Leaving Australia

Well I left the ship over a week ago and it has been great since I left. I walked off the ship and felt a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I gazed upon the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge and was amazed that I had made it. I made the long trip to my hostel and checked in. I then spent the next several hours exploring the city. I ended up buying a ticket to a play called The Grenade at the Opera House. It was an amazing play. The next days I spent cruising around the city and enjoying everything Sydney had to offer.

I then went to Surf Camp. I got up early and went to where we were supposed to get picked up. We were greeted by an obvious surfer who told us there was a problem with one of the buses and 4 of us had to take the train. I volunteered and so did 3 other guys and we also got an extra free t shirt. I have to say the train ride was probably better than sitting in the bus for 2 hours cramped with a bunch of other people. We arrived at the camp at 7 mile beach in Gerroa. We dropped our stuff off in the room and suited up to go to the beach. We received a lesson and were off in the water. I have to say it took me a bit to get the hang of it. After the morning lesson we went back to camp for lunch and the returned later. It started to rain, but we kept surfing. Then thunder and lightning, which got closer and closer and we all bolted out of the water and into the bush. We waited for the storm to pass and watched as amazing bolts of purple lightning struck down. We eventually hid in a tunnel that was nearby until we made our way back to camp. The rest of our lessons were a little longer due to this cancellation.

Over the next couple of days we surfed twice a day and had a real good time. We surfed with the whales jumping out of the water way in the distance and dolphins just swimming by. I hiked out to this lookout point and saw some amazing views of the beach. Upon leaving the camp the same thing happened again and we had to take the train yet again. We all met up at Scubar in Sydney and had some free beer and pizza before some of us boarded a bus to continue our trip. After a 12 hour bus ride, which was god awful, we arrived in Byron Bay.

Byron Bay is an amazing place. A nice beach town with amazing waves. 5 of us traveled here and then surfed for little while, until we realized that the conditions were not in our favor. The winds were blowing on shore and the current was very strong pulling us way down the beach in a matter of minutes. We retreated to the hostel and hung out for a bit. And now I await the long trip home to San Diego.

Once I return home I will post pictures from my Australian adventure!

Nearing the End

Well I have 5 days left on board. We just finished up cruising the coast of New Zealand, and it was amazing. First we went to the Bay of Islands which was a tender port. We docked in Paihia, which was a nice little town. Then Tauranga was next and it was like a little surf town. I had a kebab and got some nice souvenirs. Auckland was quite a large city. I walked around the downtown area for a few hours. There was this one tower called Sky Tower and you could pay to bungee jump off of it. Watching people jump was quite amusing. One city was Napier, but we didn't have any time to go off as the city was far from the ship, and we had a lot of work to do. I have to say that Picton was one of my favorite cities. There was this park right on the water where I just sat down and took it all in. The view, the air, the sounds and it was great. I unfortunately did not make it into Christchurch, but did get into the small town of Lyttleton just outside of the ship. There wasn't much there. Finally our last stop was Dunedin, which I did go to. We walked around downtown and had a pretty good time. The bus driver was like a tour guide, pointing out interesting things along the way.

The last 6 months have been quite the experience. I am looking forward to getting off in Sydney and having a few days to relax a bit.

Tropical Islands are Awesome

The islands of the South Pacific have been amazing so far. Our first stop was Fiji, and what a sight that was. Our first city was Suva, which is the main city of Fiji. I had the time to walk along the coastline and see the different areas of the island. The city itself was a little dirty, and we just happened to be there on their national holiday. Everything was closed except for a few places. The next day in Fiji was Dravuni Island. It is an amazing little island with the locals living in small houses on the beach. The water was crystal clear and bright blue. We walked the beach and went on a path to the native cemetery. Sitting on the beach drinking a Fiji beer looking out on the other islands was amazing.

Our next stop was Vanuatu. It is a small country comprised of many islands. The first was Luganville, which did not have much to offer. Much of the town was run down, but we took a taxi that brought us to the nearby blue hole. It is a natural spring that formed in the middle of the island. The water is crystal clear and deep blue. Then we went to Port Vila, which is their capital. We unfortunately weren't able to make it to the Mele Cascades waterfall. After the cab took us to it which took 20 minutes, and then they charged to see the fall and it was a 45 min walk to the top, we turned around. Disappointed we sat through traffic in the downtown area. But we did get to see local villages and the city. We also saw Hideaway Island that is just off the coast and has the world's only underwater post office. I heard from some of the crew that went there that it was a lot of fun.

We went to Kuto, Il de Pins next. I have to say this was the best island we have visited so far. The beaches had the smoothest, cleanest, and whitest sand I've ever seen. The water was cool and again crystal clear and blue. The beaches were lined with tree, which provided a decent amount of shade. A lot of small islands can be seen from all sides. I have to say that I would want to come back here of all of the other places we have been. It has been a great trip so far. The work on the ship has been a little lighter for this long cruise. It still restricts time ashore, but we make the best of it with the time we have.

Even better is the fact that I sprained my ankle and couldn't walk on it for a day. I was declared unfit for duty by the infirmary. I couldn't go out in New Caledonia yesterday, but it's okay I guess. It was raining and everything was closed because it was a Sunday. Soon we will be in New Zealand, and then Sydney! Only 18 more days here.

Me on Dravuni Island in Fiji

Kuto, Il de Pins

The islands of the South Pacific have been amazing so far. Our first stop was Fiji, and what a sight that was. Our first city was Suva, which is the main city of Fiji. I had the time to walk along the coastline and see the different areas of the island. The city itself was a little dirty, and we just happened to be there on their national holiday. Everything was closed except for a few places. The next day in Fiji was Dravuni Island. It is an amazing little island with the locals living in small houses on the beach. The water was crystal clear and bright blue. We walked the beach and went on a path to the native cemetery. Sitting on the beach drinking a Fiji beer looking out on the other islands was amazing.

Our next stop was Vanuatu. It is a small country comprised of many islands. The first was Luganville, which did not have much to offer. Much of the town was run down, but we took a taxi that brought us to the nearby blue hole. It is a natural spring that formed in the middle of the island. The water is crystal clear and deep blue. Then we went to Port Vila, which is their capital. We unfortunately weren't able to make it to the Mele Cascades waterfall. After the cab took us to it which took 20 minutes, and then they charged to see the fall and it was a 45 min walk to the top, we turned around. Disappointed we sat through traffic in the downtown area. But we did get to see local villages and the city. We also saw Hideaway Island that is just off the coast and has the world's only underwater post office. I heard from some of the crew that went there that it was a lot of fun.

We went to Kuto, Il de Pins next. I have to say this was the best island we have visited so far. The beaches had the smoothest, cleanest, and whitest sand I've ever seen. The water was cool and again crystal clear and blue. The beaches were lined with tree, which provided a decent amount of shade. A lot of small islands can be seen from all sides. I have to say that I would want to come back here of all of the other places we have been. It has been a great trip so far. The work on the ship has been a little lighter for this long cruise. It still restricts time ashore, but we make the best of it with the time we have.

