Food, Glorious Food.
One of the things I was most worried about when I took the job was not whether I’d be uncontrollably seasick, or whether I’d be able to do the job well, it was whether I’d find enough food to eat on board. As many people asked me what I’d do about the food I thought I’d better tell you. I eat it! The food is fantastic!
From what I can gather talking to the other observers the food on the ships is pretty similar and varies only in the skill of the cook rather than the type of food, at least among the Spanish vessels which what I’m on at the moment.
There are three meals in the day (unsurprisingly). Breakfast is served around 7.30 am and consists of the most unhealthy food you can imagine: normally biscuits and at the weekends croissants, pain aux chocolate, donuts and these things that look like sausage rolls but are made with sweet flaky pastry and have something akin to nutella inside. On Sundays there are these things that are like thin piped donuts that are very popular. I try and have cornflakes except on the days when there are pain aux chocolate and the chocolate sausage rolls because they are delicious and are my only chocolate fix now my supplies have run out! As a sort of antidote to all this unhealthiness there is freshly squeezed orange juice which is so good.
Lunch is at midday. It’s a three-course affair, with soup, fish or meat, and a dessert (normally fruit or ice cream of some description). Dinner is the same but is normally more, except on Sundays. On Sunday we have a large midday meal which consists of a platter of hors d’oeuvres (entremeses in Spanish) such as mussels, anchovies and olives. I normally skip that bit! There’s also something hot, either mini empanadas or these cheesy croquettes which are really nice. The main meal is a meat platter consisting of ham, chicken, beef, pork, tongue (yuk!) and chorizo sausage, and a vegetable platter consisting of boiled cabbage, potatoes and chickpeas. Dessert is where the chef pulls out all the stops: two choices of cake. The guy really likes his cream so I’m sometimes a bit stuck, but there’s this apple cake that he makes that is just to die for.
After spending the first couple of weeks having the meat dish I had had so much that I had to try the fish as a change. There’s only so much steak I can eat! I discovered something I didn’t realise; I like fish! When I don’t feel guilty about eating it (and most of what we have is bycatch so I don’t) I really enjoy it. I have found there are some fish I don’t like and others that are ok, while still others are delicious. Kingclip is a favourite of mine. Hake is ok (it’s a different hake to the one in the northern hemisphere I think) and Brama dussumieri (palometa in Spanish) is delicious. There are some fish that have clearly been bought rather than caught. There are quite often prawns and salt cod (bacalao).
Salt cod (as anyone who’s read Mark Kurlansky’s ‘Cod’ will know) is a firm favourite of the Basque people. All the officers and many of the crew are Basque so it’s no surprise we have bacalao quite often. It’s nice, but the flesh is definitely firmer (some might say tougher) than fresh cod. Depending on how it’s cooked it can be ok or very nice.
The only thing the meals lack are vegetables. The meat is often served with chips but the fish is usually served alone. Very occasionally, on what feel like special occasions, we get cauliflower but usually the only vegetable we see in any quantity is the cabbage on Sundays. I think a vegetarian would starve out here! I dream about vegetables and imagine what the first thing I cook when I get back to land will be: it’s either vegetable soup or thai vegetable curry, to hell with the cost! We do get fruit but in the last couple of weeks it has turned from being fresh to canned, as I suppose the supplies ran out.
On the drinks side coffee is available all the time. We have tea at the end of the meals but it is made with hot rather than boiling water and the tea is not that great so I don’t go out of my way to have it at other times. I normally stick to water. Red wine is served at the weekends or on special occasions. If I have finished work then I will have a glass but it’s often served with lunch rather than dinner so I generally miss out.
From what I can gather talking to the other observers the food on the ships is pretty similar and varies only in the skill of the cook rather than the type of food, at least among the Spanish vessels which what I’m on at the moment.
There are three meals in the day (unsurprisingly). Breakfast is served around 7.30 am and consists of the most unhealthy food you can imagine: normally biscuits and at the weekends croissants, pain aux chocolate, donuts and these things that look like sausage rolls but are made with sweet flaky pastry and have something akin to nutella inside. On Sundays there are these things that are like thin piped donuts that are very popular. I try and have cornflakes except on the days when there are pain aux chocolate and the chocolate sausage rolls because they are delicious and are my only chocolate fix now my supplies have run out! As a sort of antidote to all this unhealthiness there is freshly squeezed orange juice which is so good.
Lunch is at midday. It’s a three-course affair, with soup, fish or meat, and a dessert (normally fruit or ice cream of some description). Dinner is the same but is normally more, except on Sundays. On Sunday we have a large midday meal which consists of a platter of hors d’oeuvres (entremeses in Spanish) such as mussels, anchovies and olives. I normally skip that bit! There’s also something hot, either mini empanadas or these cheesy croquettes which are really nice. The main meal is a meat platter consisting of ham, chicken, beef, pork, tongue (yuk!) and chorizo sausage, and a vegetable platter consisting of boiled cabbage, potatoes and chickpeas. Dessert is where the chef pulls out all the stops: two choices of cake. The guy really likes his cream so I’m sometimes a bit stuck, but there’s this apple cake that he makes that is just to die for.
After spending the first couple of weeks having the meat dish I had had so much that I had to try the fish as a change. There’s only so much steak I can eat! I discovered something I didn’t realise; I like fish! When I don’t feel guilty about eating it (and most of what we have is bycatch so I don’t) I really enjoy it. I have found there are some fish I don’t like and others that are ok, while still others are delicious. Kingclip is a favourite of mine. Hake is ok (it’s a different hake to the one in the northern hemisphere I think) and Brama dussumieri (palometa in Spanish) is delicious. There are some fish that have clearly been bought rather than caught. There are quite often prawns and salt cod (bacalao).
Salt cod (as anyone who’s read Mark Kurlansky’s ‘Cod’ will know) is a firm favourite of the Basque people. All the officers and many of the crew are Basque so it’s no surprise we have bacalao quite often. It’s nice, but the flesh is definitely firmer (some might say tougher) than fresh cod. Depending on how it’s cooked it can be ok or very nice.
The only thing the meals lack are vegetables. The meat is often served with chips but the fish is usually served alone. Very occasionally, on what feel like special occasions, we get cauliflower but usually the only vegetable we see in any quantity is the cabbage on Sundays. I think a vegetarian would starve out here! I dream about vegetables and imagine what the first thing I cook when I get back to land will be: it’s either vegetable soup or thai vegetable curry, to hell with the cost! We do get fruit but in the last couple of weeks it has turned from being fresh to canned, as I suppose the supplies ran out.
On the drinks side coffee is available all the time. We have tea at the end of the meals but it is made with hot rather than boiling water and the tea is not that great so I don’t go out of my way to have it at other times. I normally stick to water. Red wine is served at the weekends or on special occasions. If I have finished work then I will have a glass but it’s often served with lunch rather than dinner so I generally miss out.
My fears about the food were unfounded. While there is a lot of fish it turns out that’s no bad thing. I have eaten a lot of things I never thought I would and have found I really like them. Mealtimes are often fun with conversations being about everything. Though it is very rare that I can join in because my Spanish isn’t good enough it’s surprising how much you can enjoy other people enjoying themselves even when you have no idea what they’re talking about that’s making them laugh.
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