for more detailed description of the requirements. You will need this document before you can apply to the Coast Guard for your MMC (Merchant Mariner's Credential).

The MMC is the next document you will need for most vessels nowadays. Once issued, it will read something along the lines of Ordinary Seaman, Wiper, and Food Handler as your rating.

Depending on where you are going you might also need your passport.

As someone who will be handling everyone's food on board I highly recommend getting your food handlers card. It might not be a requirement depending on the job, but it will help you anyway. You should have a basic understanding of food temperature requirements, cross contamination, and other basics before working with food.

For the TWIC Card- https://www.tsa.gov/for-industry/twic

For the United States Coast Guard- https://www.uscg.mil/Mariners/ Then click on the NMC (National Maritime Center) tab.

For your U.S. passport- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html/

Food Handlers Card information for Washington State- https://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Food/FoodWorkerandIndustry/FoodWorkerCard

Food Handlers Card information for Alaska- http://dec.alaska.gov/eh/fss/FWC_home.html

Galley familiarization

Once you are in your galley (or kitchen), familiarize yourself with where things are. I once had a cook who kept serving the same thing every day for a week. When I asked him why, he said that's all there was to eat. I took him into the forepeak and showed him the 2nd freezer full of food.

Open all the drawers and cupboards. Does the galley have the equipment to do the job?

•Does the oven work? Does it have a restraint method for the top of the stove? What are its abilities and limitations? The oven/stove will be different from what you have at your house. Many of these have a heavy duty oven box that takes a long time to pre heat. I have seen some galleys where the oven was always on.

•Do the refrigerators/walk in cooler and freezer work? Can they become easily unplugged? Are they secured? Do the doors have latches so they don't open in rough weather? Do the freezers need to be defrosted?

•Do the cupboards have a latch system to keep the dishes from flying around when underway?

•Do you have pots and pans, dishes, flatware, toaster, waffle iron, deep fryer, crockpot, and electric skillet? Do you have containers for commonly used items such as flour and sugar?

•Has everything been properly cleaned and ready for you to store the groceries?  If there are leftovers from the previous cook/galley staff, get rid of anything questionable.

Take an inventory of what is in your freezers, your fridges (or walk in cooler), and your pantry. Check the expiration dates. Don't overlook your spices or assume something is in there because the spice cupboard is full. Some cooks will put what they use most towards the front. I alphabetized all my spices so I could quickly see exactly what was, and wasn't, available.

Going Shopping (or submitting a grocery order)

Once you know what you have, you should have a good idea what you'll need to buy (or order). Find out how long the voyage will be. If it's a 2 month trip, do you need to shop for 2 months or will we be able to resupply, at least produce, at some point? How many meals are you making a day? What is your budget? Are you going shopping yourself or submitting a list to an agent or a ship's chandler? What do you already have? How many people will you be feeding? Will that number ever change?

At my previous employer, the cooks would submit an order to a ship's chandler (someone who gets supplies for ships, also known as ship's stores). They simply had to fill out a pre-printed form with amounts they wanted. If there are specific things you want, make sure to write a detailed note. If possible discuss it with them. These companies might do the best they can but they are just reading off a list. Be aware if you go over budget, they will sometimes cut things off your list. This is another good reason to have a discussion with them. Let them know what you don't need. I'd rather have some ice cream cut from my list than spices I really needed.

When I was cooking my rotations were 6-8 weeks long. I had to shop for 2 week voyages. I did the shopping myself. Having a detailed list, broken down into categories, was essential. There is nothing more aggravating than forgetting a crucial item or items, and having to wait 2 weeks to get it. At the end of this section is a sample list based on the menu plan I wrote out. It may not account for everything you might need, but it’s a good start.

Once your galley is clean and organized, and you have your list written, you are ready to go shopping. Shopping for a voyage of even 2 weeks can seem overwhelming at first. Often, the boat isn't in port long and your time is limited. They might even be waiting on you. You have a lot of work ahead so don't wander around the store sipping lattes and talking on your cell phone.

