# Menu ideas anyone?



## marksleight

Hopefully we've got a few experienced galley cooks around here!

I'm after ideas for cooking when I go to sea for the first time (well, as crew anyway) later this month.

My vessel will be crewed by between 8-12 people, and we appoint a "chef of the day". Of all the aspects of life at sea, it's the cooking that concerns me the most!

That's not to say I'm a bad cook, but I've only ever catered for about four or five at most. Also, that was in my own kitchen, with a nice big workspace, a double oven, a 4-plate hob etc. The galley I will be using is nowhere near as big - it's about the size of my wardrobe!

I've been given the guidance from a couple of experienced colleagues of "don't be too adventurous". That sounds really good advice to me, and I'd already reached the same conclusion. My current workmates are full of ideas about what I should cook up, but they all think of it like cooking for a dinner party at home. They haven't seen the on-board set-up - I have!

I was thinking of starting off with Chilli Con Carne as I cook that at home quite a lot, and it is a quite straightforward job to multiply the portion size.

Does anyone see any problems with cooking that up at sea (aside from having to cater for people prefering it in different strengths) and/or have any suggestions for other meals? Deep fat fryers are out for obvious reasons. Provisions won't be a problem - we are alongside fairly regularly.

I need to think up some breakfasts and lunch meals too. My own preference would be for cereal for breakfast and a light lunch such as sandwiches, but then I'm not just catering for me.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received - I'll read them all!


----------



## Strath101

I'm no cook but tread carefully as there could be vegetarians, vegans etc lurking in your crew.


----------



## degsy

*Feeding a la Mare*



Strath101 said:


> I'm no cook but tread carefully as there could be vegetarians, vegans etc lurking in your crew.


Heat it up, put it on a plate then put it in front of em. Anyone gets picky give em a VNC. (Jester)


----------



## marksleight

Vegetarians...vegans... Good point, and that would be just my luck. I'd better have a meat-free alternative on standby just in case.

VNC? That's one acronym I haven't encountered before. Dare I ask?


----------



## kevjacko

Utilise your fridge if you have one and have cold meats and salads available when poss. You will never please all the people all the time at sea, and this gives you an added option without taking up stove space. Stick to the easy hot dishes at first, corned beef stovies, sausage casseroles, cottage pie etc. and build from there. Do not thicken stews with flour this sticks and burns to the bottom of the pot. If your stews need thickening use either corn flour or grate a potato into them as you start them to simmer. You will soon get an idea of people tastes when the plates come back empty or full. Try not to be all things to all men otherwise you'll complicate it. Do take the time to find out whether there is any food allergies on board, or particular dislikes. I sailed on A Rowbothams tanker once for a couple of weeks and an AB swore blind he'd never eaten onion in his life. He had them every day after that without realising it because they cook out when you use them in stews, soups curries etc. Speaking of curries you can actually buy the paste chinese talkeaways use for their curries (MAY SAN)and it's a piece of cake to use. So if you can get ahold of it you'll go down in legend for being able to do a 'proper ****** curry'. Season as you go is the golden rule don't leave it all to the end. No reason not to use a deep fat fryer obviously just be mindful of the weather conditions when you are. Fish and chips always sells well.

Good luck with it.


----------



## John Rogers

Mark, try the dish called schooner on the rocks. A very simple dish to prepare, just put your roast in the middle of the pan and put all your veggies around the roast ad pop it in the oven. When I say veggies I mean spuds,carrots,swedes,turnips. When I was a young lad of sixteen sailing on a three masted schooner this is the dish they served almost every day. Funny thing is the schooner ended up on the rock a few years later.

John.


----------



## degsy

*Vnc*



marksleight said:


> Vegetarians...vegans... Good point, and that would be just my luck. I'd better have a meat-free alternative on standby just in case.
> 
> VNC? That's one acronym I haven't encountered before. Dare I ask?


Voyage Not Completed send em home. (Thumb)


----------



## degsy

When I went to sea they used to have a galley stockpot on every ship I was on. I understand they are now a thing of the past. An its all powdered soups and gravies. Health & Safety again, some of the best soups and sauces I ever tasted came out of the stockpot. Alas another tradition lost


----------



## ALAN TYLER

Stay within your culinary limits, regarding seasoning you can always add but you can,t take it out once its in! Porridge is good way to start the day (keep the pot going all week). Yellow split pea soup (Pea-Wack) okay for lunch then a nice bit of fish (its all round you) to finish off the day, accompanied with a nice glass of white wine of your joice. You,ll never please everyone, if you stick to the basics you,ll be fine. Happy cooking.
Alan T. (MN Cook Rtd.)


----------



## Fieldsy

degsy said:


> When I went to sea they used to have a galley stockpot on every ship I was on. I understand they are now a thing of the past. An its all powdered soups and gravies. Health & Safety again, some of the best soups and sauces I ever tasted came out of the stockpot. Alas another tradition lost



A tradition that needed losing. The belief was always that bringing the stockpot to the boil killed all bacteria, which it pretty much did. What it didn't destroy is the endotoxins. These are what make you ill.

