foodahead26 | Jan | 2018

GALLEYMASTERS

Messman

ImportanceChief cooks

and Role of

on Merchant Vessels

and

As an army travels on its stomach, so the good care and condition in which a merchant vessel must be kept depends largely on the food served to the crew.

Wholesome food and a well-balanced diet can keep a man on his toes and push his morale higher than any other factor. The ingenuity of the cooks, therefore, is an important contribution to a "happy ship."

In layman terms, the galley is what is generally known as the kitchen of the ship. There are various types of ship galley jobs on ships. Every such galley jobs on ship are unique and allow a person to gain a lot of experience and proficiency.

To keep the crew in good spirits our modern merchant ships have more facilities and contain better-trained men than in previous years. A good trained cooks can create good variety in food served on daily basis to keep the high and happy spirits on board.

Some preparations for the meals are usually done a day ahead of time and cooking a meal for the crew takes from two to three hours. The men usually arise at 0530 to start breakfast and have rest periods between meals. In evenings, after supper, a cold meal like sandwiches are prepared for the night watch.

Chief cook supervises the maintenance and operation of the galley and mess rooms of the officers and crew. He also ensures all the electronics in galley and stores are in good working condition. He also maintains the galley in good order and keeps it ready for inspection at any given point of time by any port authorities. He orders the supplies for the department and plans the meals. It is the saloon team's job to keeps record of all meals served on board.

Chief cook maintains the inventories of all the provisions on board. He reports the inventories accurately to the office after taking the physical count of each provision product stored on board every month.

An efficient cook can avoid lot of quality issues while receiving supplies on board. An effective check can be carried out while receiving provisions by detailed check against ordered list. If any observation on quality or quantity; it should be reported to the concern person or department for further action in stipulated time frame. Such action will not allow vendors to repeat mistake intentionally or unintentionally.

Importance and Role of Chief

cooks and Messman on

Merchant Vessels

Aboard ship, the Messman is responsible for the maintenance of accommodations and officer's Mess rooms.The messman's job is not an easy one - his duties are many and varied. He is coffee man, assistant cook, pantry man, waiter, dishwasher, housekeepings teward, and porter. He must have in mind that he is training to become a Chief Cook. It is an interesting and highly skilled profession. There are Chief cooks who are famous for their ability in supervision and organization and also for their culinary specialties.

The messmanwho applies himself, who does his work diligently and exerts his best efforts in his learning, has that future before him.

Advancements in the Steward's Department are given to those men who not only are capable of acting as efficient messmen but who are also of good conduct and strong character.

The messman's duties, in general, consist of the maintenance of officer's quarters and mess-rooms, and the serving of meals. It is to his advantage to know how to wait on tables properly and to prepare salads. Waiting on the crew is another of the messman's duties and he must realize that they are entitled to the same courteous service as anyone aboard.

The messman assists the chief cook in preparing meals,he helps cook in cutting vegetables and assists in keeping the galley and cooking equipment clean.

The messman's personal cleanliness is of great importance. The tidy messman has a healthy body, short fingernails, clean hands, and neat clothing. When serving on tables he does not use strong smelling hair tonics or perfumes since they may affect a person's appetite.

In order to be able to perform his duties with ease and speed, he must prepare a schedule. A systematic method of cleaning will eliminate wastage of time and the possibility of leaving anything undone.

A room steward must always be on the alert for unsanitary conditions and he must also take special precaution toward prevention of disease. Mattresses, bed springs, pillows, corners and connections of bunks should be examined very carefully and sprayed frequently. Toilets, bathrooms, and alley-ways also must be kept clean by the room steward.

Chief cook & Messman; both are equally responsible to the galley and they must keep the utensils and galley clean. It is essential that all factors bearing on proper stowage of provisions be carefully understood. Keeping quantities of provisions for long periods of time is largely dependent upon proper stowage and regular monitoring. If stowed near heat or exposed to sun, light, or salt spray, vegetables will spoil quickly. Stowage conditions aboard ship present more difficulties than on shore. For that reason, particular attention must be given to provisions of all kinds.

The Messman

Safety

To be safely stowed, provisions should be protected from weather, dampness, heat, crushing, evaporation and vermin.

Orderliness

Stores are kept in an orderly manner so that stowage appears neat and is saving in space. Order ly stowage expedites inventories. Particular care must be taken in stowage so that old stock may be used first. The new stock should be introduced at later stage or after the old stock. Such rotations will avoid expired and spoiled products in stores.