Even better is the fact that I sprained my ankle and couldn't walk on it for a day. I was declared unfit for duty by the infirmary. I couldn't go out in New Caledonia yesterday, but it's okay I guess. It was raining and everything was closed because it was a Sunday. Soon we will be in New Zealand, and then Sydney! Only 18 more days here.

Me on Dravuni Island in Fiji

Kuto, Il de Pins

Here are some pics of what i've seen so far

Wailua Falls

Me and a few other Pollywogs at the Neptune ceremony

Pago Pago

Me on a walk along the streets of Pago Pago

What a week it has been. First of all in Hawaii we had an overnight stay in Nawiliwili on the island of Kauai. It was fun because we were able to actually go out at night and have a bite to eat. WE wen to this place called Duke's with the rest of the crew and enjoyed a few beers an the ocean breeze. We went to Wailua Falls and then had Saimin at a local noodle place.

In Honolulu it rained, but I still managed to make my way to the beach. I then met up with some crew at the local Hooters, yes I know, but it was right next to the dock. We also went back there after dinner service on the ship as we didn't leave the port until 11 pm. The day we were in Kona the crew was denied shore leave on tender boats by the Captain. It was unfortunate that none of us could go off. I had really wanted to go the Kona Brewery, oh well. That night we had 0 people for dinner because there was a luau dinner on the upper deck.

The day after we left Hawaii we had a huge crew luau party near the pool on the sky deck. It was a good time with music, drinks, and good company. Then on the day we crossed the Equator there was a big celebration. It involved a guy dressed like King Neptune who came on board to judge the Pollywogs of the ship. Now this occurred by the pool and all of the guests surrounded the area to watch the show. The Pollywogs were various new crew members from different departments who had been volunteered by others to be a part of this. I was one of them. We were mustered into a luggage crate and awaited our department to be called. Then we were told what we supposedly had done, which for us was operating by the 5 second rule and adding extra fat to the food. Then cast members dressed like pirates pulled us over to a big fish that we had to bite. Kind of gross, but then they shoved us to a line of tables where more cast members were dressed up in nurse uniforms and dumped various colored meringue and spaghetti on us. Then we knelt in front of the senior staff of the ship where they could let us sit out and bake in the sun or jump in the pool. We got to jump, and hurled ourselves in. Swimming in the pool was a great place to view the rest of the show.

Pago Pago was our first stop in the islands of the South Pacific. American Samoa is a very interesting place, but I feel they are still recovering from the tsunami of last year. The mountains were amazing and so were the beaches. Crystal clear blue water and tropical greenery surrounded me. I went to a local market and saw a lot of coconuts, plantains, bananas, and the largest papayas I've every seen. It was quite warm out, and I made the mistake of not wearing sunscreen. I have to say the sun is strong near the Equator. I will know better for next time in Fiji.

An Overnight in Nawiliwili

Well after 5 days of rough sea we have finally made it to Hawaii. Well almost. During the first day the seas were pretty rough, and unfortunately a passenger fell and hurt himself severely. After turning around for 5 hours so a helicopter could land on the ship and pick him up we resumed our course. This affected our arrival in Maui, so much that we have skipped that port all together. We now are headed to Nawiliwili, Kauai. We do get to stay overnight as we arrive at 5pm. This means I can go off at night for the first time in 5 months.

On this journey to Australia there are a lot of time changes. We have enjoyed the constant hour set backs coming to Hawaii. There are a total of 6 set backs, 1 date change forward, and 2 set forwards. That’s a lot of clock changing in 40 days.

After over 150 days on board already and 36 to go, I have to say I am excited to get off. A nice little vacation in Sydney awaits me, and it should be a real good time. I will get to be home for the holidays, which is also a plus.

Once we leave Hawaii in 4 days we will sail to Pago Pago, crossing the Equator in the process. I wonder if there is a big line in the middle of the ocean, just kidding. It’s is quite the celebration on the ship I am told. From there we hit a few other islands in the South Pacific until we reach New Zealand. It’s a very exciting itinerary; I just hope I get to see as much as I can.

The seas have calmed down as we move closer to Hawaii, and the weather is much warmer than Alaska, of course. The ship however cannot keep up with the heat outside, and much of the crew areas are now saunas. But it’s not all bad. Soon I will disembark and chill out on the beach in Kauai.

Goodbye Alaska

We have just complete our last Alaskan cruise! We now are on our way to Seattle and then on to Hawaii. This is now a 30 day cruise that will end in New Zealand. After that I have one 14 day cruise to Sydney and I am off the ship. I have 6 weeks left on board, and then I have a 9 day vacation in Sydney.

Well this last week has been filled with a lot of interesting events. First of all this marked the last week for our executive chef and sous chef. They had an awesome goodbye party a couple of nights ago. The new exec chef is already here, and I remember him because here was still on board for my first week. It will be interesting to see how things differ. I know already that our budget for food has gone up 50% for this 30 day cruise. This means no more canceled orders and running around trying to get certain items.

There is a Filipino crew show every week and some of the guys asked me and the chef to come and watch them perform. It was a great time, we sat in the show lounge and watched some traditional dances. They also had some songs and then a hip hop dance number put on by some of the guys. They asked me if I wanted to join them next time, but I don't think so. Anyway they announced at the show that all of the crew is Filipino in the kitchen, and here I am sitting next to my Dutch chef saying, "Um....NO."

Some interesting things that I have noticed or have happened are the fact that my tourne skills have vastly improved due to the necessity of tourneing a lot of vegetables. I mean potatoes, carrots, squash, apples, pears, oh my what fun! But seriously I never thought I would do this again after I left the CIA. The other day in the elevator I got on and this guy wasn't paying attention and I guess just saw my whites and started speaking tagalog, the Filipino language, to me. I just stood there and said, "push 4 please" as my hands were full. He then continued to talk and looked up and was shocked. I guess I'm blending in pretty well here. Now as we are in September now the kitchen is filled with Christmas music, yes already. They told me it is a really big deal in the Philippines and September starts their countdown. Also when I have a chance to turn on the tv it is always at the same time every day, and this means I see the same part of every movie. I think I have seen the same 15 minutes of 6 movies for the last 19 weeks. Wow 19 weeks down already.

I will try to post when I can, but I don't know how the internet will be during the crossing on board the ship. I certainly don't plan on bringing my laptop with me when I go ashore. I will post my calendar for October later and you can see all of the places I will be going to.

The Trip is Official

Well it is definitely happening. I am spending 9 days in Sydney once I get off the ship. The company has issued my plane tickets and I am so excited. I have already decided what I will do there, but more on that later when I set my plans. Anyways that is the best news I received this week.

At the beginning of this last cruise there was a magic and comedy show put on for the crew. A bunch of us went, and I have to say it was quite amusing. Even though the magic was very basic, it was funny and enjoyable to actually get to see one of the shows on the ship.