You can be lucky and get away with it for a long time, but when you finally fall foul of endotoxins, because the stock will have been used for many different dishes you poison everyone at once. 

Stockpots were outlawed in hotels years ago, after poisoning outbreaks where hundreds of people fell ill at once. The stockpot was invariably identified as the culprit.


----------



## Fieldsy

ALAN TYLER said:


> (keep the pot going all week)


Only slightly less risky than keeping a stock pot going all week.


----------



## Coastie

Anchovies on toast!


----------



## marksleight

Some good advice coming through, special thanks to kevjacko and Alan for all those hints and tips.

NW European waters, length 42m, beam 7m and speed of up to 26.5kts - I'm assuming a deep fat fryer is off limits unless or until I find out different!

By trade I will be a deckie, and will also have job-specific stuff to learn besides the seafaring duties. Alas I think I will be a bit too busy to be fishing on cooking day (more's the pity). Nice idea though!


----------



## ALAN TYLER

Fieldsy said:


> Only slightly less risky than keeping a stock pot going all week.


Don,t want to get into a slanging match, but a stockpot when correctly used was a great asset in the galley. By the way why is it that todays "trendy" chefs never wear hats! and constantly carry their t-towels and oven cloths in their armpits.
Alan T.


----------



## ALAN TYLER

Hi Mark,
What is this "ship" you,re going on at that speed its certainly alot quicker than anything I sailed in. Regarding the deep fryer maybe it could be put on "gimbals" like the compass, just an idea!
Happy sailing Alan.

ps. maybe you could keep the site informed of your progress.


----------



## OLD STRAWBERRY

Sorry Mark,
What about "SH*T ON A RAFT"


----------



## Peter4447

Pot Mess was a great RN favourite (if you have no vegatarians)
A few tins of stewed steak, baked beans, tinned potatoes. Put the whole lot together in one large pot and heat till done. Dish up the portions into bowls, Plenty of bread (no butter) that can be dipped into the meal and a mug of tea.
Simple, straighforward and nourishing!
Peter(Thumb)


----------



## notnila

When in doubt,give 'em plenty!!


----------



## Monket

"cereals for breakfast"

In my day breakfast would be:-

compote of fruit.
porridge
curry and rice
egg and bacon etc
flapjacks
freshly baked rolls.

And that was as a deckhand on a tanker.


----------



## marksleight

Alan: I'm going to be serving on a Customs Cutter, sister to this one: http://www.cat.com/cda/files/254975/7/Valiant patrol boat review.pdf

I believe that fat fryers aren't going to be an option, so need to plan cooking something that can be done with just a hob and/or oven. As I recall, there is a microwave too.

I'm expecting my turn at galley cooking to come during either my first patrol over Christmas, or my next in the middle of January. Sure, I'll post back what I end up cooking and - more importantly - how it was received!

Peter: Cheers for that one. Protein and complex carbs - I think I'll test that out on myself before I go down the gym next week!


----------



## LEEJ

Soup - Lamb Broth
Starter - Sweetbreads
Main Course - Roast Lamb
Dessert - Rum Bah Bah.

Rgds
LeeJ


----------



## JoK

Remember you have guys coming off watch in the AM who will not be pleased at cereal, their body is telling them it is in the middle of the day.
Same as noon, you have men getting up to go on watch. 
How is your omelet making skills?


----------



## Ray Mac

Learn how to make fresh bread, They will love bacon butties with fresh rolls[=P]


----------



## john fraser

marksleight said:


> Alan: I'm going to be serving on a Customs Cutter, sister to this one: http://www.cat.com/cda/files/254975/7/Valiant patrol boat review.pdf
> 
> I believe that fat fryers aren't going to be an option, so need to plan cooking something that can be done with just a hob and/or oven. As I recall, there is a microwave too.
> 
> I'm expecting my turn at galley cooking to come during either my first patrol over Christmas, or my next in the middle of January. Sure, I'll post back what I end up cooking and - more importantly - how it was received!
> 
> Peter: Cheers for that one. Protein and complex carbs - I think I'll test that out on myself before I go down the gym next week!


Do the crew of the cutter pay for the food or do the customs have a budget to work on.Either way you would need to plan your food around a cost figure.


----------



## marksleight

JoK: Good point, thanks. I feel a bit stupid for not picking up on that one! Omlettes - yep, that works, cheers.

Burned Toast: Bacon butties? Yes, easy enough, but the freshly baked rolls might be pushing my culinary envelope a bit too far at the moment (there's too much that can go wrong with baking). Still, I guess I can practice that at home and give it a whirl sometime down the line.

John: I'm pretty sure that we pay for our own food, but don't yet know the exact arrangements. I expect it will be a kitty in some shape or form or everyone will be wanting to do beans on toast!

Thanks to all for the tips and ideas so far.