Ventilation

A poorly ventilated stowage space is apt to become warm, thereby exposing food to heat and dampness. A draft of air will cause evaporation of excess moisture, lower the temperature and remove odours. Dry provisions should be checked on regular basis to avoid any infestation.

The following factors govern the stowage of stores

and food handling: safety, ventilation,

orderliness,and cleanliness.

Hygiene

Chief cook and Messman must maintain good hygiene levels. Any unhygienic way of handling food can lead to contamination; they should maintain their personal hygiene as well as galley hygiene at very high level.

Cleanliness

Stores are kept in an orderly manner so that stowage appears neat and is saving in space. Order ly stowage expedites inventories. Particular care must be taken in stowage so that old stock may be used first. The new stock should be introduced at later stage or after the old stock. Such rotations will avoid expired and spoiled products in stores.

Cooked food must be stored at proper temperature and at clean place so that it will not lead to any contamination. As such contamination may lead to food poisoning & diarrhea.

Things to Remember

A man carrying hot food must always be given the right of way. "One hand for the ship and one for yourself" should not be forgotten when carrying food through passageways because a sudden lurch of the ship may result in serious injury as well as loss of food.

Avoid loitering in the galley. Cooks and bakers are usually busy and therefore inclined to be temperamental. Refrain from unnecessary conversation. Whistling and loud talking are not permitted on a ship.

Avoid smoking in galley; nobody should touch any food product directly after smoking. Hands should be cleaned properly with soap prior touching any food products.

While picking up any heavy subject chief cook and messman should follow proper postures

When serving in officer mess, the messman must, in addition to the common courtesies, treat officers with all the respect due their rank. The maintenance of discipline by the messman will aid him immeasurably when he advances to a position in which he will have to give orders. It is then that he will realize and appreciate the value of discipline and the inefficiency that results from the lack of it.

Do You Know

Pecan Nuts & Walnuts

Health Benets Of Walnuts And Pecan NutsIn the health community, both walnuts and pecan nuts are considered to be heart friendly nuts. This means that eating these nuts on a regular basis will help support your heart health.Pecans have higher levels of Vitamin E than walnuts do, whereas walnuts are higher in Omega-3 fatty acids.Just one cup of walnuts contains 18 grams of protein, 765 calories and 8 grams of dietary fibre.One cup of pecans contains 10 grams of protein, 753 calories and 10 grams of dietary fibre.

People easily mistake pecan nuts for walnuts and visa versa. They both look quite similar, but they are quite different in their shape, taste and health benefits.

The Taste

When it comes to the individual tastes of walnuts and pecan nuts, their flavours are quite different. Pecan nuts taste sweeter than walnuts, whilst walnuts have a slightly bitter taste. This is why walnuts are roasted before they are used in certain recipes.

The Look

As far as looks are concerned, walnuts are quite a bit larger and broader than pecan nuts. Walnuts are also a bit lighter in colour. People often say that walnuts look like “little brains”, and it's no surprise that walnuts are known for their “brain-boosting” health properties.

GALLEYMASTERSMr. Onkar A. Dichwalkar - Manager Catering

Tel: 022 66888063 | Email: dichwalkaro@angloeastern.com

Welcome 2018

The year 2017 ended for Galleymasters in a good note where Galleymasters started few new chapters which have benefitted our sailing staff.

We started the year with improvised newsletters with better design and some new fresh topics which have assisted our saloon team to fine tune their daily jobs and uplift it to another level.

Galleymasters have extended our services to a section of crew managed vessels of Anglo Eastern Ship Management.

We have also extended our services as to take over the hectic inventory accounting function from ships, and now vessels are required to report only closing stock of the month along with man-days reports. Detailed analysis of vessel's consumption and inventories have provided vessels continuous support to improvise error free inventory reporting and have streamlined the process and also assisted vessels to keep their victualling in good order.

Vessel specific pre-joining briefing provided by Galleymasters helps Masters to coordinate with shore team with cohesiveness. It also helps to get good confidence over the shore based team to resolve lot of on board catering related issues with transparency.

Going ahead, we are looking forward for further extension of services and motivations for our saloon teams who are working hard on board to keep the high spirit of all the crew members to run the show safely. Some good initiatives are coming soon! Stay tuned!