I was finally able to make my way off of the ship in Juneau this week. After 3 weeks of not seeing the city it was nice to walk around. I had to try Tracy's King Crab Shack on the dock as it is a place a lot of the crew talk about. They supposedly have really great king crab bisque. Let's just say I was impressed. It was so delicious. They gave a couple of rolls with it, and I had a tasty Alaskan Amber with it. The crab they cooked right before putting it in the hot soup and it was sweet and delicious.

There is one thing that to my understanding is universally frowned upon in the kitchen, whistling. Not one chef that I have worked for likes whistling in the kitchen. Personally I like whistling, just not in the kitchen. It is an extreme annoyance to everyone. But here, everyone whistles all the time in the kitchen. There is nothing we can do to stop it. I don't know why it is such a taboo thing, but it really irritates a lot of people. It's like nails on a chalk board.

Well it has happened again, something was stolen from our kitchen. With so many different departments, and not everything that is ordered is approved it is bound to happen at some point. This time it was a container of pesto that we had just received. In the morning it was there, we went on break only to return to an empty space in the fridge. Well I went around asking people who took it and no replies helped me at all. Some even said I don't steal, I ask first. If only I could believe that. Anyways later it showed back up in our fridge, and they guy who took it was the one who said he didn't steal. Wow that's a good one.

One more week in Alaska and then off to Hawaii. We are all looking forward to leaving here. The constant time changes are also taxing on us. Soon it will be time to set the clock back an hour several times.

Crab Bisque, rolls, and Alaskan Amber..... mmmmmmm

Not a Whole Lot Going On

What a bummer, this week did not hold many great events of interest. Our first day was crazy busy and none of us expected it. It was unfortunate that we were so unprepared that we struggled the whole night to catch up. I guess it happens sometimes.

On another topic this was the second week in a row I was unable to leave the ship is Juneau. This time it was because the head people from the corporate offices were on the ship. With a couple of meetings and dinner on the ship, it made for an interesting day. I met the culinary director, who wanted to know how I liked working here. I told him that I enjoyed it very much. It was good to finally meet the person that I spoke with so many times on the phone. This is also the guy who came on the ship after my first week and was looking for me, only to leave without meeting me. This was because I didn't know he was on board and I was in my cabin sleeping in order to recover from a brutal few days.

That is pretty much it. 2 more weeks in Alaska, 8 more weeks on board. I am starting to think about my plans for Sydney once I get there as I want to spend a week there after I get off the ship. If you have any ideas send me a message.

Winding Down

Well the end of the Alaska season is here and it is obvious on the ship. The business has slowed down tremendously. A lot of the management is struggling to meet the revenue targets and seem stressed because of it. Anyways it does allow for a little more experimentation in the kitchen, which I enjoy.

A lot of the guys I work with know how to carve fruit and vegetables. After watching with amazement for the last few months I decided to take a shot at it. My assistant cook has proven to be quite skilled at this, he even teaches classes on it for the ship. He took some time to explain to me how to make flowers out of beets and turnips. Lets just say it took a few tries to get something that resembled a floral object, but it was fun. I just need to practice a little more. Some of the stuff he does with melons is just phenomenal. I will post pictures next week of some of his work, and maybe mine.

I will say that after thinking about my comment on hollandaise a few weeks ago, I've changed my mind. I am not tired of it. In fact now I am continuously fascinated by it. I mean making a proper hollandaise is quite a nice thing to see. I always seem to get a small sense of accomplishment when I make it too. Also after making several incorrect versions, I learned if made proper you can use less butter and egg yolks and achieve a greater volume. It's pretty cool.

There is a cruise ship recipe competition sponsored by Bacardi, I have been asked to enter a recipe. So, with some extra time I have begun to play around in the kitchen. I came up with crispy braised pork belly over arugula with a Bacardi gastrique (the recipe has to have Bacardi) and pickled apples. I made it and it was quite a tasty treat, everyone else liked it to. I may even get to run it as a special in the restaurant. Man I really love a good pork belly.

A lot of people are starting to leave the ship and new crew members are coming on. This is one thing that is tough. If you work with someone for awhile and then they leave, you have to start all over again. It is funny that many of these guys will be coming back before I leave. Some come on the day I leave, which is the reason for the term, "See you on the gangway." I hear that a lot from these guys.

Another USPH Scare

Well we thought we were going to have another USPH inspection this week as the day before we got to Juneau one of our ships was checked. Also that morning another of our ships was inspected. Everyone was freaking out and they denied us shore leave to get off the ship. What a bummer, and they didn't even come. All of that nonsense for nothing, anyways we still have to be ready for the next few weeks until we pass through Hawaii. Only 4 weeks left in Alaska!

On our day in Skagway we really were in the weeds. We had the Dine with the Chef dinner that night plus regular service in the restaurant. The Dine with the Chef was only supposed to be 9 people with a maximum of 10, so we always prep for 10 just in case. But someone in the front office took a reservation for 4 people and forgot to put it in the computer. We now had 13 people and not enough mis en place and we just got slammed with 10 tables at once for dinner. We pulled through it, but it was crazy busy.

Overall not a whole lot happened this week, just the same old same old. I have looked over the upcoming schedule for our crossing and have found that I may not be able to get off at every port because we don't dock shore side. Sometime we have to take the lifeboats to go ashore and that's after all of the passengers get off. I hear it takes a long time, so I guess I have to miss out on a couple of islands, but I can take pictures from the ship, ha.

Back in Vancouver again, and there won't be too many more of these days. Only 5 weeks left in Alaska! Well we received the highest rating again for our restaurant and are number one in the whole fleet. We even received a little party to celebrate how well we have done. It has been quite intense here over the last couple of weeks. We are preparing for another US inspection, and for the corporate inspection before we cross the Pacific to Hawaii.

I have to say that one thing I find interesting still is the difference in cultures I see every day. For one, a lot of the guys will put food on a plate, and then just eat it with there hands. I'm talking like rice and stir fry. And the fork is right there next to them. They all tell me to eat more rice because and I quote, "A serving of rice a day will keep you healthy and looking young." They said that is why all of the Filipinos look in their 20's but are closer to 40.

I was talking to the Chef about different things I have learned here since I started. One was how to make magic. Not in the sense of card tricks and disappearing people, but how to make something work if you don't have what you need. Don't have enough butter for the beurre blanc, a cornstarch slurry and extra cream can make something reminiscent of it. A lot of times we don't get what we need and we have to "mafia" or steal/borrow something from another department. I am now the #1 mafia man on the ship. I don't have a choice because my order for 1 lime, 2 pints of berries, or 1# of cheese won't get approved. So I have to roam the lines and go shopping for what I need. It is accepted though, that my position in the restaurant requires this action. I did however get involved in the Great Butter Heist this passed week. The Garde Manger guy needed 16 # of butter and I needed about 4#, so we waited until the delivery had been made to the bakery of 60#. We then used our aprons as bags and loaded up on butter. It was fun to have a teammate help out with this thievery.