----------



## JoK

> JoK: Good point, thanks. I feel a bit stupid for not picking up on that one! Omlettes - yep, that works, cheers.


No need to feel stupid. I have stood many 12-4 and 4-8 watches. You haven't.


----------



## Chouan

Problem with omelettes is that people like them in different ways, rather like differing styles of steak, well done to rare, and cooking them to that person's taste may not be easy.


----------



## Pat Kennedy

Hash cakes always went down well for breakfast when you had just come off watch. Just make corned beef hash using canned corned beef, diced onion and mashed potato. Form into cakes about the size of a beefburger and lightly coat with plain flour, then fry both sides until crispy. Served with fried egg and baked beans it is delicious.
I still make this about once a week fifty years after first tasting it on the Achilles.


----------



## sidsal

Delicate pea soup is a must. here's the recipe.
Take a pint of luke warm water and whip until it is a moderately thick and creamy. Take a needle and thread and one Marrowfat pea. Thread the needle and pierce the pea. Bring the creamy water to a boil and dip the pea into it for 5 seconds only, Withdraw the pea. Serve with croutons.
If a stronger soup is preferred leave the pea dangling for 10 or 15 seconds.


----------



## Gulpers

Pat Kennedy said:


> Hash cakes always went down well for breakfast when you had just come off watch. Just make corned beef hash using canned corned beef, diced onion and mashed potato. Form into cakes about the size of a beefburger and lightly coat with plain flour, then fry both sides until crispy. Served with fried egg and baked beans it is delicious.
> I still make this about once a week fifty years after first tasting it on the Achilles.


*Hash cakes* on an HM Customs Cutter - maybe won't go down too well, eh! (Hippy) 

Oh oh, you meant corned beef! Hopefully they will seize plenty of the other kind of hash on their patrols. (==D)


----------



## marksleight

Gulpers said:


> *Hash cakes* on an HM Customs Cutter - maybe won't go down too well, eh! (Hippy)


LOL... Yeah, and washed down with some Coke too maybe?


----------



## Huytonbrian

Corned beef hash topped with a fried egg, easy to do and very tasty.


----------



## spongebob

Sidsal, there is one better than the delicate pea soup and that is passover chicken broth. Just pass the chicken over the boiling water then put it back in the fridge.

Bob


----------



## Chief Engineer's Daughter

Work on the KISS principal. Keep It Simple Stupid! (Not referring to you!)

I have cooked in a very small galley on board a sailing ship for a bunch of hungry teenagers. They ate everything served up to them so it couldn't have been too bad! One suprise favourite was boiled beef with carrots, cabbage and mashed potatoes. Soup is good for lunch with sandwiches. If you get the chance, do some baking, that'll impress. Roasts are a winner. You can bung them in the oven and walk away.


----------



## marksleight

Chief Engineer's Daughter: I agree with your outlook. I won't be cooking up anything that is going to push my culinary performance envelope until I have tried it out at home first!

I got a call the other day and was told that I am cooking on Boxing Day (OMG that's only 6 days away...), and "it shouldn't be too hard as it'll just be leftovers". I think I am being treated kindly for this trip: being allowed to get off with turkey sandwiches or something along those lines.

But I'd like to have a hot meal lined up for Boxing Day evening just to be on the safe side, and am thinking of something with rice or noodles, such as a Thai curry or stir fry. Both are meals I am comfortable with and can be adapted for any vegetarians there may be on board.

Anyone see any potential pitfalls with either option? I'm keen to avoid using the oven first time round as it's apparently slow to heat up, and I have enough to worry about catering for nine without flapping over that!


----------



## sidsal

Bob Jenkins.
Your delicate chicken broth is not unknown to me but I was told that the chicken needed to be a live one. The method was to erect a walkway with some timber battens over the galley stove and have a strong cargo lamp above it. You put some string around the chicken's leg and walked it over the boiling water on the stove so that its shadow fell on the water. If this broth wasn't strong enough you walked the chicken back the other way so that its shadow again fell on the water.
(No charge for this recipe !)


----------



## sidsal

When I was in Brocklebank's MAIHAR in ww2 there was no fridge - only an ice box. The food was pretty awful particularly in hot weather. There was always boiled pudding on the dinner menu - all in individual pots. Each day it had a different name - College Pudding, Cabinet pudding, Black-cap pudding, etc. Rumour had it that the cook climbed the funnel ladder and threw a handful of currants through the galley skylight and depending on how high he went - so the pud was named. For instance if he only climbed a rung or 2, most of the currants would hit their targhet and it would be black-cap pud.
All very technical !


----------



## Andy Lavies

Do breakfast cereals in modern ships still harbour the same livestock that we used to get in Bank Line? Amazing how those weevils could swim when you poured on the diluted sweetened condensed milk. The cockroach fried into my breakfast egg was dead, though. Good protein, all the same.
Andy


----------



## JoK

I was on 15, 16 ships and never saw a roach. Wouldn't know one if I tripped over it.


----------



## sidsal

JoK. You are lucky no to have come across cockroaches ! Brocklebank ships were full of them - and weevils too !


