Menus, Menus, Menus

On board a ship of this nature, the word "no" is rarely uttered. "It is our utmost duty to provide a 5 star experience for all our guests".... or so you can just imagine me saying, chest upthrust and proud.

HAH! ::shakes his head:: Man, that's cheesy....

Unfortunately, never saying "no" pretty much guarantees a logistical aneurism for the crew. To focus on my particular area, we (the three members of the Pastry Team) have the task of meeting the demands of 6 set menus, and the ever-changing catering/function menus. Here's the breakdown:

4 Restaurant Menus
In Room Dining (IRD) Menu
Kids Menu
+ Functions / Catering Custom Menus
=============================
Josh in Therapy

Yep, it's simple math. Regardless, the work gets done. We all go home eventually to rest, rise, and fight the fires of tomorrow. Diving into the restaurants, each has its own theme:

East - Sushi Bar, and food from all across the continent of Asia (located on Deck 11, Poolside)
Tides - Mediterranean Cuisine with an Italian flair (Located on Deck 11, at the aft, or tail end of the ship)
Marina - American Cuisine (Deck 5, Aft, featuring a small indoor pool, and direct access to the gigantic sea-level fold out deck)
Portraits - Upscale Cuisine, typically featuring more daring/challenging dishes (Deck 5)

and the remaining responsibilites:

In Room Dining - All residents and guests have the opportunity to enjoy the full restaurant experience right in their own homes. As such, the Galley prepares the food while the waitstaff readies the recipient's cabin with tablecloths, settings, glassware, and any other special serving dishes the order should require. The food is then delivered, and, upon completion, the area is bussed and cleaned to its original state.

Functions / Catering - As a resident (or guest) on the ship, opportunities to be social with the other members of the resident community are few and far between. (Basically, this is a home, not a summer camp) As such, hosting personal events with small clusters of residents becomes a welcome change, and a regular affair. Unfortunately, each and every resident taking advantage of this service wants something unique, and (lets face it) a hell of a lot nicer than the last one they saw at ol' whats-her-face's place. Demands range from favorites they've had onboard, to obscure treats found in their respective towns and cities. Menus can be as simple as a buffet spread, or as complicated as a nouveau 8 course degustation menu. Now, we even go so far as to offer catering for larger functions such as weddings, shore parties, and other 100+ people events. This week for example, we're currently producing a wedding cake, dessert buffet, AND plated desserts for a 145 person wedding... oy

and last but not least, the sometimes utilized Kids Menu - Entertaining kids onboard is a rare occasion. Items for this menu are the stereotypical kiddy desserts (read: "fudge brownie," Banana Split.. etc). They don't require much thought, but do force us to maintain a supply of items we ONLY use for this menu.... stupid eh?

Together, it's well... a lot. I've been here a full month now, and I can say that the full picture is finally coming into focus. It's not quite there yet, but I'm starting to compile a list of improvements I'd like to make in July when, oh yeah, did i mention, I'm supposed to take over. Yeah, funny how that works. Apparently my boss is starting his two month vacation in July and is now making me the head Pastry Chef onboard. I'm a little stressed about it, but I suppose that's a good thing. After-all, it's a hell of a motivator.

Anywho, as always, i'm chuggin along but thinkin' about you guys. I may be a little bogged down in the next few days, but i promise i'll keep the updates flowing.

Current Postion: Ensenada Mexico
On Route to: San Diego, CA

I promised pics, so here's a few of the plates we've been doing:



ENJOY!!!

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin, We ain't slept in weeks

If you haven't heard it yet, Kid Cudi's track Rollin (feat. Jakie Chain) is fantastic. It samples a Robert Miles track called "Children" that I used to listen to ALL the time in college. It's been on my playlist a few times recently, and i have to say, has become my unofficial theme song for the ship. I've been here almost a month now, and typically I get between 4 and 6 hours of sleep every night. Come to think of it, I haven't really talked much about my schedule yet so i'll tell you what, here goes:

07:30 - Wake up & Get Dressed
08:00 - Go to the Crew Mess (Dining Hall) for Breakfast & my morning Coffee
08:30 - Start Work - Get the morning's supplies (Flour, Sugar, Butter... whatever we order) from the Requisition office
12:00 - Break for Lunch
12:30 - Return to work
14:30 - Afternoon Break (this is typically adjusted to 15:00 or later if the day's especially full)
17:00 - Return to work
19:00 - Break for Dinner
23:00 - Finish Cleaning, change & shower in my cabin
23:30 - Head to the "Internet Cafe" or the Officer's Bar to be social/ get out of the cabin for a bit
01:00 - Back to the Crew Mess for the 1 AM snack [always get at least one chicken finger =) ]
01:30 - If no one's suckered me into going up to the helipad on the bow, staying up later in the common room, or hanging out in someone's cabin, Go to bed

Repeat as necessary.

hah, what a day eh? For instance, it's currently 11:47 PM (23:47) and I've decided to blow off the bar tonight. I really want to post an update so I've had to forgo seeing anyone. Now, just to clarify, going to the bar doesn't mean drinking your face off every night. It's the social, after-hours place for the crew to go, so naturally, if you want to see / be seen, you're there. Also, as a side note, the drinks are priced between $.50 and $1.50 so the ship kinda encourages it, and it's pretty easy to buy drinks for a ton of friends for next to nothing! .... As I was saying.... Fortunately though, this means i'll actually have a decent shot at a good night's rest, so missing it for a night is a price i'm willing to pay.