My grocery order for 2 weeks took 5-8 grocery carts. It took me 2-3 hours from store entry to store departure with everything boxed up. The last cook I took to the store took nearly 8 hours. He had always just gotten on a boat and started cooking because the food was ordered when he submitted a form by email. If you know what you are going to cook, you will know what you need to buy.

In Alaska, most grocery stores in port towns have a check out aisle designated for box orders. As you fill a cart, stage it near the checkout aisle until you are ready to begin the check out process. Make sure to let the cashiers know what you are doing. Also make sure to use some method of marking your carts with the company name (sticky notes is one way). You might not be the only one doing a boat order. We once had a cook accidentally buy a cart of rotten produce because he wasn't paying attention and it got mixed up with his order.  

Here is the order I recommend you use when grocery shopping. (Remember if you don't see something ask)-

•dry goods-canned ,boxes, spices

•non-food dry goods- dish soap, medicines, cleaning supplies

•bread (and tortillas)- I like to keep this separate from the other dry goods so the bread doesn't get crushed.

•deli (When I shopped, I bought a lot of sandwich meat sliced from the deli)- I used to drop off the list of meats I wanted sliced and come back to grab them instead of wasting time waiting for it all to be cut.

•produce- fruit and vegetables

•meat- See the butcher for anything special you want done, or any cuts you don't see.

•dairy

•freeze- I would usually have the store clerk begin to ring up my order while I ran around and grabbed the frozen stuff I needed. First make sure the person or people boxing up everything have a clear understanding of what you want.

Most of these stores will box everything up for you. Some are really good about separating things by type (cans, freeze, bread). Some will even label the boxes with what it is. Don't depend on this though. Instead of standing there with your jaw hanging open, explain to the people boxing your order up exactly what you want. Don't let them overload the boxes. Label them yourself if you have to.

You load your order onto the truck and get back to the boat. Usually the crew will help you get the groceries on board. Then you have to stow them. Stow them in the reverse order you bought them. In other words, get the freeze put away first. I'm talking about already frozen stuff like ice cream and vegetables. Put the groceries away neatly so you can find everything when you need it.

While you are stowing groceries, keep an eye on the clock. You might need to stop and make a meal at some point. Expectations are different at every company. At my last company, the cook came on board and had this all done before the sail day. Some captains will allow you to make something half prepared on shopping day such as store bought pizzas for lunch. When I shopped at Safeway I was sometimes allowed to purchase pre made Chinese food from the deli.

If you get back from the store at 1500 (3pm) and dinner is at 1700 (5pm), you need to put away the freeze and make dinner. While you are making dinner, continue putting away things like milk and sour cream that need refrigerated quickly. The priorities are freeze, dairy, and meat. If you're in a hurry for dinner, do steak night on day 1; Steak, baked potato, Caesar salad, vegetable, and pudding or milkshakes. If you are really short on time, make a pasta salad instead of the baked potato.

Get to know your crew. Are there any dietary concerns or restrictions you need to be aware of (i.e. allergies, religious beliefs)? How do they like their steak? What are foods they like and don't like? Are any of them superstitious about certain foods? I have seen a captain go crazy when he saw the cook making split pea soup (storm soup). Some people don't like bananas on a boat. I had one mate that would come down and arrange all the coffee mugs a certain way so we didn't sink.

Have you been to sea before? What is the weather going to be like? If you don't know if you get seasick, you may want to take some seasick medicine before leaving the dock. There are several non-drowsy over the counter seasick medications you can purchase at most grocery stores. Cooking while the boat is rolling around is difficult enough without getting sick. I once spent 8 days on a boat without ever seeing the cook. He was too seasick to get out of bed. We cooked for ourselves and he flew home from our first port of call.

It will only take a few meals for the crew to tell whether you are making a real effort, or know that you are a lazy piece of crap. Even if you don't follow my menu plan exactly, use it as a guide to make complete meals. If you've never cooked before, it's okay. According to the author Malcolm Gladwell, it takes approximately 10,000 hours for someone to become an