I have really learned the importance of self control in the kitchen. I know it is very easy to lose control in the kitchen and start yelling and giving a lot of attitude to people. A lot of effort is needed in order to stay calm. This also allows everyone to respect you more. I definitely started out here with out any control, and I would get angry at people for doing something the wrong way. Now I know better, and feel better because of it. A lot of the people I work with either don't know or don't care. I do my best to turn both of those the other way around.

Some more interesting points of note this week: the ship I am one cost $350 million, as was pointed out in a letter to the crew that stated that we don't take care of the public crew areas. I lost my voice over the last couple of days (how can I call for service of a fired table?). I work the buffet breakfast line every once in awhile when they get slammed upstairs. I usually cook the eggs to order station. I wanted to say thank you CIA and Breakfast Cookery. I mean I would have been screwed for cooking the eggs here had I not practiced it so much at school. And while roaming around Ketchikan I saw the salmon swimming upstream, and what a sight it was.

Well I continue on my journey through Alaska, and then on to the crossing. 11 weeks left until I return. It has been a great experience so far, and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

This is where I get to cook!

That's a lot of salmon swimming upstream.

An Evening Alone

There is a new event that is going on now every week called "Dine with the Chef." This week we prepared everything for it and for the first one the exec chef too my Chef too. This meant I had to run the kitchen for dinner by myself. It was awesome. I mean I was really nervous at first. But I had the whole line to myself and didn't have any problems the whole night. I was in the zone, just pushing out the food. It was very exciting for me, kind of like showing that I was capable in the kitchen.

I now realize that when I am on break and have a good amount of free time that I have to change into my uniform. I can't let some of the guys know that I am free when they are working. It's strange, but I don't want to get any more questions of why I am not upstairs. If I can get my work done fast enough I like to enjoy some rest and relaxation, what little I may have. Anyways I also don't want it getting around to others who may want me to work extra duty somewhere else.

A few interesting things again that I find amusing... A lot of the guys call the walk in refrigerator a day room. It gets confusing, especially because who would want to spend a day in a 38 degree room. That's a little cold. Sometimes we hit some rough sea and the ship rocks a little, and plates fall. Every time a plate breaks I laugh a little. I mean it just slides right off of the shelf. Of course if I could prevent it I would, but when your trying to stop your whole station from falling to the ground there are bound to be few casualties. A lot of people keep giving me their information so that I can try to help them get jobs in the U.S. I mean I wish I could, but we have 99 cooks in the kitchen who all want to live in the states.

Anyways I have made past the half way mark of my journey here. With 13 weeks down and 12 to go it is all down hill from here. 6 more weeks in Alaska and then a 6 week crossing to Sydney. I am really looking forward to that last part. Now it's time to get some food and chill out a little.

The Alaskan Brewery Adventure

Well I finally had a decent amount of time in Juneau this week. Yup 2 whole hours off of the ship to explore. I knew that I wanted to see the Alaskan Brewery, but I didn't know really how to get there. I certainly couldn't walk as it was about 10 miles away. So that left the bus or a cab. Who has money for a cab, at least not me. So it was the city bus that took me to my destination. After asking the bus driver where to get off and getting thoroughly confused I walked off of the bus. And where the hell was the brewery! After asking for more directions and a 10 minute walk I was there. Unfortunately with only 20 minutes before having to get back on the bus to hurry back to the ship. I enjoyed my free beer tasting, but couldn't get on the tour as it started too late for me. Anyways at least I made it and enjoyed a few tasty brews.

We had an immigration inspection when before our first U.S. port this week. A long line of people awaited to be check and I was at the back. After 20 minutes I arrived at the front and saw all of the non U.S. citizens in one line, and the U.S. line was much shorter. I could've walked right in front. And to top it all off they asked everyone else plenty of questions, they only asked me, "what does your job title mean?" Wow! They asked plenty of others to everyone else.

I went on a hike again in Skagway. The trail had said it went to this waterfall called Reid Falls. So I followed the trail until it ended at the river and I couldn't follow it anymore. I followed the side of the river and caught up with the trail again. It then proceeded to split in several directions several times. I continued because I really wanted to see the waterfall, but as I continued I seemed to get lost. I couldn't really see a trail anymore and I was on a time limit. I mean someone has to be on the ship to cook dinner right? So I made my way back safely. I then found out I can get to the falls by following Main Street through town to the cemetery and take the trail behind it and it's right there. I know what I am doing this week. Hopefully some good pictures will come with that expedition.

This morning I was hurrying up to get all of my prep done so that I could get out and enjoy the better part of my day ashore. As I was speedily walking through the kitchen, the exec chef stops me and says, "Why are you moving so fast?" I replied that I just wanted to move fast to get everything done. He told me not to be so speedy so early in the morning. Oh man did I get a good laugh from that. Needless to say I kind of slowed down, at least when I was near him.

Almost to the half way point of my culinary excursion on the sea. I am really looking forward to what is to come. 12 down and 13 more to go. Wow that seems a lot better than my first week here. Things have definitely improved for me, which makes the experience all the more enjoyable.

The onboard ferrari, yup look at it in all it's glory!

The taps at the Alaskan Brewery tasting Bar

One of the servers caught me on the phone in Ketchikan.

My 23rd Birthday!

I guess I will start with the highlight of the week, my birthday. I started the week knowing that we were going to be busier than usual because of a corporate audit of the ship and special dinners and parties we had to do. I kind of thought I wouldn't do any more than have a drink in the PO bar with the chef. Well, I was wrong. All week everyone was talking about a big party. I was very excited. The exec chef asked me to cook some American food, so I did. Some of the guys cooked Filipino food and the sous chef gave us a bunch of beer and liquor and said have a good time. Wow did we ever have a good time. It was a great birthday. One of the guys brought his guitar and was playing all night. The guys in the galley gave me an apron after everyone had signed it as a present from all of them. It was pretty cool. The only thing was, I forgot to take pictures until the end when most people had left. Oh well, I certainly enjoyed myself.

We had a big meeting at the beginning of this week about how our ship's rating has been for the Alaska season. It turns out we are number one in the fleet for the season. We are doing very well, and it was good to hear that our hard work has been acknowledged. Now more than half way through the season we won't be having any more discussions about ratings. Which is good because we can all see them and it takes an hour out of the day to have these sit downs.

I finally went on a hike in Skagway. It was great to get out into the woods and breath some really fresh air. It was great to get a different view of things and to do something different. I mean for the last 11 weeks I have done almost the same thing consistently. I didn't see any wildlife, but the lake and the falls were amazing. I hope to go on the hike again this week and maybe take one of the other trails and share some more pictures.

In Ketchikan I was able to catch up with Martin again. He took me to his restaurant and cooked up a couple of burgers. We sat out on the patio had a beer and just chilled. It was nice to relax a little and enjoy eating a meal. Usually I have 10 or 15 minutes to eat, so it is almost difficult to remember exactly what I even ate. It is good to know someone at one of the ports.