----------



## notnila

Every ship I was in had cockroaches.When squirted with the dreaded"IMSHI"on a certain Baron Boat ,they would turn on you and fight back!


----------



## Ron Stringer

JoK said:


> I was on 15, 16 ships and never saw a roach. Wouldn't know one if I tripped over it.


Should have gone to 'Specsavers'.(Jester)


----------



## ALAN TYLER

Hi Mark, So the big day is fast approaching. The stir fry sounds good to me, quick and easy, don,t forget though regarding the seasoning, you can add but you can,t take out!! As for the suggested roast, okay you can walk away, but not for too long unless you want dried up meat. Anyway hope all goes well for you.
Happy Festive Season Alan.

PS, is it a "dry" ship/boat


----------



## Chief Engineer's Daughter

JoK said:


> I was on 15, 16 ships and never saw a roach. Wouldn't know one if I tripped over it.


Lucky you! Once had some sort of long legged bird in the galley which lived on the cockroaches!



ALAN TYLER said:


> As for the suggested roast, okay you can walk away, but not for too long unless you want dried up meat.


True, but an occassional baste makes all the difference.



marksleight said:


> But I'd like to have a hot meal lined up for Boxing Day evening just to be on the safe side, and am thinking of something with rice or noodles, such as a Thai curry or stir fry.



I like Thai currys but some members of the crew might find one a tad too hot for them. Keep that until you are sure of everyones taste. Stir fry sounds good.

I visited the Seeker once when she was in Lerwick. There wasn't a great deal of room to cook in and, if memory serves me correctly, the way into the accomodation was through the galley.

Good Luck!


----------



## tunatownshipwreck

Who doesn't like pizza?


----------



## marksleight

Hi all. I got back from my first patrol yesterday afternoon. I've had so much to do that it only felt like I was away a couple of days!

My Chief Engineer is a star. He's been at sea since he was 17 and took me under his wing for Boxing Day lunch and dinner. Talking to everyone on board, it seems that it is quite common to be apprehensive about your first Chef Day, and it takes a few goes before you are comfortable with whole thing.

It's about 18 months since I last set foot on a Cutter, and in my mind's eye the galley had shrunk; in reality it is quite a bit larger than my wardrobe (Thumb) there's ample preparation room as long as you keep on top of the washing-up.

Lunch was cheese and ham loaded potato skins which went down a storm. I will try that one at home as a treat for the wife who pays a fortune for them at Sainsbury's. The evening meal was about a hectare of bubble and squeak, with a plate of turkey and ham slices, another couple of plates of nibbles (jalapeno's etc) that were ready-to-cook and another dish of the leftover stuffing. Everybody was still stuffed from Christmas dinner and not a lot got eaten. I was told by several people that I mustn't take that as a reflection of my cooking!

I've attached an action shot of my potato skins in the making (Eat)...

I'm going "solo" on January 19th during my next patrol. We don't work the 24 hour watch system JoK referred to, so aside from operational issues, lunch and dinner should be the same time for all. My next lunch will be penne pasta with an as yet undecided sauce, whilst the dinner will be chilli-con-carne, but as mild as I can make it. The number of people saying "it could do with being hotter" will guide me for future. In February I will probably go for an omlette lunch and a Thai Red Chicken Curry, again opting for the mild side of mild.

Unlike Boxing Day when we were alongside, I will probably be cooking whilst at sea next time. And as we are moving to the Scottish patrol area just in time for my next Chef Day, the weather should add a challenging dimension!

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions to date. Keep them coming as until the ingredients have been purchased my meal plans can be changed!

Alan: We are on 30 minutes notice for sea when alongside and the drink/drive rules apply throughout the duration of the patrol. I'm told that in days gone by the crews had a reputation of being hard drinkers but these days a more professional image is maintained!

Chief Engineer's Daughter: If you're coming from the aft deck then yes, you'd go through the galley. If you're anywhere else, then the galley is out of the way. We're considerate types so if someone is working in the galley then we'd use one of the doors on either side and leave the Chef uninterrupted. I'm hoping we'll visit Lerwick whilst I'm on Seeker (from mid-January to probably at least September); as I recall there is a rather good Chinese restaurant at the North end of the Esplanade. If you see Seeker over the next few months then there's a 50/50 chance I'll be on board.


----------



## rabaul

I always enjoyed the sandwiches that were left for me in a tupperware box to help me through the 8-12 watch. Cornbeef , cheese or salad were fine but my favourite was ' puppy sick' sandwiches - Heinz sandwich spread . Can still be found in the best of super markets. Try it you will not be disappointed.


----------



## degsy

*puppy sick butties an plazzy boxes*



rabaul said:


> I always enjoyed the sandwiches that were left for me in a tupperware box to help me through the 8-12 watch. Cornbeef , cheese or salad were fine but my favourite was ' puppy sick' sandwiches - Heinz sandwich spread . Can still be found in the best of super markets. Try it you will not be disappointed.


