# Chief & Ships Cook/ Ships Cook



## ALAN TYLER

I always thought the difference between these two ranks was that the Chief & Ships cooked for the crew and Officers/Passengers where as the  Ships Cook only cooked for the crew as in passenger ships. Now looking through my discharge book I find that on one ship (Humboldt) I was Ships Cook although I cooked for Officers and crew. Can anyone help this confused old "Babbling Brook"


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## ALAN TYLER

Adding to the above it was Foreign going and not Home Trade.


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## Gulpers

Alan,

Extract from the Maritime Skills site *here* indicates that the names are synonymous.

_"*Cook (Ship's Cook, Chief Cook)*

Food planning, preparation and stock taking/provisions ordering. Beyond the basic training all seafarers have to undertake, the only catering requirement is that the cook must hold a Ship's Cook certificate." _


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## Ron Stringer

Logic would suggest that a Ship's Cook is someone that has attained the appropriate qualification and Chief Cook has that qualification but is employed as the person in charge of one or more other cooks (2nd Cook/Baker for example).

But since when was the MN ever logical? (Jester)


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## Pat Kennedy

A lot of chief cooks I sailed with liked to be known as 'the Chef'.
The one on the Nestor insisted that he was the 'Chef de Cuisine'
Whatever he liked to be called, we knew him as 'Oxtail Ollie' because of his fondness for serving us oxtail stew and his resemblance to Oliver Hardy.


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## Tony D

Cargo Ships/Tankers I was on always had a Chief Cook and a second Cook and Baker,Cooks were always called Doc.
Used to be said a Ship could sail without a Captains Ticket aboard but not without someone with a Cooks Ticket,dunno how true that was.


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## Ray Mac

Ships & Ch.Cook or just Ch.Cook same on most fgn going vessels except Pax vessel were they had Ex chef and specialist chefs.


Coasters - Offshore PSVs and Standby Cook or Cook/Steward

Specialist vessels DSVs Chef/manager


Doc years since I heard anyone called Doc\)

We were signing on in the Tyne, Xmas time 1970 sailing 24Th for North Africa
the pool informed the vessel that they had no Ch.Cooks available but they could supply a extra 2nd/Cook/Baker and one of the 2nd/Cooks could sail on my ticket as Ch.Cook.(Thumb) We sailed on 27 Th, with a Ch.Cook. alas I was not on the companies Xmas list after that(Thumb)

Ray


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## peterga

Anyone remember Mick Hennesey used to work for Union Castle line but ended up offshore on rigs in the North sea smashing bloke lived outside of Southhampton I worked with him in the mid 80s he was a Camp boss I was a steward we both worked for ARA offshore he was a great laugh somtimes you need a crazy bender to break the monotoney couldnt cook for sheet but did a gret tandori everynow and then smoked like a chimney just like most cookies great days....


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## Nick Balls

I only wish I could write better! Ships cooks, the chef de cuisine, always a story always a nickname! "Two pan Sam' 'Cyanide Sid' 'Crazy Horse'. Some of the excellent food I have seen cooked in some cases in difficult and dangerous cir***stances. Terrible cooks who by virtue of a single speciality and a wit could be the life and soul of the vessel. I have even been in the uncomfortable position of being on a small ship at sea with a genuinely insane one! Cooks who made Christmas and then nearly had a nervous breakdown with the complexity of exotic dishes. Cooks who destroyed Christmas by sheer incompetence. To all of them well done lads ! Not a job for the faint hearted.


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## dom

*dom*

anyone come across ch.cook Monty Warwick,belive he came fom Manchester


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## andy60e

Sailed with a cook onetime (on the BenLawers actually) who cooked a roast on a plastic tray. He thought it was ok because the tray said it was heat resistant......true story!


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## john fraser

andy60e said:


> Sailed with a cook onetime (on the BenLawers actually) who cooked a roast on a plastic tray. He thought it was ok because the tray said it was heat resistant......true story!


