Galley Log
I’ve been cooking professionally and personally on boats (sail and power) in the 35 to 45 foot range for many years up and down the East Coast for the US, all around Florida and in the British Virgin Islands. Professionally, I’ve delivered around 1700 plates out of various galleys on various bodies of water. Non-professionally, probably around 2000 more plates. Here are some stories, recipes and tips from the galley!
What’s it all about
Just because you can cook, it’s a little different cooking on a boat, especially a small boat in the 35-40 foot range.
Hopefully there would be at least one burner (electric or gas) and one refrigerator/freezer. Preferably, I’d like to assume that there’s a microwave which means I’ve got some kind of inverter, generator or shore power. But, whatever galley space that you may find yourself in, cooking on a boat has some limitations that need to be taken into consideration.
Here are some possible key differences between an average home kitchen and a galley on a thirty-five foot sailboat.
WATER – Home=Unlimited Boat=75 gallons REFRIGERATION/FREEZER – Home= 30 Cubic Feet Boat=8 Cubic Feet STOVE/OVEN – Home=5 Cubic Feet, 4 burners Boat=3 Cubic Feet, 2 burners COUNTER TOPS – Home=30 Square Feet (24” depth, 15 Linear Feet) Boat=8 Square Feet
Hopefully there would be at least one burner (electric or gas) and one refrigerator/freezer. Preferably, I’d like to assume that there’s a microwave which means I’ve got some kind of inverter, generator or shore power. But, whatever galley space that you may find yourself in, cooking on a boat has some limitations that need to be taken into consideration.
I like to shoot for around 60 minute from prep to plate. This includes from the start of mis en place to serving the final plated dish to the table. Reason being, if it’s been a long or rough day enroute to the dock or anchorage, the crew just wants to chill out and relax. As the cook, you want to be able to serve the crew the food as soon as they want it. Not when you decide it can be ready. They might be willing to wait an hour but probably not any longer. I have almost always been able to hit my 60 minute prep-to-plate goal
FROM THE GALLEY LOG Monday 5/25/15 – Clewiston to Titusville, FL – 0600 departure across Lake Okeechobee to ICW. Moderate winds (10-15 knots) out of the east/southeast. Moderate chop throughout. After 150 nm underway we docked at Titusville City Marine around 1645.
Breakfast – Underway. Scrambled dilled egg wraps with cheese and bacon. Orange and mango.
Lunch – I made deli pita sandwiches, pickles, potato salad, apples. Relatively easy to make when it’s calm on a lake or when travelling on the ICW
Galley Confidential – Mangoes always remind me of the mangoes that I used to eat from my grandmother’s trees when I was a little boy in Ybor City. They taste exactly as I remember. One of the benefits of being the cook is that you get some perks every once in awhile. There was still some mango left on the seed when I finished cutting it up. And, just like when I was a kid, I scraped the remaining meat off with my teeth as the juice ran down my arms. I felt like I was back on my grandmother’s back porch in Ybor
Just to set the scene here. This particular galley consists of one electric burner, a microwave oven and a dorm-sized refrigerator. The “freezer” portion of the refrigerator is about 18″ x 18″ x 9″. I cooked on this boat for around eight years. After a year of so of doing a lot of juggling with the one burner, I got a Cuisinart CSK 150 electric skillet. My world changed significantly the day that I first started using the CSK 150.
Dinner – Fish Tacos – Garbanzo Bean salad, Chili Potatoes, taco fixins, beer, Billy Gibbons Tequila drink… Made the garbanzo bean salad first so that it would marinate for awhile. Beans, corn, onion, green pepper and chorizo. Spiced with cumin, basil and oregano.
While the bean salad was marinating, made the potatoes. Browned small red potatoes, added onion, green pepper and chorizo. Spiced with oregano, ground black pepper and fresh cilantro. Covered with aluminum foil to keep warm.
On to the fish. Two 10 oz grouper filets. One 5 oz snapper filet. Flour, milk, bread crumbs and browned. Prepped fixins of lettuce, tomato, cheese and cilantro. Added red chili sauce and sour cream to the mix
It’s really going to depend on your crew. Do they eat a lot. Not alot. Generally, I plan on 4-6 ounces of protein per person. If you are not familiar with your crew, ask them, before you create your provision list what amount do they normally eat. A good if they are not vegetarian, ask how big of a steak (in ounces) would they normally eat. Of non-meat eater, but pescatarian, how big (ounces) of a salmon filet might they get. If truly vegetarian, you obviously won’t be preparing meat or seafood for them, but ask how much (in ounces) would they normally eat if they were having a main serving of broccoli. Of ask them to describe a typical amount of food they would have.