I am headed back on the ship for another week of fun in the sun, ha ha just kidding. What sun, I almost never get out to see the sun, and most ports it is overcast and cloudy. But seriously, it's back to work and life on the ship.

My birthday

An apron, with the whole galley's signatures as a present for me

A pic from my hike

The eagle I saw in Skagway

The bear in Glacier Bay

Macaroni and Cheese - Literally

Well as another week went by a few interesting things have happened. Actually almost nothing did until last night. We have a Lobster Macaroni and Cheese on the menu and someone ordered it with no lobster. Our chef is Dutch and wasn't sure what this meant. The guests wanted just regular macaroni and cheese. The ordered was fired and he began to make it. He plate up some pasta and put some shredded cheese on top and into the salamander. Macaroni and cheese! I laughed so hard. So I quickly came to my good senses and made a plate of delicious macaroni and cheese for the guest. I mean, melted cheese on top of plain macaroni, I guess it is more of an American dish.

So I have been cooking plenty of steaks, in fact that is most of my job during service, but I still have an issue. Well done steak, I don't understand why people like it. It's like killing something that is already dead. It pains me to cook a piece of meat like this, but it is what some people like, I guess.

Well as my birthday is coming up everyone is starting to find out. They posted a sign with the July birthdays and and for this whole month so far everyone is saying, "happy birthday" all the time. I keep saying not yet, not yet. They are all excited for a party. But, honestly the best thing for me to do is maybe get some extra sleep. It sounds lame, but whatever man I just want some rest. I actually dream about resting when my contract is up. Weird.

As we sailed through Glacier Bay a couple of days ago, I walked outside to see the glacier. I have to say it wasn't as amazing as it was 2 months ago. It looked a lot dirtier, I mean the whole side was dark and muddy and it looked smaller. I am glad I was fortunate enough to see it when I did. Not that it still isn't an amazing sight.

I have to say I have definitely become comfortable in the kitchen. I play music every day, and we are all singing and dancing through the night. Not too bad considering there are times when we get so slammed I want to slap someone. Well anyways, it's fun and helps us all to have a good time.

So 10 weeks in, hurray double digits. 15 more to go. Well here's a quick list of interesting things. Having to jump on top of an elevator full of linen in order to get back to the kitchen. What a comfy ride. Joking about the word "banana" as it applies to anything. That thing on the table, banana. The order you keep asking for that is sitting in front of you, banana. I tell you it is driving me "bananas!" Having to make hollandaise everyday is making me really like the mother sauce much less than I used to. In Skagway I saw an American Bald Eagle perched on a tree. I will post pictures as soon as I can. At Glacier Bay I saw a bear. So that's pretty good for wild life scenery.

That's all for this edition of Cooking on the Deep Blue. Stay tuned for more updates.

What the Heck Just Happened

Well I guess I have to start with what just happened to me. So let me take you back about 20 minutes to me walking the streets of Vancouver. It's a hot sunny day here in the city and I was walking back from lunch to this coffee shop to get on the internet, and some guy comes up to me. Now first off he locked eyes with me and made a bee line straight for me, he was super skinny, and his teeth were rotted away. He started to talk to me, and I listened being the kind person I am, and went on and on. He said that he just got here from Australia and he was at the hotel with his wife and kid and they left without him. He had a job in Whistler that he needed to get to. But his passport was with his family, and he had cerebral palsy. It was an elaborate concoction that may or may not have been true, but he said he needed 14 bucks to get on the bus. I said I didn't have 14 bucks, but I had a couple dollars in change that I gave him. He continued to follow me for 2 blocks and press me to give him a 20 or go to the ATM, which I would not do. Finally, I said, "Look man I don't have that much money on me and I am not going to the ATM, I gave you a couple bucks and that's all I can do." He started flipping out and cursing at me that I was the reason he would lose his daughter and I just walked away. Whether or not it was the truth I don't know, but right from the beginning I had a feeling it was just a story. Well that is over with, thank goodness and on to this last week's adventures aboard the ship.

Like I said last week we passed our Canadian Public Health inspection with flying colors, and the only points we lost were from the engine room, which is obviously out of our control. So the chef invited all of the sous chefs to the bar and asked me to tag along. He was in such a good mood. He bought everyone beers several times over. It seems like I am on the good side of the chef and that is good news for me and makes my life easier. This way I am not getting checked on constantly and nobody gives me a hard time.

One thing I forgot to mention last week was I caught up with my friend Martin from the CIA in Ketchikan. He took me around the island and showed me his restaurant. It was a lot of fun, not to mention really cool to get the local view of things.

It was a nice week in the restaurant. We didn't have too many busy nights and nobody started yelling. A pleasant retreat from the previous week that seemed like hell. Not to mention our rating went up, I mean way up over the last week. This is good for us and that means we are less likely to here any bad news from the upper management. It's funny how if your ratings are good they don't bother you, but they don't say congratulations either, but if they go down even a little they are all over you.

I have finally realized that my job in the restaurant, well all of our jobs in this restaurant, give us the "good life." Compared to all of the other galley cooks we have it made. More break time and it's not as crazy and hectic. I mean we do work really hard, but we can manage to make it civil and almost enjoyable at times. A lot of the guys get on our case about living the good life. My chef says that this contract for him is a vacation compared to his last one where his time off was maybe an hour if he was lucky on his 17 hour days. I guess my 12 or more hour days don't seem so bad.

A couple things I have noticed over the last few weeks. One is that time is moving way faster than my first couple of weeks. 9 weeks down already. Another is there is a monitor in the kitchen that shows all of the meal information for the dinners, number ordered, remaining, served, etc. It also shows the number of passengers on board and off board, and the same with crew. It's funny to see how sometimes there is like 400 crew on board and maybe 100 passengers. And then at certain times at port you can just watch the crew numbers drop so far in a matter of minutes. One of the key desserts served is of course the Baked Alaska. I have seen it every day for 2 months, and would you believe that I have never had one before. So I asked our pastry guy Willy to get me one. It was pretty darn tasty I have to say. The last item of note is rough sea. Sometimes the ship is really moving left and right, this means everything slides and can fall to the floor. The other day a stack of plates just slid off the counter and shattered. Also in this sense you really can walk uphill both ways or vice versa.

The really good news is that Willy was able to extend his contract and instead of leaving today he is here until the end of September. He is a key part of this awesome team in the restaurant. They didn't tell him he could stay until last night. What timing huh.

Every week the hold a big Dessert Extravaganza up on the Pool Deck. They surround the pool with a bunch of tables and decorations, and then fill it up with sweets of plenty. There are ice carvings and chocolate sculptures. It was awesome. I posted some pics here.

Overall everything is going much smoother now that things have settled down with the changes is staff. I am starting to like it here more and more.

Dessert Extravaganza

Hanging out at the Dessert Extravaganza (what a fun word)

The Dessert Extravaganza - There were a lot of desserts!

The Lumberjack Show

A Lobster Party!

