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When someone lists cook as a skill what is expected?

7K views 80 replies 28 participants last post by  hellosailor 
#1 ·
I see this skill listed by people looking to crew and wonder what possible advance dishes they could be cooking on most of these ships o_O

Like can I be a cook I make good omletes :)

Or do I need to make a full 3 course meal?
 
#2 ·
There are cooks, and then there are good cooks. A good cook can be creative with a bowl of Wheaties. A good cook will plan every meal well in advance, and have the ability to supplement other ingredients when a called for ingredient is not available, and make that dish taste even better. Cooking is an art and believe me, not everyone that cooks is has the creative ability to produce a great meal each time they enter the galley. There's a reason that TV dinners and Chef Boyarde still exist. :)

Good Luck,

Gary :cool:
 
#4 ·
To be qualified cook on a boat is dependent on the type of vessel one cooks upon.
On a commercial vessel, say a tug, fishing boat or freighter, a cook must produce great quantities of good food in the style of the nationality of the crew; American would be steak/fries, ribs/baked beans, pork chops/mashed, etc for dinner and what you would get in a diner, for instance, for lunch or breakfast.
A sailing voyaging cook must know how to prepare simple, hearty meals under any sea conditions, hopefully including a gale, too, but not necessarily.
A cook on an ocean racer must be able to produce high protein, large portioned and good meals under any conditions and normal is extreme conditions.
A cook on a charter boat or private yacht should be able to produce chef quality meals without the presentation. Eggs Benedict, salad Nicoise and a fresh lobster bisque, for instance.
Cooking properly aboard any vessel underway is a challenging occupation. The ability to plan and execute good, interesting, healthy, hearty food for anywhere from 8 to 22 hungry people over an extended period of time in which there are no markets available, is quite a skill.
 
#6 ·
I'm reading a book, Mediterranean Summer by David Shalleck, about a professional chef who does a stint on a private sailing yacht for a season in Italy. Good stuff. Someone from SN recommended it. It has a lot about cooking with whatever is available locally and in confined spaces with the limitations that a yacht has.
 
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#8 ·
I'm thinking that it is not so much about the cook's ability with the pots and pans as their ability to plan. If I was appointing a cook and while I'd prefer it if they didn't kill off the entire crew it is the planning and provisioning that is the key. Presuming we are talking about smallish boats here (say circa 50' and below) then eating on passage is always going to be something of a compromise and few chefs will be able to display the full extent of their talents nor are they expected to do so. Running out of rice and/or potatoes when you are two weeks from land is a whole other fiasco.
 
#10 ·
When the Admiral asks what I want to eat I reply that I navigate, route plan, check weather, steer, trim, provide security, do maintenance and manage the ships systems. I don't have any brain left for menu planning. :D Throw something out, I'll eat it.
 
#11 ·
Planning a varied but good diet is hard enough on land.I shop for myself I tend to buy the same basic things till I actually force myself to get something else.Or you could provision like Walter Greene did for a Bermuda race.He Went to Mcdonalds and got enough Big Macs for the race but then you might have a mutiny on your hands.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Planning is certainly very crucial to the success of the cook aboard a boat. In addition to being able to plan, I would hope the cook could share a repertoire of items/recipes that they typically prepare so the employer could determine if they are a good fit for the voyage.

Because cooking (and teaching) is my job and a hobby...I tend to just pick up things I know for the weekend...when we are going to be on a extended cruise (a few weeks in our case) I will plan a menu, print it, and pack the fridge from end to start :)

If I were going to hire someone, I would want to see a portfolio of their work and possibly a tasting so I could observe how they work
 
#17 ·
Being able to provision from local wet markets with foodstuffs and ingredients that one may not find at the local Piggly Wiggley's to create delicious and wholesome food. One of the more interesting parts of off shore cruising is being able to make do with what's available. Most food out here does not come in a styrofoam tray covered with saran wrap. Knowing how to ask for different cuts of meat goes a long way in putting food on the table. Cook should also be able to filet a large fish: dorado, tuna, mackeral, wahoo etc....
 
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#19 ·
Rocket scientists make great planning lists...very few can cook for others. Yeah it's important to plan to a degree, but my daughter can write a menu and make a shopping list and she's an elementary school teacher.

Making do with what's left for yourself or ones spouse doesn't mean your food will stand the test of others who do not love you

There are plenty of cook book cooks in the world just like there are plenty of book smart sailors. Knowledge read does not make a good chef or sailor by itself.

There are many people who think they are good cooks because no one ever sent their food back. Course their patrons were their spouses, their kids, or their friends. Totally different cooking for strangers who can critique you, or are paying for your services. Try your favorite moms recepie meatloaf in a restaurant and watch the suggestion box fill up.

A Good cook must know how to make good tasting food for their audience. Wether its a bunch of teenagers, a bunch of kids, vegetarians, older people, comfort food lovers or gourmands. A good cook knows how to make a medium well piece of meat Taste as good as a medium rare one. A good cook knows how to cook vegetables, cut consistently and use fresh ingredients as well as prepared ones. A good cook knows how to repurpose ingredients without the Internet. A good cook knows which meats to stew, grill, and how to make tough muscles tender. A good cook knows how to cook seafood properly without overcooking it.

