Three cooks and one baker ensure that the staff and the crew aboard the command ship HDMS THETIS are never short of neither solid nor liquid food.
These four people see to that all 100 aboard, three times a day can sit down at the dining table and enjoy a good and nutritius meal. The cooks Peter Aagaard, Louise Poulsen and Carl-Martin Pedersen as well as the baker Michael Märker are all happy with their job in the galley.
“The job aboard is very different and less stressful than a similar job ashore. Its very independent and we plan our own work day. Before going to sea, we plan the menu, order the goods and receive the supplies,” says Carl-Marin Pedersen. On the latest trip he has been in charge of the galley, since the chief steward is on the sick list. Frozen goods are brought aboard two days before departure, dry goods the day before, whereas vegetables and milk arrive just before we let the moorings go. “We resupply with fresh goods when we enter a harbour,” adds Carl-Martin Pedersen. All three cooks are formally trained.
Peter Aagaard has only been cook aboard THETIS for fourteen days, so he has not yet had any great adventures at sea. “There are big challenges involved in being a cook aboard a command ship. During the stay in Odense there were several lunches and galla dinners aboard. It gives us the opportunity to show what we have learnt. It is always a great challenge to plan and cook for these events,” says Carl-Martin Pedersen.
The bakers day starts aleady at 3 a.m. The job is to prepare rolls and bread for breakfast. Also baguettes, pizzas and cakes are on the to-do list for the day. “Together with the washers and the messroom men I handle breakfast, so that the cooks won’t have to meet in before eight o’clock,” says Michael Märker. His official daily programme ends at 8 a.m. But he gladly helps out in the galley with the other daily tasks.
The cooks prepare lunch which consists of dishes with laid on Danish “smørrebrød” supplemented with one hot dish. Every second day dinner consists of two dishes. Sunday there is Danish pastry for breakfast and twice a week the crew can enjoy fresh-baked cake.
“Besides the many good experiences at sea it is a relief to be able to go on deck and get a breath of fresh air – away from the smell of cooking,” all three cooks agree.
Besides working in the galley, the cooks and the baker are part of the ships crew under the various degrees of aletness. Here their work can be at the hospital or at a weapons station.
Text: Michael Christiansen, SPAO DATG