God that opened the memory box I remember a 4th Eng telling me never leave em in the box throw em over the wall if you dont eat them. And 'puppy sick' was my favourite as well . (Thumb)


----------



## Chief Engineer's Daughter

Excellent action packed photo Mark. Do you no wear a pinnie to keep your uniform clean? (Gleam)
The Chinese you are thinking of is the Great Wall or The Muckle **** as it's known locally.


----------



## marksleight

I decided to trust to luck and the fact I had spare kit available in the event of accidents...

Anyways, that picture was MMS'd to the wife and if she'd seen me wearing a pinnie then I would never hear the end of it!


----------



## spongebob

It never ceases to amaze me how other posts on this site constantly provoke memories of times and incidents long tucked away in the back of the mind and Rabaul’s post no 47 about the Tupperware box of sandwiches reminds me of the meals left out for the 12 to 4 night watch.
I was a fridge engineer on the Rangitane and the arrangement was for a meal to be left in the engineer’s pantry fridge for each night watch keeper. This consisted of a couple of rashers of bacon, two eggs and two thick slices of bread for toasting all laid out on a dinner plate and the routine was for the greaser to go up to the pantry to collect it and take it into the main galley to cook it for me around 2 am.
My watch keeping mate was a young Londoner, a Tony Curtis look a-like and suave with it, a nice lad but he was no cook and I was always complaining about hard fried eggs, cindered bacon or burnt toast.
A day or two after we left Panama for Wellington he went up stairs to cook the breakfast but instead of being missing for half an hour almost an hour had elapsed before he came back to surprise me with a meal cooked to perfection. I asked him who cooked it and he insisted that he had and claimed that he had decided to try a little harder. This went on for a week, great meals and piping hot until one morning he arrived back after more than an hour with a plateful of twisted and charred remains of what was once good food. I challenged him to come clean otherwise I would go up and cook my own breakfast from then on and finally he admitted to the fact that the second Baker, a mate of his, who was on deck at that hour baking the bread rolls for the passenger breakfasts, was cooking my bacon and eggs while the greaser was having a rendezvous with a young female passenger in a secluded spot just aft of the funnel but on the night in question when the food reverted to normal the baker had been too busy so the greaser had had to do a hurried char up himself.
He told me that he had made eyes at the lady during the Atlantic leg while bronzing himself on the fore deck and after an exchange of notes via a steward messenger he arranged to meet her ashore during the scheduled overnight stop at Balboa. It turned out to be a week or more in that port after we had collided with another ship in the Miraflores lakes and passion had been allowed to develop. 
My breakfast cooking provided the perfect foil for his trysts while his baker mate helped him out by keeping me happily fed.
I had to read the riot act to him, curbed my envy and all that, and I allowed him one more night of ecstasy and indiscretion to tell the lady that she would have to wait until we arrived in Wellington for more amour which was only a week away. 
This recall sees the envy creeping back even today.

Bob


----------



## chuckrose

In regards to your menu it will depend on what your daily feeding rate is. Also the length of trips and of course the crew.


----------



## Anchorman

Plenty of cash in HMC . Get them to buy a bread maker, guaranteed to get you some brownie points dishing up fresh bread everyday, and so simple.
Neil


----------



## ALAN TYLER

Hi Mark,* Well* done,* it* sounds* (and* looks)* as* if* every* thing* went* to* plan. As* time* goes* by* you,ll* soon* find* out* which* dishes* are* favourites* among* the* crew.* Maybe* you* could* start* a* chef* of* the* year* award!!* ******************** All* the* best* for* 2009* and* keep* rattling those pots & pans!!


----------



## ALAN TYLER

Mark, Don,t know what with all the ****?


----------



## marksleight

Thanks Alan. Chef of the Year would pile a bit too much pressure on I think - I'll be happy enough with my dinner ending up in the crew rather than the bin!

Anchorman: I wish. They didn't even give me any gloves for working outside on deck!


----------



## OllieUK

How long a voyage will you be undertaking, and will the crew remain the same throughout? are you on a budget?


Breakfast is usualy standard:
Porrige, Cereals, Toast, Preserves
Egg, Bacon, Sausage, Beans, Fried Bread, etc to stop monotony setting in change a few items per week for mushrooms, black pudding, french toast, tomatoes, scrambled egg.
* * * * * 
Light Lunch:
Sandwiches, Bagettes, Sausage Rolls, Scotch Eggs, Pork Pies, Quiche, Omellets, salads, 
For example, a sandwich and crips, pork pie pickle tomatoes, quiche and salad etc
* * * * * 

Evening Main Meal

Curries, Chillies, Goulash, Stews, Minced Beef and mash & vegetables, Sausgae Mash and peas, fahjitas, Wraps, Stir fries, Pizza, 

Think about how and what vegetables will be achievable to cook and serve up so they get eaten, not thrown away ( Thats a waste of time and money ) 

* * * * * 

Do you have to provide a pudding? 