A Great Day

Well today was a great and interesting day. Yes I am here in Vancouver yet again. First of all I will say that the weather is the best I have seen so far. It is quite enjoyable. A sunny, clear blue sky, and not to hot and a nice breeze. Ahhh.... What a way to relax after a crazy busy week.

First of all since day 1 of this last cruise we've been busy. We constantly were overbooked because the manager wanted to make his target, and I think exceed it since we did. We could have closed the last 2 days and still made the target. I think he is pushing it since we have 2 extra servers that will leave in 3 weeks and then we will drop down to the usual reservation numbers.

I got my first haircut on this ship one night. I was curious as to how everyone of the crew got the hair cut. I asked around only to find that on some nights down on the B deck, the bottom of the ship, I could find someone cutting hair in one of the hallways. I searched but could find no one. I talk to my roommate who called the guy and told me to run down because he was almost done. So down in the bowels of the ship there sat a chair in front of a mirror hanging on a door with hair scattered all over the floor. I sat down and realized the guy cutting my hair was one of the vegetable cooks from the main galley kitchen. He used to work in a restaurant near a barber shop and went in on his time off and learned to cut hair. He did a better job than I have gotten at any chain place in the states, and it was only 5 bucks. The craziest thing was he used a double edged safety razor to trim the sides. I have never seen that before. And with my sweet new haircut I went back to my cabin.

The new chef has been really great so far. He likes to joke around and have fun in the kitchen, which I like to do as well. But he knows what he's doing and is very good at. There is a saying that is kind of a joke here and it is when one person says, "Why you like that?" the answer is "because eh". I think its funnier with the accents and the expression on peoples' faces, but I always find it quite amusing.

We have these random meetings sometimes called 5 minute trainers where the whole kitchen rallies in the main galley and listens to the sous chef talk about a different safety item. Well this week I came like two minutes early and one of the guys had his laptop on one of the stations and he usually listens to music, but not this time. This time everyone was crowded around watching something. The speaker accidentally went on, and I knew what it was. I started cracking up. I let you guess what they were watching. But when the sous chef came out of his office to start he saw it and yelled at all of them to, "Stop that, Stop that right now!" over and over again. It was funny.

We had the 4th of July here on the ship. It certainly wasn't the party that the Filipino Independence Day was. A crowd of people gathered in the Officer's Bar. Some decoration were hung and an American flag cake was on the table. It was nice just to grab a beer and hang out, but I was a little let down. No BBQ or Fireworks this year.

Today I was prepping in the kitchen when the Culinary Operations Manager or COM, came running through the kitchen yelling, "Zero, Zero....Zero, Zero!" This meant the Canadian Public Health Department was on board for the inspection. We rushed to clean everything up, and put things away. I had to hold off on my prep for an hour because of this. And as we patiently awaited our judgement, they walked to all of the kitchens. Guess what, they didn't come to our kitchen. All of that and they totally bypassed our kitchen. Well I am sure we did well. But that was just crazy.

Now I am just enjoying the free time I have before I must return to work. 8 weeks down and 17 to go. I'm impressed that I have made it this far already. A lot of the guys respect me a little more because I haven't left yet. Usually any "Westerner" that comes for a contract here leaves after the 1st or 2nd week. So they have welcomed me into their group. It definitely makes things easier.

Our New Chef

As another week passed by, I look back and think of how interesting it has been. The first day we had a new chef. He is from Korea, but has lived most of his life in Holland. This whole week has been rough on us all as we are adjusting to some new ways of doing things in the kitchen. Fortunately for us, he is actually a really nice guy. His first couple of days I had explained to him how we ran he kitchen before, and seemed to respect me and my way of doing things. This was a pleasant surprise. The first night was a piece of cake for us. Very few reservations, and one of the servers had his birthday that night so he played with the times and blocked off 8, 8:30, and 9 reservations so we would be done early. No complaints here. We then gathered in the dining room for some drinks and chill out. It was pretty nice. Over the next couple of days I realized that this new chef likes to hang out and have fun. We have been going out at ports and checking out the town and grabbing beers after work. It's been a nice transition so far. I look forward to cooking with him and learning from him as well. He will be the chef for the remainder of my contract which is nice. So now I know that the kitchen will not change anymore while I am here. This is good.

Politeness seems to be something of a lost or non existent part of daily life here. Most people do not say, "good morning" or "how are you?" just, "I need this now!" Well isn't that just lovely. I try my hardest not to sink into this. I always will say those things even if I am greeted first thing with a request and no pleasantries. I wonder if it is just part of their culture or just the culture on the ships.

Another topic, which seems much more prevalent here, is adultery. I have talked with many people here and they all seem to have wives and families at home, but have girlfriends on board. I understand that people do cheat, but I have never been so heavily exposed to the abundance of people that do this. I guess that if they are alright with it and that is what they do, then whatever.

I have learned a few things while here on the ship. One is now I can eat dinner. I mean I can sit down and shovel a plate of food in my mouth in a matter of minutes because I don't have too much time. I have allotted myself about 10 minutes to run downstairs, eat, and run back. So far so good. What makes it easier is the fork and spoon technique I have learned. All of the guys here eat with a fork in one hand and a spoon in the other. The spoon scoops food onto the fork and holds food if you want to eat two handed. Most meal times are rushed as there is not an abundance of free time to eat.

Well we suffered in our ratings for the last two weeks in the main galley and the Pinnacle. It sucks, but we will continue to push and try harder. The executive chef called the whole crew into the main dining room for a speech about how we need to try harder. He is actually pretty good at rallying the troops and building a strong team. I have a feeling we will do better next cruise.

Well I don't have any new pictures right now, but I did take some of the awesome lumberjack show we went to in Ketchikan. It was very entertaining and amusing. 7 weeks down and 18 to go.

A couple of pictures

Well I ran back to the ship and uploaded a couple of pictures for everyone to see.

Jomon's last night

From left to right: Me, Willy (pastry), Joel (Asst. Cook), Romel (dishwasher), Jomon (chef)

I took this picture the night before we got to Glacier Bay. It was around 11 pm and it just looked amazing outside.

Final Days of Chef Jomon

Well first I will apologize as I have forgotten my camera in my cabin and thus cannot upload any pictures this weeks. I will try to take of this massive lapse in memory by uploading on Friday when I am in Juneau.

This past week was the last week for our Pinnacle Grill Chef, Jomon. He started the week with a huge scare. So here I was on break in my cabin, relaxing, watching tv, when all of a sudden the phone rings. It was the sous chef he said, "Josh you had better get up to your kitchen and get ready for service, your chef did not get back on board and we are leaving Vancouver." I was like holy crap. I couldn't believe it, but I ran upstairs running the whole menu through my mind. I arrived in the kitchen only to find a frantic Jomon gathering his mis en place (prepared items). He had been late arriving on the ship and did not scan his card as the security stand was taken down. No one in the kitchen knew he was on board and thus all of the confusion. The rest of the week seemed like he was in a daze as thoughts of his return home to India floated through his mind. He was a good chef and taught me a lot in the last 6 weeks. I saw him off the ship this morning, and said goodbye.

