Shipping History - My experience as the ship's cook.

I was a third assistant cook on the "Dunnottar Castle," and just paying off after my third trip, when someone from UCL offices announced he was looking for volunteer assistant cooks to take a course at their London, Silvertown culinary school. I jumped at the idea having already completed a course there. Plus my girl friend, who became my first wife, lived in London and six weeks extra paid leave was great.

I had a weeks leave and reported to the school. The executive chef, Mr. Collignon, (sp?) remembered me from the last course and informed me their was a course about to start leading to a Board of Trade examination for "Ship's Cook Certification." Minimum requirements was to be a second assistant cook or higher and he was willing to promote me to second assistant cook and confirm I would be so ranked on my next ship. The added attraction was it paid an extra pound a month if I passed the ships cooks exam. I would still be in the passenger kitchen, but it was like insurance for UCL to have a certified extra ship's cook aboard in case of the extremely unlikely event of the ship's cook falling ill, dying at sea, falling overboard, or jumping ship. Easy money I thought. I was nineteen, what the hell did I know?

I finished the course and passed the test and received my ship's cook B.O.T. ticket #40151 (I still have it).

I signed on the Athlone Castle as a second assistant cook, passenger's kitchen.

About seven days out of Cape Town the chef calls me into his office. I'm not sure if the ship's cook died, or was ill but I had to report to the crews kitchen and hold the fort until Cape Town where a new ship's cook was ready and waiting.

I don't think I have ever been so bloody scared in my life. I can still remember walking into the kitchen, as though going to my death, with my knives, a steel, etcetera wrapped in an oven rag and my bum making butterflies.

Thank God there was a kindly second cook and baker, who showed me where the stores were kept, what was laid out defrosting and so on for the next couple of days meals.

Seven bell lunch comes, no problems, peggies arrive to pick-up for seamen's and firemen's mess and somehow I got through lunch.

I watched the crew come and go and all looked about seven feet tall, burley and with a knives on their belts. As I said, I was nineteen, looked like I was sixteen and I'd just left Gravesend Sea Training School, and due to start shaving the next year or so:eek:.

That evening dinner was served and this tough looking deckie walks up to the galley door with an empty but dirty dinner plate in his hand and said.

"You the new cook?"

I squeaked out a yes wondering if I should call him sir or not.

"That was the best stew I've ever had on a ship. "You staying on?"

I set him straight in a hurry...Cape Town and home to the passenger's kitchen.

The balance of the week though nerve wracking for me was uneventful.

That week was my total experience as a ship's cook.:D