Breakfast usualy works out quite high on the budget bacon especially is expensive.


----------



## stevie burgess

I don't want to be a kill joy but i think you guys should go on a proper cooks course for to be cooking for the crew.Don't dish out rubbish as the crew will retaliate.But of course keep things simple...basic meals go a long way,don't try anything too fancy!!


----------



## Cornelia

I just know on one ship "Jonni Ritscher" - the cook was a philippine ex. computer programmer. The meal was usually: Rice with chicken, potatos with chicken, noodle-soup, beef with rice or potatoes and a few vegetables. For breakfast it was bread and eggs in various forms. There must have been plenty of onions onboard, as they came with almost everything we hate, I would not have been too surprised to find an onion-ring on the icecream we got once per week. 
You could as well get makarels - but only if the crew was successful to catch any, which was not always the case  
The chicken was though a good option as there have been muslims onboard too. 
I think, the cook will never be a chef on the "QM2" but the food was better than what some of you folks suggested, probably that is because I am not too fond of the English style of cooking [=P]


----------



## marksleight

OllieUK: 2 week patrols; no need to worry about breakfast - just lunch and dinner, which more often than not will be at the 'usual' time. We have a "chef of the day" which changes each day. There will be one, and sometimes two days on a patrol when I am going to be doing the cooking.

Stevie Burgess: Fair point, but with a 2 week on 2 week off rota, that could be a waste of money as I'll hardly be around to go. When I'm home I spend most of the time in the gym, and that's largely the reason why my culinary skills are comparatively poor; I tend to be pushed for time, and so things like pasta sauce comes straight out of a jar rather than being cooked up from raw ingredients, as is the way things are done aboard.

As it happens, I have just done my second chef day and this was largely a solo effort. My penne pasta and sauce was pretty OK and - I think - well received, but the chilli con carne was at risk at one point due to an absence of tomato pureé. That was rectified by a quick provisioning trip, which wouldn't have been an option were we not alongside.

I have been on board long enough now to see how others cope, and have resolved to pick myself up a decent cookbook and try some of that at home before my next patrol. I think that my confidence will improve the more I cook. I may even end up enjoying the experience; chef day is considered to be a day off. Most of the crew are helpful and will check up on things as the day goes on and chip-in with advice. None of us are recruited as cooks, and they remember being in my place once.

Thanks for all the tips and advice you've given me - and please continue discussing maritime fare amongst yourselves!


----------



## stevie burgess

Hi Marksleight,Glad you got yourself a cook book and trying to make an effort...didn't realise you were on that sort of rota whichever lot you are with...maybe i was a bit too blunt but i have been used to cooks deepsea that have gone through their tickets. Coincedentally i was called to join in drydock last month as Bosun and ended up cooking in the galley as the relief cook never got there(was for one week)it was only a skeleton crew aboard but they loved my grub....jack of all trades!! ha ha....quite enjoyed it i must admit for a change. Mind you i had to phone the wife to recap on how to make cream of chicken and mushroom soup...the boys loved it.


----------



## ALAN TYLER

Hi Mark, Several months have gone by now, just wondering how you,re getting on regarding your cooking skills. Hopefully the info the site gave helped you. Regards Alan.


----------



## BarnacleGrim

You can say a lot about vegetarians, but they certainly don't deserve to eat those awful frozen briquettes they call veggieburgers every single day, as some cooks will have it.

There's a lot of really good Indian vegetarian dishes, just make some meat or fish on the side and everyone will be happy.

Dishes that respond well to microwaving will please the 12-4 and 4-8 watches. A good soup or a stew within reach. Comfort food.


----------



## jerome morris

When I was on tankers with Mobil Oil, they always had a meat dish at every meal.
Breakfast steaks, ground meat burgers, roast.
This kept everyone happy.


----------



## Thats another Story

make a few pans of scouse if any left next day put leftovers in pastry. it with put hairs on your chest and muscles in your s..te(Hippy)(Jester)


----------



## John Dryden

Never heard that one before John(muscles),made me laugh!


----------



## chris8527

Cornelia said:


> I just know on one ship "Jonni Ritscher" - the cook was a philippine ex. computer programmer. The meal was usually: Rice with chicken, potatos with chicken, noodle-soup, beef with rice or potatoes and a few vegetables. For breakfast it was bread and eggs in various forms. There must have been plenty of onions onboard, as they came with almost everything we hate, I would not have been too surprised to find an onion-ring on the icecream we got once per week.
> You could as well get makarels - but only if the crew was successful to catch any, which was not always the case
> The chicken was though a good option as there have been muslims onboard too.
> I think, the cook will never be a chef on the "QM2" but the food was better than what some of you folks suggested, probably that is because I am not too fond of the English style of cooking [=P]


I couldn't resist this one....what exactly is the "English style of cooking?" Are we talking about over cooked meat, soggy veggies and a total absence of spices and taste?? Sorry, fellow Brits.