A new era is upon this kitchen as the new chef arrived. His name is Kim. So far so good, but our first service is tonight. I showed him around the kitchen and informed him of all of the ins and outs of this ship. He seemed very enthusiastic and excited to be here, and he expressed the desire to have this contract be much better than his last.

I decided to share what a day on board is like for me. I know that I have said my schedule before, but this way maybe an understanding can be reached. Of course every day is a little different depending on how busy we are and whether we are at port or not, but things are still fairly similar. I start the day around 6:00 am and as I wake from the faint sound of my alarm through my ear plugs, which I must wear because of my cabin mate and his terrible snoring, I think of the new day. I climb down the ladder from the top bunk and that first step on to the cold floor sends a shooting message from my feet to my head. They tense up and say, "Oh No not again, just a little more rest please!" I go to the gym and am ready for breakfast by 7:45 am. At 8 I pick up my produce from the provisions area on A deck. The decks starting from bottom to top are B,A, and 1 to 10. I haul everything to my kitchen on deck 4 and begin my day. If there is no lunch I am out by 10 or 11 and have until 4:30 to hang out. If there is lunch then I must stay until 1pm and then I go for my break. I return for dinner service at 4:30 and as we push through the massive amount of tickets that sometime just pile up, we send the last order out around 9pm. Then we clean and are out by 10:30pm. The last day of the cruise is what we call general cleaning. This means everything comes out of the fridges and we scrub and sanitize and detail the whole kitchen. This day puts us out of the kitchen at 11:30 or later. And then the first three days of the cruise we are in code red. This means that all food in buffet areas has to be served to guests by someone, there is no self service. This is because many people come on board, potentially sick and it could spread. Then the third night which is right now Juneau night we super sanitize. We use to concentrations of sanitzer after we scrub everything down. The first kills the bacteria and the next sanitizes the area. We do a lot of cleaning and the standards are much higher on board than on land. Many of the company policies exceed those of the US Public Health. Then I either go the PO Bar for a beer if I'm not too tired and then off to bed for another day. It's hard to believe that 6 weeks have gone by. Well there are only 19 more to go.

So how about a little kitchen lingo. Some I have heard before and some I have not. A lot of things like order, fire, and all day are used. One that I find amusing is when someone says, "We have a lot like rice." Meaning obviously plenty. Jomon said something but I cannot spell but can try to write the way it sounds, "Ta' al a habibi." He said it means hurry up. There are plenty of other things, but this is just a couple.

Oh the ribeye connection. A prevalent system that thrives in the underbelly of the world that is what everyone refers to as, "life on board." I find it nice to have a good relationship with those that help me out to make my life easier. As most cultures are different than what I am used to I have to adapt. Politeness and kindness go a long way with me, but not with those that live here. That is where the ribeye comes in. An example, The provision guys downstairs will gather all of my produce for me and put it all in one nice container so I don't have to search and waste an hour looking for everything. This all for the low cost of one ribeye every week or so. Thats not bad considering this payment is split between 4 people. Other specialty things are worked out on a case by case basis. Last night the manager asked me to cook some food for him and the wine steward, and I wasn't in the mood to stay longer just make him a steak. But he said the wine steward could get me anything I wanted to drink. Bingo! So I have been craving a good beer, since only lagers are available to crew and I honestly find them to be a little boring and just don't hit the spot after a long day. I have noticed Alaskan Amber on board so I asked for that for myself and a few more for the other guys in the kitchen. It was worth it.

One thing I touched on earlier was a difference in cultures and understanding. This is something I still struggle with, but am getting better in being clearer on how I express myself. The other day for lunch one of the servers, started giving us a hard time because of the lack of a particular garnish on the plate. Not that there wasn't a garnish, just not the one that he wanted. He started to give me attitude about it and I snapped at him. We settled our differences later as I expressed how things he was saying earlier to my assistant cook and myself made me feel and why I reacted the way I did because he then yelled at me, and honestly I am not a fan of yelling, especially in the kitchen. And actually he apologized to me as well, which says a lot. We are good now, and I know that I need at least one server on my side and he is it, as the other servers don't really care about the kitchen. Although every now and then I make some damn good Philly Cheesesteaks for us in the kitchen and always make an extra for him. It works.

As I was walking to the cafe I saw something that looked familiar. It was a hot dog stand, but not just any hot dog stand. This was called Japadog. They do Japanese style hot dogs. What's even funnier is that I had researched them in culinary school when I had to do a report on street food in Canada. How crazy is that. Well I certainly couldn't pass up the opportunity to try something so great. I had the Kurobuta Terimayo dog. It was a Kurobuta pork hot dog with teriyaki sauce, mayo, sauteed onions, and seaweed. This thing was pretty darn tasty.

Well it just happens to be the first sunny day I have seen here in Vancouver and I am going to go take a walk around town. Oh and please feel free to email me or post comments or questions, anything really. I'd like to here what you think.

Another Day Another Dollar

So this is the saying our chef says at the end of every night as we are cleaning up. It's actually something I look forward to hearing as it means one day closer to the end. Not that I don't like working on the ship, but it is definitely nice to think about going back home.

Well again a week has passed and I am back in Vancouver. An eventful week with a lot of different things happening. First of all our new manager for the restaurant is very interesting. He has a different way of running the reservations than the previous manager. I don't know, which I like better, they are just different. Anyways he was given 2 extra servers and so he thinks extra servers, means more guests, means more revenue. Um, no. We didn't get any more kitchen staff so why does he think we can jump up 25% more guests with no more help. Well we did it. Despite this we received our highest rating for this last cruise. I was also complimented on my low failure rate for properly cooked meats. It was just a lucky week. Only 2 send backs on 400 steaks.

One night this past week I was having a beer with my chef in the PO bar, when the executive chef gives us a hard time for night drinking with him in the Officer's Bar. We joined him and I got some real insight into what it is like working on the ships. And I got on the good side of some of the higher ranks on board, this will help I'm sure. There is always something that doesn't go our way, and usually it is a multitude of things. I guess that is how it is wherever you go. It's how you deal with these challenges that determines how good of a worker you are.

June 12 was the Philippine Independence Day party. Of course it is a huge deal because of the vast amount of Filipino crew members. The party took place in this big open space at the front of the ship that had huge bolts coming out of the ground, but the strobe lights and loud music made it a good time. Not to mention free drinks! I had a good time, and pictures will be posted when I get them as my camera battery was dead. I asked a silly question to one of the managers, "is there an American Independence Day party on board? " I was laughed at. Me being one of maybe 10 American crew members on board I guess doesn't warrant any kind of party. Oh well.

Obviously on this ship there are certain cultural differences that I have to get accustomed to especially with those I work with directly. One case arose this week with one of the servers, Well I guess my sense of humor to him is, well foreign. He doesn't get it and he got pissed off at me because he was talking with the other servers quite loudly during service, in another language of course, and I didn't understand. So with a big smile on my face I said, "So what happened, did you screw up another table?" Oh man that set him off. And after service I went to apologize for the misunderstanding and he told me that it was harassment and if he wanted he could go directly to the Captain to report it. I talked with him a little and we smoothed things over. Now we are cool and there are no problems.