Is that the same one that tried to squeeze the corned beef out of the narrow end of the tin so that every slice would be the same size.You could write a book about him


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## Ray Mac

Pat Kennedy said:


> A lot of chief cooks I sailed with liked to be known as 'the Chef'.
> The one on the Nestor insisted that he was the 'Chef de Cuisine'
> Whatever he liked to be called, we knew him as 'Oxtail Ollie' because of his fondness for serving us oxtail stew and his resemblance to Oliver Hardy.



Nice one(Applause)(Applause)(==D)


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## andy60e

john fraser said:


> Is that the same one that tried to squeeze the corned beef out of the narrow end of the tin so that every slice would be the same size.You could write a book about him


Could very well be, John....sounds like the kind of thing this guy would do


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## ernie dixon

*monty warwick*



dom said:


> anyone come across ch.cook Monty Warwick,belive he came fom Manchester


I sailed with Monty on Esso Tankers.great cook.i was his 2nd cook and fakir.although he was from Manchester originally he lived down in 
Falmouth/Cornwall area.I will have to dig out my old discharge books to find the names and dates,it will have been around the late sixties or so and i think it was the Esso Mercia.could be wrong on both counts but will check it out later.


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## ernie dixon

*monty warwick*



ernie dixon said:


> I sailed with Monty on Esso Tankers.great cook.i was his 2nd cook and fakir.although he was from Manchester originally he lived down in
> Falmouth/Cornwall area.I will have to dig out my old discharge books to find the names and dates,it will have been around the late sixties or so and i think it was the Esso Mercia.could be wrong on both counts but will check it out later.


p/s. we also met up again at Liverpool Nautical coll.I was either doing my chief cooks or ch.stewards .this would have been around 1970 ish.What a comedian he was/is.Once again will have to dig out my books.


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## aflewk

*ships cooks tickets...........*

The cooks tickets came in three stages you had to have had at least 3years exp experience for the 1st- 2nd cook/bakers cert. 2nd- at least one year as 2ndck/bkr. ships cook cert and 3rd cheif and ships cook cert was an equivelent qualification for the catering city/guilds 706/2.
Two ships cooks tickets had to be held onboard when deep sea trading the other usually held by the catering officer, somtimes by the 2ndcook..........................


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## jg grant

Hi maybe I come from an older generation but I went from Assistant steward and got my cooks ticket ,not in stages but in a oner. Sailed out of Leith as A/steward with a cooks ticket until the opportunity came to go as second cook on Charlie Hills Toronto city. Regards Ronnie


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## Ray Mac

aflewk said:


> The cooks tickets came in three stages you had to have had at least 3years exp experience for the 1st- 2nd cook/bakers cert. 2nd- at least one year as 2ndck/bkr. ships cook cert and 3rd cheif and ships cook cert was an equivalent qualification for the catering city/guilds 706/2.
> Two ships cooks tickets had to be held onboard when deep sea trading the other usually held by the catering officer, sometimes by the 2ndcook..........................


Pre part one cooks certificate, you only had to do the Ships cooks certificate, and spend twelve months in the galley before becoming eligible to sail as Ch/ships Cook. Also you had to be over twenty one years of age. Today or for the last thirty odd years you now have part one and two of a full ships cooks certificate. If you get a higher Cooks certificate that is somewhat similar to the C&G 706/1 not 706/2.

Ray(Thumb)


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## Ray Mac

Ron Stringer said:


> Logic would suggest that a Ship's Cook is someone that has attained the appropriate qualification and Chief Cook has that qualification but is employed as the person in charge of one or more other cooks (2nd Cook/Baker for example).
> 
> But since when was the MN ever logical? (Jester)



My Lad has C & G 706 1 and 2 now sailing Executive Head Chef in charge of 48 Cooks and stores persons onboard a Cruise Liner.


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## Nick Batstone

I did my second cooks ticket at Paradise St in Liverpool in 1980 and my cheif cooks at the college of the sea in 84. Whilst there I signed up to do my 706/1 & 2 as a correspondence course and completed them three years later.

All for nothing really, because when I came ashore cooking jobs were so badly paid it wasn't worth it.