----------



## Thats another Story

for the last few years i have never trusted a curry meal i heard of a robbery in a local restaurants and the robbers actually rang the police to tell them to look in the fridge locker they had alsatian dogs hanging in there so curry is a nono when i take the wife out for a meal{i wondered why i had a thing for pi..ing on lampposts}(Hippy)


----------



## Cisco

When I was a young fellow it was common knowledge that every Chinee restaurant had their fridges full of cats and you never ever touched the dim sims...........

Vegans etc? Boiled spuds.... a complete meal.. full of good stuff.. as long as not boiled too long.... I had one( a vegan .. not a boiled spud) in my small crew a while back who would query what sort of oil had been used in the making of the ( shop bought ) biscuits but would pig out on Pringles in port.....

Another crew member gave me a copy of "Lobscouse and Spotted Dog' a while back... must have thought it would help me lift my game in the galley... it has the traditional recipes for all the meals mentioned in the Patrick O'Brien novels....

Includes such delights as 'Dried peas with lumps of pork', 'spotted dog', and 'drowned baby'.

I reckon tripe is good seagoing tucker... in white sauce...easy down... easy up...


----------



## Thats another Story

I'm not kidding lads the restaurant was closed down and the owners prosecuted it was in Waterloo near were i live in Liverpool .john


----------



## dom

*dom*

if cooked right cat is as good as rabbit or chicken


----------



## BarnacleGrim

Whoah! Just saw that I'm in fact the culprit who brought up this old thread. I don't know how it happened. Hope it's not too much frowned upon.


----------



## hen llongwr

JOHN PRUDEN said:


> for the last few years i have never trusted a curry meal i heard of a robbery in a local restaurants and the robbers actually rang the police to tell them to look in the fridge locker they had alsatian dogs hanging in there so curry is a nono when i take the wife out for a meal{i wondered why i had a thing for pi..ing on lampposts}(Hippy)


(Cloud)
Thanks John, I'm up in liverpool, this weekend,to see my Bro,
now the chikys off the menu.(Cloud)


----------



## Cisco

Why just alsations? Maybe its like the Japanese thing about black cattle ( angus etc) producing more tender meat than reds like herefords.....

Not that I'm against the eating of alsations.... one bit me on the *rse in BA a year ago ... pity there aren't more chinamen here....


----------



## Thats another Story

Cisco said:


> Why just alsations? Maybe its like the Japanese thing about black cattle ( angus etc) producing more tender meat than reds like herefords.....
> 
> Not that I'm against the eating of alsations.... one bit me on the *rse in BA a year ago ... pity there aren't more chinamen here....


must just be a size thing cisco? you wouldn't get many meals out of a jack Russell(Jester)the Labrador retriever i have got now would keep them going for months. half dog half mattress all nine stone of him(Hippy)


----------



## alan ward

JOHN PRUDEN said:


> make a few pans of scouse if any left next day put leftovers in pastry. it with put hairs on your chest and muscles in your s..te(Hippy)(Jester)


What`s that you`re eating?salad,that`ll put a gloss on yer s***e


----------



## jamesgpobog

Is creamed chipped beef unknown in the non-American maritime world?

Despite the slang name (sh*t on a shingle), these have actually been great favorites in the USN and were great favorites of mine.

S.O.S (see above slang) is the white cream sauce dish, while 'minced beef' is a tomato based dish. The seasonings are very different, but we referred to them both as S.O.S., just defined by color..." Hey Dengler, there's red sos for chow..."


http://www.seabeecook.com/cookery/cooking/cooking_sos.htm

http://www.seabeecook.com/cookery/recipes/sos_recipes.htm


----------



## Varley

James...

If you were sail deepsea you would meet it rough enough sometimes to make you sick without help from the galley! David V


----------



## Split

JoK said:


> I was on 15, 16 ships and never saw a roach. Wouldn't know one if I tripped over it.


When I was an apprentice I used to work a watch with the sailors and, during the night, used to make the tea for the new watch. On the tables, in the sailor's mess, they used to leave the cans of condensed milk out for the night watches. These cans had two holes punched in the top. I never failed to catch sight of the **** end of a cockroach sticking out of the holes as it got stuck into the milk.

Once, I caught the deckboy catching them by tilting the can and trapping them inside.

Anyone for a good cuppa char in the sailor's mess?


----------



## Split

degsy said:


> God that opened the memory box I remember a 4th Eng telling me never leave em in the box throw em over the wall if you dont eat them. And 'puppy sick' was my favourite as well . (Thumb)


The Chief Steward used to consider night sandwiches as perks and resented apprentices having them.. He used to mix fishpaste and margerine together, warm it to a semiliquid and spread it on one side of the sandwiches with the edge of the knife.

A sailor said to me "Cor,Ginger, they arn't 'arf posh, ain't they? Orl cut corner to corner with the bleedin' crust cut orf. Wot's that pink line in the middle?


----------



## Split

chris8527 said:


> I couldn't resist this one....what exactly is the "English style of cooking?" Are we talking about over cooked meat, soggy veggies and a total absence of spices and taste?? Sorry, fellow Brits.