Most of all a good cook makes food that tastes good to varied palates.

I like Shawn would want a portfolio, sample menus, and a list of previous paying people who actually sampled your food. To me what others have experienced from the cook is the most important criteria.
 
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#22 ·
I agree that planning is the key to great cheffness.
I am not, that's why I let my galley wench (a term of endearment she loves) do all the planning. As said earlier, I keep the boat above water and moving and gladly eat anything she cooks!!

A few years back we spent 5 weeks in the northern Channel Islands, one day we took the boat up and around Point Conception into 20 - 30 knot winds and 15 foot swells (i wanted to feel something more than the normally docile So-Cal sail). Anyway I'm doing 7 - 8 knots healed way over with the Gen and Mizzen sail only, giggling like a little girl with the spray off the bow covering the whole boat.

I'm hanging onto the wheel punching through waves and she comes up the companion way holding out this big pan yelling "I made bread" kinda like Tom Hanks "I made fire"....i was blown away.

We're sailing up there again for the month of August, can't wait.
 
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#24 · (Edited)
Something else I might add to look for...certifications

In food service, at the very least a hired cook should have a sanitation certificate or certification such as ServSafe, a National Restaurant Association food safety course which grants a simple certificate or certification once a written exam is passed. I was pleasently surprised to learn from one of my former students who is starting work at The French Laundry (a top world. renowned restaurant) that all cooks must pass this exam to work there. Food safety is no joke.

Some other professional certifications you might look for:
CEC - Certified Executive Chef
CSC - Certified Sous Chef
CPC - Certified Personal Chef

These and several others are granted by the American Culinary Federation (ACF), the largest organization of chefs and cooks in North America.

There several other industry organizations that offer various levels of certification, this may or not be important but a certification verifies someones skills and knowledge. As I tell students and professionals all the time, if you needed your taxes done, who would you more likely take them to...the person down the road who looks and sounds nice or the CPA? I'm going with the CPA

Of course, there are great chefs and cooks with no certifications so this is obviously not an absolute. A personal recommendation or having tasted their food may be enough. A great reputation is often all that's needed :)

As mentioned, its one thing to be a good home cook, its a completely different to cook for others when your being paid.
 
#26 ·
As so often happens on sailnet, we have developed thread creep- we have gone from "cook" to "chef". :)

If you apply for a crew gig, and say you can cook, you better be able to make five different dishes, under way, without burning the food or the galley or yourself, and be able to improvise with the materials on hand, and have a grasp of provisioning. You should be able to work with proteins and veg, for both omnivores and vegetarians.

If the "crew wanted" ad says, "must be able to cook" then the above applies.
If the "crew wanted" ad says "must be willing to cook" then a lower standard comes to bear.

Sometimes, among a certain demographic posting "Crew wanted" ads, the phrase "must be able to cook" is code for "must be female"
 
#27 ·
The one thing Dave forgot to mention was A good cook is always very creative using what's at hand. I've always considered myself a good cook, and not just for my family and friends. Fortunately, I never had to do it for a living, but there's lots of things I've never did for a living and the world is probably better off for that.

Last night I ran out of Margaretta Mix - (perish the thought!) So, I gathered some ingredients from the kitchen and using a bit of common sense, I went about creating a new recipe.

4 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 cup concentrated lime juice
1 cup Silver Tequila

Bring the water to a rolling boil, add sugar, allow to cool to room temperature, stir in lime juice and tequila. It came out fantastic, costs less than to make a half-gallon, and Jose Ceurvo will not be getting $16 a bottom from me anymore unless I'm really in a bind.

Gary :cool:
 
#28 ·
ebs001:1064454 said:
I think we are getting a little carried away here. The OP asked what to expect when a person applying for a crew position lists one of his skills as cooking. The person is applying to crew on a boat not to be a chef on a boat.
Perhaps...however you know as much as I did when I replied. I simply offering some additional information that one might use if they were looking for a cook as crew or wanting to list them self as a cook for crew... nothing more nothing less. I thought it may be useful to some to know some of the professional terminology that may be associated with the cooking profession.

Call its thread drift, call it more detail than needed, I don't really care. What are you going to do when you're at the middle of the freaking ocean and your cook gets the entire crew sick because they don't know how to handle raw food.

Perhaps the OP was looking for a cook/crew for a short hop up the coast, or a longer several week or month voyage. Maybe the OP wanted to know some information on how he might list himself for various crew opportunities?
 
#29 ·
I wouldnt call food safety thread creep:puke
....nor were the paramaters of the "cook wanted" explained so I didnt see any creep there either.

Maybe some people are ok with PB&J, Spam, and Chef BoyarD. Maybe some want a little more than that. Maybe some are going to cruise down to the Islands for 14 days a need a little more than a five day basic menu. Food and eating well or right has lot to do with morale.