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## Nick Batstone

Sorry that should be chIEf, they only taught us to fry eggs not spell!!!


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## Ray Mac

Nick Batstone said:


> I did my second cooks ticket at Paradise St in Liverpool in 1980 and my cheif cooks at the college of the sea in 84. Whilst there I signed up to do my 706/1 & 2 as a correspondence course and completed them three years later.
> 
> All for nothing really, because when I came ashore cooking jobs were so badly paid it wasn't worth it.


Did you not try working offshore (Decent pay) or the Middle east on the camps? all gave a decent salary.


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## John Cassels

Must put in one for the Denholm's crowd.

sailed with a lot of good ch.cooks ( Doc as they liked to be called ) but one 
of the best must be Pat Croarkin - sadly deceased. Sailed with him a couple of
times on the Box boats and Forest ships - a bit unorthodox but great food.

He would have surpassed many a chef in the so called michelin restaurants.


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## Rodney

In the fifties, Union-Castle wanted passenger ship cooks to sit for the Board of Trade Ship's Cook 'ticket. They paid an extra two pounds a month to ticket holders. I passed my exam, August 1957, I was born September, 1937, therefore, I was nineteen years, eleven months old. I served as temporary Ship's Cook for ten days on the Athlone Castle when the ship's cook died...never so glad to scurry back to the passenger kitchen. I was told at the time I was the youngest seaman to have my ticket, and to have actively served as a ship's cook.

Rodney Mills, S,C. U.S.A.
Ship's Cook ticket #40151


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## muldonaich

John Cassels said:


> Must put in one for the Denholm's crowd.
> 
> sailed with a lot of good ch.cooks ( Doc as they liked to be called ) but one
> of the best must be Pat Croarkin - sadly deceased. Sailed with him a couple of
> times on the Box boats and Forest ships - a bit unorthodox but great food.
> 
> He would have surpassed many a chef in the so called michelin restaurants.


yes john he was one of the best sadly gone before his time brgds kev


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## john blythe

just had a look at my ticket; mine is a ships cooks ticket,but allways sined on as cheif cook so i dont know as well


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## gadge49

aflewk said:


> The cooks tickets came in three stages you had to have had at least 3years exp experience for the 1st- 2nd cook/bakers cert. 2nd- at least one year as 2ndck/bkr. ships cook cert and 3rd cheif and ships cook cert was an equivelent qualification for the catering city/guilds 706/2.
> Two ships cooks tickets had to be held onboard when deep sea trading the other usually held by the catering officer, somtimes by the 2ndcook..........................


I know you needed 2 people with cooks tickets. 4 of us went AWOL from the Luxor after a party in Hong Kong, the other 3 were sent home DBS whereas I (2nd cook & baker) had to fly to Singapore and wait for a week to re-join the ship. Bummer really as it was in December and I thought I would be home for Christmas.


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## trotterdotpom

gadge49 said:


> I know you needed 2 people with cooks tickets. 4 of us went AWOL from the Luxor after a party in Hong Kong, the other 3 were sent home DBS whereas I (2nd cook & baker) had to fly to Singapore and wait for a week to re-join the ship. Bummer really as it was in December and I thought I would be home for Christmas.


Yep, Chief Cook on Cape Leeuwin jumped ship in Brisbane and we were only able to sail because the Chief Steward had a Cook's ticket. Unfortunately, the one we lost was a better cook.

John T


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## ALAN TYLER

Got my 2nd Cook & Bakers ticket after 18 months at sea (1964) then my Cooks Ticket in 1968 and sailed as Chief & Ships Cook foreign going 3 weeks before my 22nd birthday, looking back I will admit to being a bit inexperienced for the job in hand. Over the years the experience came with knowledge gained and I,d like to think I was a pretty good "Doc"


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## John Briggs

An admiral visited one of the ships of the line under his command.
While eating breakfast with the crew in enlisted mess, he was impressed to see the Naval insignia stamped on every biscuit.
He went to the Chief cook to ask how this feat was done so it could be used on other ships under his command.
The Chief replied, "I’d be glad to share that with you, Admiral. After each biscuit is cut, I just slap it here against my belt buckle which bears the Navy insignia".
Horrified the Admiral exclaims, "That's very unhygienic!"
The Chief shrugs and replies, "Well, If that’s the way you feel, sir, I suggest you avoid the donuts."


