My First Week as a Charter Chef
by Chef Carole CastleSo there I was, standing in the galley of the 42’catamaran, looking up to the deserted cockpit. Although it was vacant at the time, I could clearly envision 6 famished charter guests poised with knife in one hand, fork in the other, rhythmically pounding on the table, chanting: "We want food!" What had I gotten myself into?
My previous boating experience consisted of "sitting pretty" aboard private yachts, socializing with the other guests, holding out my glass to the passing stewardess, saying: "yes please" to more champagne. I had also been on a few sailboats in Santa Cruz, California, my home town, where I participated in the Wednesday night "Beer Can Races". My job there was to scurry from one side of the boat to the other when the captain shouted something like "prepare to come about".
I had come to St. Thomas on vacation with friends from Miami Beach to spend a week cruising the Virgin Islands with Scott and Cara, captain and chef on Quicksilver, their 42 ‘catamaran. As a burnt-out real estate agent, their lifestyle looked really good to me. After 3 days of observing, I declared that I could do this job and decided to hunt for a chefless captain willing to take on an inexperienced, enthusiastic crew member. I was assured that as long as I applied for the job in a bathing suit, somebody would hire me!
Sure enough, one day later, hanging out at the Beach Bar in St. John, I met such a captain. I found out the pay wasn’t all that great, but the rewards would come in other forms. Hmmmm. We arranged an interview and tour of his boat for the next day. Dressed in my finest string bikini, I watched as the dinghy approached to whisk me away to what I hoped would be my next home away from home. Little did I know about the duty day starting with 6:00 a.m. coffee and ending after the dinner dishes were done around 10:00 p.m. My goal was to get the job now and think about it later. I made a graceful entrance from Quicksilver’s transom into Capt. Mike’s dinghy, and watched attentively as he maneuvered to his boat, "Escape". Remember, I had very little actual boating experience. As he approached, I realized I was expected to exit first. I reached forward, grabbed a metal cleat, put my left foot on the platform, my right foot was still planted on the pontoon of the dinghy. Yep, spread eagle, and SPLASH! What can you say? I surfaced, flashed a toothy grin, and asked, "Do I still get the job?" Gotta laugh!
After recovering from my embarrassment, I boarded, surveyed the galley, storage compartments, fridge and freezer capacity, counter space, or rather lack of… mustered all the enthusiasm I could and said I could do the job! Sure, I knew how to cook, even had my own catering company at one time. I assured the Capt. I could cook in small spaces, even under low light conditions, while rockin’ and rollin’, no problem. O.K., I had my fingers crossed behind my back.
I started my job a week later, practiced making Eggs Benedict for an unsuspecting couple we met at Seddy’s One Love Bar on Jost Van Dyke BVI, and learned that if your Hollandaise starts giving you trouble, whip out the secret package of Knorr’s. Be sure to serve Bloody Mary’s. Lots of them, including one for the chef!