Some for example Dave, SV Auspicious pride themselves on what they produce while underway. Some like Wingnwing have great prowess with pressure cookers. Nnothing wrong with that.

Some like Budwiser and thats all they can taste. Some like Sierra Nevada. Some like white Zin and some like Russian RiverValley Pinot Noir.

I dont remember anywhere in the OP where it reallly defined what exactly what the OP was looking for specifically. As far as I can see all the posters stayed pretty close to the threads original questions and purpose and see no reason to police "tread drift". If its boring,,,then pass it and read on.

I found everyones rsponses interesting and to the point:laugher:laugher:):)
 
#30 ·
I think it is all about expectations and perspective.

Are you hiring or applying?

Some rambling thoughts:

People don't usually hire crew for a couple of days so think about provisioning and cooking for long periods. Detailed menu plans rarely work out when you are past reliable weather forecasts. When weather gets sporty some people eat and others need coddling. Plan accordingly. Think through provisioning (flexibility and backup), prep (mise en place), cooking, and service. When the weather kicks up one pot meals are nice for the cook, but one bowl meals are critical for the crew.

The cook also has to think about nutrition and hydration. On many boats the cook is de facto medical officer.

Omelets sound nice but pumping them out for a crew of five to eat together is hard on a two burner cooker. Think scrambled eggs.

You ask about advance dishes. As long as transportation allows, I make homemade lasagna and freeze it hard. Make and can pasta sauce. Sometimes I'll make up and vacuum seal a lamb curry.

Mostly I cook underway. That means being able to keep the food on the counter and in the pots, off the floor, and well organized (remember that two-burner cooker). Think ahead and plan. Grilling or broiling chicken? Make extra for chicken salad later. Cooking pasta? Hard cook eggs at the same time for egg salad later. Making tuna casserole? Bake bread or biscuits at the same time.

A good offshore cook must be able to wedge in and perform. Pump food out and keep everyone fed. Push liquids. Be flexible. Be aware of your audience and be careful with spices. Watch the crew so you can see when people are fragile.

Think about heat in the cabin when you are planning. Some crews are happier with a big meal at midday and something lighter at night (with less heat in the cabin then). The cook should be responsible for a snack bag and midnights underway.

A lot depends on what the boat has in the way facilities. Freezer? Fridge? Cooler? What do you have to work with?

Maybe some people are ok with PB&J, Spam, and Chef BoyarD.
Cruising doesn't have to be camping. You should be able to really enjoy your meals regardless of conditions.

Some for example Dave, SV Auspicious pride themselves on what they produce while underway. Some like Wingnwing have great prowess with pressure cookers. Nnothing wrong with that.
I do. I'm happy to share my provisioning lists and meal plans with others. The planning IS important as Shawn and others have noted. Getting it done when things are bumpy is another thing. I don't know how to teach that ...
 
#31 ·
At three meals a day, "five different dishes" ain't gonna cut it for more than a day and a half. Sadly below a seven day trip, let alone 20.
If you are cooking for a crew, they do not want the same food every week, so the cook needs to have a bit of depth.
I've never paid a cook who did not do all the meal planning and provisioning, staying within budget.
Cooking well aboard a small craft at sea is the most challenging and difficult job aboard. If your crewmates are not happy with your cooking, then you are definitely not the most popular person aboard.
As to a chef, in my opinion, and mine only perhaps, the major difference between a quality sea cook and a chef, aboard boats at least, is presentation of the food. No cook I know has the time, energy nor sees the necessity of making flowers out of radishes to garnish a meal served in a gale! Honestly, they just end up rolling around the cabin sole, getting under foot.
 
#38 ·
At three meals a day, "five different dishes" ain't gonna cut it for more than a day and a half. Sadly below a seven day trip, let alone 20.
.
I'm sorry, Mr. Demanding High Maintenance skipper, I didn't realize you require your eggs done a different way every damn morning, and a prepared lunch every day. and a new and exciting main every evening. :)
but, you are right, i should have elaborated. if you can cook five dinner entrees, then saying "I can cook" is no lie. if you can create 21 different and unique meals on a 7 day passage, then you can say "I can cook WELL." ;)
Semantics: It's what's for dinner.
 
#32 ·
Dunno, Gary. Sounds like you made a tequila lime sour, not a marguerita. What happened to the Cointreau? And the salt-rimmed glass?

But going back to the original question, I suppose you know you may be in trouble when the alleged cook asks if you wanted your Wheaties baked or deep fried.
 
#36 ·
The listed ingredients are used to make my Green Coconut Margaretta:

2 - 3 ounces Margaretta Mix (Jose Cuervo, Chi Chi, or my concoction)
1 ounce Melon Liquor
1 ounce Coconut Rum
1 ounce gold tequila

served over ice and thoroughly enjoyed by many of the forum members who attended this past June's Sailnet Rendezvous at Maryland Yacht Club. :thewave:

Bottom's up,

Gary :D
 
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