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## ALAN TYLER

John Briggs said:


> An admiral visited one of the ships of the line under his command.
> While eating breakfast with the crew in enlisted mess, he was impressed to see the Naval insignia stamped on every biscuit.
> He went to the Chief cook to ask how this feat was done so it could be used on other ships under his command.
> The Chief replied, "I’d be glad to share that with you, Admiral. After each biscuit is cut, I just slap it here against my belt buckle which bears the Navy insignia".
> Horrified the Admiral exclaims, "That's very unhygienic!"
> The Chief shrugs and replies, "Well, If that’s the way you feel, sir, I suggest you avoid the donuts."


Similar to crimping the pastry round the edges of pies using your false teeth!!


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## trotterdotpom

ALAN TYLER said:


> Similar to crimping the pastry round the edges of pies using your false teeth!!


... or flattening the hamburgers in your armpit.

John T


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## ALAN TYLER

trotterdotpom said:


> ... or flattening the hamburgers in your armpit.
> 
> John T


Why are they called Hamburgers when they,re made out of beef?


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## trotterdotpom

Dunno, Alan, why are Frankfurters called Frankfurters when they're made by Heinrich?

John T


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## Alex Salmond

ALAN TYLER said:


> Similar to crimping the pastry round the edges of pies using your false teeth!!


Andy Haggerty from Paisley who was Chief Cook on the Blue Star boats used to do this very thing ,but thankfully only on the pies going up to the saloon (EEK) the crew would have hung him otherwise ...he had this manky old mug for his tea that never got washed from signing on to paying off day ,reckoned it made his tea taste better but there were things living on there that were unknown to modern science ....screams and howls from the galley one day turned out to be the Hag chasing the galleyboy around with a hot spatula whacking his **** for washing his mug for him as it "looked like it needed it " (Jester) sailed with another weegie Cook on the Baron Dunmore who had to keep a huge pot of curry going on the range 24/7 for the Somali deck crowd as this was all they ate ,his revenge was too grind up the leftover brekkie bacon and chuck it in the curry ,luckily for him they never found out


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## ALAN TYLER

Alex, regarding the washing of things I remember going absolutely barmy when my first trip galley boy washed my omelette pans. Pans I,d painstakingly got a good "skin" on so the omelettes wouldn,t stick!! This was obviously in the days before Teflon!!


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## William Clark8

*Revenge*

When I was a Stwd. if any ot the Mates or Engineers mucked
us around in the Saloon we used to put a small amount of Plate 
Powder in their food and after a few doses it would take effect
and give them "you know what" (Smoke)


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## William Clark8

*Chips*

AMAZING THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE MOANED THAT THERE WAS "NO CHIPS" FOR TEA. WHEN YOU WERE ONLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A STROM
AND YOU CAN HARDLY STAND. (Cloud) 
.


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## trotterdotpom

William Clark8 said:


> When I was a Stwd. if any ot the Mates or Engineers mucked
> us around in the Saloon we used to put a small amount of Plate
> Powder in their food and after a few doses it would take effect
> and give them "you know what" (Smoke)


That was clever. Did itstop them from mucking you around?

John T


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## alan ward

Hamburgers are so called because originally they derived from Hamburg Steaks made from the finely diced tails of whole fillets.Likewise doughnuts were called Berliners in their home country `Ich bin ein Berliner`so famously claimed by JFK means`I am a donut`


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## george johnson

i was 2cook/baker on the br character early 50s. the ch .steward one of the old school.if i was making custard.he would bring the sudar in to the galley and put it in the kit that was going to the saloon. none for the crew.those where the days.lots of similar storys to tell.


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## kauvaka

George, he probably did the crowd a favour without knowing it. Saloon with diabetes, messroom healthy today.