As of now, we're cruising around the Sea of Cortes. We spent a day in Cabo San Lucas, and La Paz on route to our current position. In La Paz, my roommate, a few of the girls on the ship, another guy, and myself ventured into town and found a great club where we could unwind. I bought a few rounds, and the girls bought a bottle, so as you could imagine, we had a good time. =)

Now that we're anchored at sea (off the coast of Isla San Jose), the passengers have the opportunity to join a wildlife expedition organized by the ship. As a result, daily dessert sales have gotten a bit slow. To balance the scale though, Functions & Catering has gotten CRAZY. It seems like every day we've gotta crank out specialized desserts for some 25 person event in a resident's cabin, or a last-minute barbeque on the beach for 60 residents. It's been really odd having to piece together so many different-themed events for so many different personalities upstairs. It seems that everyone has the way THEY like their food, and simply won't stand for anything less.

On a personal note, I can't believe it's been about a month since i've gotten here. It's been a tough experience so far (adjusting to ship life, working INSANELY long hours, and having your entire life in one small bubble). I think the jury's still out on my feelings so far. I'm giving it some time to really see how it plays out. June's looking like a complete shit-storm for the kitchen (TONS and TONS of functions) so I'm pretty sure it'll make or break my desire to pursue the ship life past this contract.

To my fam, Miss you guys, and to the rest, I can't wait 'til we can all chill again. I've tried to contact a few of you, but even that's been difficult so let me know what you're all up to.

Take care & ttys.

CIAO!

Touch and Go

Consistency is something i've definitely taken for granted. On land you wake up, you go to work, and you come home, all to the same places. Food orders are (reasonably) timely, the products are ones you know and appreciate, and every thing's to be expected. On the water, things are a bit different; each day's a roll-of-the-dice.

Some days we're moving, some days we're docked. Some days the produce is beautiful, and some days (like last week for example) you receive 12 kilos of strawberries and are able to use about 2 kilos of them.... what a weird life we live.

Since Guatemala, the ship's course has changed repeatedly. The Swine Flu, (now known as the H1N1 Virus) got a lot of residences freaked out about vising Mexico, so the Captain decided to reroute us to non-Mexican waters for a bit. Six days at sea put us in San Diego for fuel and food provisions. Things started to calm a bit regarding the Flu Epidemic, so the residents decided to revisit a few of the northernmost ports in our original itinerary. As of now we're making our way to Cabo San Lucas. We stopped for two beautiful days in the Catalina Islands, where I finally got to try taking one of the Tenders to shore. Now, for those who have no idea what i'm talking about, when a ship is anchored at sea, we lower one of our specialized lifeboats and use it as a shuttle to the nearest port. That shuttled then becomes what's known as a Tender. (Typically they're used when the water is too shallow for the ship to approach the destination so it's somewhat of a necessity) Anywho, our Tender is designed to fit our luxurious clientele, so for a small shuttle boat, it's pretty damn nice. =) Back to Catalina.... I took a ton of pics, but I have to apologize, holding the camera means I'm not in many of em. Shortly after, we set sail back to San Diego for one last refueling so head south into Mexican waters. Tomorrow we'll be in Cabo, and with any luck, i'll have a few minutes to escape the kitchen and touch land for a bit.

Now, I realize that I've started getting accustomed to the organization of the ship, but you guys are totally in the dark. It's a bit much to start gettin into now, but i'll type somethin up to explain how our 4 Restaurants, In Room Dining, and Special Function Catering all work together. Considering right now it's just a Pastry Chef, me (the Sous Chef), and one Pastry Cook, it's a huge work load.... and believe me, the majority of my day.

As always, keepin' you guys in mind.

Oh, and just to clarify, i'm startin to figure out how to balance the ridiculous work schedule out with a little play. It's not as much as I'd like to be doin yet, but hey, a toe in the pool's a hell of a lot better than nothing. =)

Until next time,

CIAO!!

Wanderin 'round The World

(On shore in Guatemala)

Part of joining any seafaring vessel is an INCREDIBLE amount of Safety Training. From my week long course in Florida, to the numerous classes, tests, & safety drills, I'd say i'm gettin pretty knowledgeable when it comes to sea survival. Anywho, as part of today's class, we did a walk through for the majority of the ship, capping it off with a tour of the bridge. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera (and probably wouldn't have been allowed to anyway) so I wasn't able to snap any pics of the bridge specifically but take it from me, it was AMAZING!!!! Windows swept the entire viewable radius of the front of the ship, showering light across a slick, high-tech navigation & propulsion system, all controlled from two futuristic (and fully automatic) commander's chairs. The room was nearly silent, but an occasional sporatic beep and equipment click kept my eyes darting around the room in awe of its level of sophistication (and yet simplicity!). The ship felt nimble, but rock solid. Basically, it was like being inside a gigantic Mercedes sedan, dampened, but clearly backed with power and some serious refinment.

Anywho, I could gush nerdy details about the tour all day long, but the Cliff's Notes version is as follows:

Tour was awesome. Lots o' cool stuff. Holy crap they spent a lot of money on this place!

I'll be adding tons and tons more pics as the time goes, but here's a few to start you off:

Standing on the Bow, looking out

Standing on the Bow, looking in

.... what a gorgeous ship!