Well 5 weeks down and 20 to go. And in all of my time here on board one thing stands out. What the hell is a + or - on a meat order. A medium + or medium well -. I mean come on, I might as well grab a thermometer and ask what temperature you want it cooked to, 137 or 143. I get a kick out of every time I see this on an order.

Here are some pics from last week:

Working hard on the grill

The not so "Sweet Lunch"- there are 4 more tables, but this had the ice carving

The Pinnacle Pastry Chef, Willy, what a character

Well I am still asked at least once a day, "Are you going to sign up for another contract?" I just started this one and it's six months long. How can I think about another one so soon. I have no idea, but I do not deny the possibility of wanting to continue just as I do not deny the possibility of anything. Never say never. I am enjoying for the most part this experience that I am having. There are certainly a lot of life lessons to be learned here and plenty of things I will never forget.

Time is moving faster

Wow, I can't believe it's been another week. It seemed like it was just yesterday I was sitting in this coffee shop posting my last entry. Well another week and a ton of stories. To start we have two new sous chefs on the ship. It is always a challenge to change to new management as everyone has their own ideas.

Oh plastic wrap. This is usually something that is available in all kitchens. Well when there is one roll for an entire kitchen of 60 people in 5 different rooms, it's not enough. Plastic wrap is like gold on board, and if you have a roll you guard it with your life.

I attended another lobster party, only this time it was more like the after party. I arrived too late and they already finished the lobster, but kindly invited me to continue the night with them in the crew mess. There is where I learned a lot more about these guys. So I was talking with one of the Garde Manger guys, Bruno, and he wanted to know my story. I told him and he was very interested and was talking about how he has worked his way up in the company from dishwasher and all of the Filipino guys that work for this company are in it for the long haul. He assured me that my next contract, should I choose to do another one, would be as a sous chef or higher. He insisted that I remember his name and I could help him out in the future. All of the guys keep reminding me of their names and that they are helping me now so I can potentially help them in the future. Some of them have invited me to their homes in the Philippines. Some of these guys are quite nice, but most do what they have to do in order to survive.

The other thing I learned about these guys is their strong connection with the movie 300. All night in the kitchen you here someone say, "SPARTANS!" and the rest of the guys do the chant from the movie. The reason is we are so few cooks against so many guests. It's amusing and fun to join in with them in the chants. In some cases we are a team, in others not so much. This is one of those uniting factors for all of the kitchens.

A word to my fellow CIA students and graduates, with my ServSafe certification expired I am required to take the test again as it is company policy. Unfortunately for me I have to sit through a class. I am sure it will be better than my first teacher, but a week long class of things I already know, to take a test I have already passed. What a bummer, but at least I get paid during the classes. You always have to look at the upside of the things.

I wanted to share a bit of culinary magic with some people. Yesterday I had reheated mashed potatoes and added a little too much cream, and when I say a little, I mean it turned into potato soup. I had no more potatoes, but needed mashed potatoes for service in 30 minutes. What do you do? Well, and keep this a secret, I used a cornstarch slurry to thicken them. Just added and brought to a boil and Presto! Tasty mashed potatoes that were actually not that bad and nobody could tell. I asked several people to try them. Oh the fun in the kitchen.

On the last day of every cruise we have a special buffet called Suite Lunch. Now on my first week everyone was talking about it and I though Sweet Lunch. People were all worried and I was like why, it's the pastry departments deal right? I was sorely mistaken. On this day the Pinnacle is responsible for setting up a huge hors d'oeuvre buffet for 150 people who stay in the suites, and a 50 person regular lunch in our dining room all while the chef of the Pinnacle is busy carving fruit and setting up the buffet. I like lunch usually because the kitchen is mine and I run the hot side all by myself and my assistant cook Joel, the new guy, runs the cold side. Anyways the Suite lunch is definitely not sweet.

I will try to post some sort of a calendar or schedule, and although unlikely if you are in one of the cities I'm in on the same day let me know.

Me in the Pinnacle Grill kitchen

The dining room

More of the kitchen

So I have now figured out how to put pictures here. I have to go to a place off the ship that has free wi fi. Like the Blenz Coffee I am sitting in right now in Vancouver. It is like 10 times faster than the internet on the ship. So here are a few I have taken so far. Again there are more on facebook because for some reason the pictures take quite some time to upload even now. And I am somewhat impatient.

My cabin mate Judy, unpacking and showing off our sweet bunk beds.

Skagway, Alaska

My ship docked in Skagway

Glacier Bay

Well I have seen how unorganized a large corporate environment can be since working here. For the last two weeks there were rumors going around that they were going to take the other cook in the restaurant, Lemont, away and move him somewhere else. After trying to confirm this with the executive chef of the ship he just said, "You never know what is going to happen." Then the last night we were told that he would be changing positions today. So in one night everything got messed up. There was no time to train the new guy, and the chef of my restaurant is busy helping the guest chef on board and I have no idea what goes on at that station. So I have a feeling that dinner tonight will be very interesting.

I have also been informed by many of the crew that they are all extra nice to me, not because of my seniority in the kitchen. It is because they think that after this contract I will become the 2nd cook, which is just under the executive chef of the ship and skip the sous chef position, and eventually become chief cook, or the executive chef. So they expect that if they are nice now and give me anything I want I will remember in the future and return the favor. I laughed when they told me this.

On to the topic of piracy! This kitchen is all about it, at least in my restaurant. Most of the items on our food orders never get approved because of budget restrictions. So we are forced to go around to all of the other kitchens and snag whatever we need. If I need fruit I go to garde manger and swipe what I need and hide it in a covered pan as I walk away. If I need vegetables I go to the vegetable guy and try to bargain for a bell pepper or two. If I need mashed potatoes I go to the potato man, and yes there is a guy who only deals with potatoes, and I usually trade him a red bull for some mashed potatoes. This is worth it because it saves me time. And then I go to the soup man and take from him what I need, well you get the picture. I am constantly walking around all of the kitchens looking for tools and pans and hijacking them and hiding them in our kitchen. We lock up our equipment at the end of the night. Plastic wrap is worth more than gold as there is currently two rolls for the deck 4 kitchens. One for my restaurant and one for the main galley, garde manger, bakers, buffet, and salad kitchens. Ours is always hidden or locked up. Also 1/3 hotel pans, 1/9 hotel pans, whisks and silicone molds are a precious commodity, that are locked up and hidden. Even the key to get into our padlocked cabinet is hidden. You can't trust anyone, and some stuff even makes its way back to my cabin every night, as I don't want to risk losing any of it. Once it goes missing, consider it gone forever. The art of stealing, bargaining, and trading are very important here.

Other than that nothing else new for me. I will try to take some pictures of the kitchens and post them soon.