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## kauvaka

George, First, welcome to SN. The chief steward probably did the crowd a favour without knowing it. Saloon today have diabetes, messroom still healthy.


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## Phil Saul

William Clark8 said:


> When I was a Stwd. if any ot the Mates or Engineers mucked
> us around in the Saloon we used to put a small amount of Plate
> Powder in their food and after a few doses it would take effect
> and give them "you know what" (Smoke)


Sailed with a Glaswegian 2nd Cook in Bluies one trip and the 2nd Mate sent his steak back claiming it wasn't cooked enough.
2nd cook threw it back on the grill for a bit, then put it on the plate and wiped his 'coozer' all over it.

Thought it was a huge joke.

I refused to take it back into the saloon and told the cook if he thought it was so funny he could take it into the 2nd Mate.

When he eventually realised I was serious he cooked another steak and I served the 2nd Mate who moaned like hell that it had taken so long.

I took the bollocking but was thinking "if only you knew pal"

Regards Phil (Thumb)


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## Mick Spear

John Briggs said:


> An admiral visited one of the ships of the line under his command.
> While eating breakfast with the crew in enlisted mess, he was impressed to see the Naval insignia stamped on every biscuit.
> He went to the Chief cook to ask how this feat was done so it could be used on other ships under his command.
> The Chief replied, "I’d be glad to share that with you, Admiral. After each biscuit is cut, I just slap it here against my belt buckle which bears the Navy insignia".
> Horrified the Admiral exclaims, "That's very unhygienic!"
> The Chief shrugs and replies, "Well, If that’s the way you feel, sir, I suggest you avoid the donuts."


Brilliant! (Applause)(Applause)(Applause)


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## Union Jack

*The Chief shrugs and replies, "Well, If that’s the way you feel, sir, I suggest you avoid the donuts."*

Which inevitably reminds of something I previously posted on
http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=25488&highlight=unpopular+officer, namely that was always said in the Royal Navy that there was no bodily fluid that unpopular officers had not ingested .....!(EEK)

Jack


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## tiachapman

who called the cook a cook who called the ???t a cook sailed with some good ones sailed with some bad ones . wpie down pork chop


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## tiachapman

one knew 50 ways to cook mince and taties


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## ALAN TYLER

tiachapman said:


> who called the cook a cook who called the ???t a cook sailed with some good ones sailed with some bad ones . wpie down pork chop


 or I don,t know who **** in my shoe but I know who ate it!!!


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## kevjacko

Yep, twas hard being a ships cook, you could please some all the time, all some of the time, but never all at all times. On show 3 times a day every day, unlike any other rating on board, you were only as good as your next menu.
Never resorted to the addition of bodily fluids to the food of folk who upset me, but guilty of many a practical joke to those who did.


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## Seaspread

I was with Denholms and i was a chief Cook or Doc preferred Doc though, also one of my 2nd cooks was Stephan j serva Dei and i still keep in touch with him in capetown via Skype.


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## tiachapman

there were good ones bad ones. limited to what they had to work wit mince and dumplings were the main thing i liked hard to mess that up but some scueeded.


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## tom roberts

As I have mentioned before John Cole on the Parthia was one hell of a good cook his chicken pot pie was a meal to savour, as a deck boy on the British Supremecy early 1954 the clock wwas a Polish man who called everyone Billy he made great meals out of Port Said spuds that were like bloody golf balls along with frankfurters ,the second cook was I think called MC Cabe his bread was heaven and along with melon jam I was in seventh heaven,many say that B.P. We're bad feeders but after 9months of Indefatigable food to me any food was great ,the worst cooks always seemed to be the ones on coasters most were pi.. heads who went ashore to buy stores as then we had to pay for our own food and as I have posted before one guy went ashore with the food money and came back pi..ed with a bag of carrots and before any of you comment we had good eyesight already.Ships cooks good or bad bless them And nasty skippers never let me down I was never poisoned and always came home safe.sometimes thinner rarely fatter,and ready to do it all again,oh how I wish I could do it now.