Don't forget the special treat, Sunday duff.


----------



## jamesgpobog

Varley said:


> James...
> 
> If you were sail deepsea you would meet it rough enough sometimes to make you sick without help from the galley! David V


I was fortunate to sail on a large, deep draft ship. She rode very very well, almost as good as a aircraft carrier. I've been through a couple big typhoons on her and never got sick.

On the other hand, in Reserve service afterward, I served on 2 older minesweepers. Both were wooden vessels and bobbed like corks, the small one, 368 tons, 144 feet long. She's the only one ever made me sick...


----------



## cueball44

Tripe&onions with pigs trotters for starters. Who thought that one up, it's enough to make you throw your bowels up just sitting in front of it let alone eating it.:sweat:


----------



## septiclecky

sidsal said:


> Delicate pea soup is a must. here's the recipe.
> Take a pint of luke warm water and whip until it is a moderately thick and creamy. Take a needle and thread and one Marrowfat pea. Thread the needle and pierce the pea. Bring the creamy water to a boil and dip the pea into it for 5 seconds only, Withdraw the pea. Serve with croutons.
> If a stronger soup is preferred leave the pea dangling for 10 or 15 seconds.


You sound like the type of tight fisted sod that would use the same tea bag 10-15 times before chucking it


----------



## tom roberts

A good pan of scouse always tastes better when a day older,but a good bacon sarnie especialy one of Stan Waters on the Liverpool dock road when staggering back to the shipis as I have posted before bloody heaven,thak God I am not Jewish.


----------



## tom roberts

Oh another way to cook broad beans, when they are boiled drain and add knob of butter a drop of sesame oil and a dollop of english mustard stir and serve.


----------



## Derek Roger

Going back to the original question ; I would suggest .
Breakfast ; Cereal ; Oatmeal ; Ham ( not bacon ; too messy to clean up after ) and eggs any way ( boiled is the easy way ) Fruit juice ; toast ;jam coffee .
Lunch ; Soup ( home made use a pressure cooker ; no spillage ) 
Cold cuts ; salad ;cheese ; bread rolls ;oatcakes biscuits . Tea
Dinner . Use a pressure cooker or slow cooker as you indicate you have little space .
Stew ; Scotch Mince ; Chilli ; Pot Roast ; Shepherds Pie ; Spagetti .
Either boiled spuds or rice as the main veg with carrots or greens .

Serve with a bottle of claret and nips to follow ( nobody will complain ) except the cook who then has to clean up !
When I am on my boat and we have cooked meals I use soup bowls ( Deep ) to serve whatever . Eveybody has to wash their own plate and cutlery.
Biggest problem on a small vessel is not so much the cooking but the clean up after .

Having written this I now realise the post is quite old ; so you have either learned or given up .


----------



## cueball44

Dung Tea & Urine Eggs in China, they say it's good for you.:sweat:


----------



## vicday

I spent 7 years in the galley and I always did my menus a month in advance, when I was in a galley that didn't have a deep fryer I would still crumb or batter fish fillets and shallow fry them simply cook on one side and then turn them over, serve with mash potato and peas. Mince is a great all rounder if on a budget, Chilli con carne, spaghettii bolognaise, lasagna, meatloaf, burgers, beef kromeskis, just seaon mince and shape like a sausage and crumb then shallow fry. chicken, just quarter it flour it with a seasoned flour and fry it slowly, or crumb it first, you can just about curry any meat and serve on rice, when i was on a ship full of geordies I made oven bottom bread and pease pudding for them as well as steamed onion pudding, to go with the roast beef, bread is one of the easiest foods to make, it only consists of flour yeast, salt and water at its most basic level, make a dough prove it that is let it double it's size, knock it back and prove again 'til its double its size then shape it or place in bread tins allow to rise again and put it in a hot oven, you'll soon get the hang of it, I know as I have been teaching baking for about the last 30 years or so.
remember most times if it tastes good to you then it will taste good to others, generally speaking.
Good luck 
Vic.


----------



## morky1

Don't know if this story is b/s or not, but there was a cook on the STA Winston Churchill who always put kippers on for bfst first morning at sea, reckoned no-one ate for a day or so and kept his rate down.


----------



## haswellian

*menu for the day*

On a small vessel curries stews anything that can be cooked in a pot only half full to avoid spillage never make chips in rough weather.(Scribe)


----------



## slick

All,
As someone told me, "Many a Chief Steward's reputation was saved by putting Treacle Duff twice in the last week before Pay-Off after a nine month trip in a Hain's very much Parish rigged......
Yours aye,
slick.


----------



## seaman38

As #1 was in 2008, I reckon any further advice is superfluous, as the voyage would have finished by now, of course he could be on one of Ropner's!(Whaaa)


----------



## Debra T. Melton

Curry rice or Chinese food, and the reason I say that is because I've been trying these things lately, although it might be hard to accept in the early days.


----------