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## cassas

*Chief and Ships Cook*

When I got my ticket in 1955 the requirements were to be aged at least 20 years of age and have a years experience in a galley they were short of cooks so they were not too strict on the experience part I had 6 months as assistant cook and claimed one of my catering boy trips was in the galley which was not true I was in the pantry. After qualifying I did 6 months as 2nd cook and baker and 6months on a single cook on a coaster before sailing as Chief and ships cook In a 3 man galley. Ron Wilson AKA cassas


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## PJG1412

My second ship after 4 months was the oil tanker Tudor Prince . We eventually ended up in NZ where the Chief Cook was sent home for medical reasons. My mate 2nd cook/baker took the Docs job and I took his, we split the old docs wages between us, my pay from £16 a month to £38. For the next 2 months on the NZ/Australia coast was hard graff peeling cooking and baking,,he was good . Midnight : finished in the pool fully clothed. We end up broken down on the barrier reef, so we made Singapore where we had 3 weeks engine repairs, my mate found the ladies more attractive than the job, so I ended up cooking breakfast on my own with a little help from C/Stwd until my mate turned up from his run ashore 10/11am. Crew were not happy ! Chief eventually HAD to get new Cook from UK. I was then back peeling ....a little easier, but good experience and a good tale to tell after all these years. I wonder if he's reading this !


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## PJG1412

Seeing letter Revenge : I know silver plate powder was used on Union Castle to move the passengers off the table for 2nd sitting, that's why I will never use first sitting on cruise ships !!


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## tiachapman

jimmy rivers from Falmouth one of the best cooks i sailed with


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## alan ward

I was so proud of my Second Cook and Bakers,prouder still of my Chief Cooks,a bit sanguine when doing Higher Grade and definately an old hand when I took Advanced.I was a bit annoyed when I saw I`d lost the certificates but as they are written in my DisA book I thought`Who cares that I could cook when I was in my 20`s?`We`ve just moved and whilst emptying a bookshelf I found them tucked away and discovered to my surprise that I cared.They`re tucked away in the back of my book again.BTW when I first came ashore for some years I kept my book,ID book,cooks tickets,passport and £500 all together in a big elastic band somewhere safe and private just in case I ever needed to get out quick.


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## ALAN TYLER

Glad to say I,ve managed to keep all my Cooks tickets along with my Head of Catering Department ( non-passenger vessels) and Ships Captains medical training ticket and Discharge books and ID Card.


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## alan ward

Regarding medical training,be grateful you had some.I`ve given out so many injections of penicillin that I`ve lost count,stitched more than enough wounds thank you,treated most minor injuries and ailments and all I ever had was a sense of confidence and some instructions from a couple of Clan Line Pursers.How we never killed anyone I`ll never know,on the Sugar Crystal of our Adenese ER crew crushed his thumb,it was too bad to stsitch so I cleaned it thoroughly,bandaged it tightly and as soon as possible sent him ashore.He hadn`t returned when I paid off and I forgot about him until a year later I boarded the Labrador Clipper in Balboa,looked in the messroom and there he was,he held his enormous thumb up in a cheery manner and gave me shout of `Hello`big sigh of relief there then


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## Engine Serang

#59
" For some years I kept my book,ID book,cooks tickets,passport and £500 all together in a big elastic band somewhere safe and private just in case I ever needed to get out quick"

What were you up to? Sounds an exciting life to me, James Bond wouldn't have had 500 big ones stashed in his passport.


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## Varley

E coli, botulism, Sam 'n Ella?


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## ALAN TYLER

Regarding the injections grapefruits were used to practice on!!


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## Varley

Took a friend to dinner from her nurses home in London (can't remember which). She was practicing on oranges. Perhaps a grapefruit looked more 'off colour'.


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## Engine Serang

Thank your lucky stars she wasn't practicing on plums.


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## morky1

Sailed on P&O with Brian Kettle from Hull, a brilliant cook and a workaholic, worked with him again in Oz in the eighties on a Mcdermott's construction Barge (DB29 ? )I was Ch Cookm and he was Camp Boss, great bloke


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