Chukchi Borderland Project
 
 
 

Daily Updates from

our Teacher at Sea


 
 

September  17

The Galley that keeps us going.
 
 
 

  It's what you have all been waiting for, the GALLEY.   What do we eat?  And how much of it?

No, we don't eat pizza every day.

 
 
First, the crew:

Food Service Coordinator (FSCS) Phil Garrett:  He is in charge of Food Service.  He is also the Chief Master at Arms.  (Garrett is also in charge of laundry, inspections of rooms, gym, burning of garbage and many other things).

FSC Chris Ramacciotti:  He is the upcoming person who will be in charge of Food Service.

FS1 Rich Kufflel:  Galley Supervisor

FS1 Juan Barajas:  "Jack of the Dust" Juan is in charge of the breakout of food and storage of all foods.  He basically knows where all the food is in the supply room.

FS2 Lance Smaller:  "Pizza Chef" Lance is ship's barber on his days off.  He is also the Health Fitness Coordinator.

FS2 Phil Del Costello:  Duty Cook

FS2 Sean Drain:  Wardroom Cook

SNFS Mark Goitia:  Duty Cook


Rich and Lance on spaghetti night.

 
 
 
 

Juan in the cereal cage.
  The crew works hard in the galley.  As with all positions on board, some days are very long.  For example, Lance works 6:00 am to 7: 30 pm one day, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm a second day, and then has a third day off (but is cutting hair in the barber shop). 

  A baker comes in nightly and does all the baking for the next day.


 
  As in all households, the food budget is important.  The Galley on board the Polar Star prepares meals daily for 160 people.  The tour for this crew is from July 9th through October 8th.

  When in Seattle, they spent $133,000 on food and had on board already about $125,000 of food.  The budget allows for each crewmember to be fed on $7.90 per day.


Dry Storage piled to the celing.

 

Deep freeze kept at -20 F.
Note:  Canned goods can only be stacked to a set height.  If too high and the ship starts to rock and sway, the cans on the bottom will be crushed.

 
 
 
 
  The ship does a great job at budgeting.  We always have steak or prime rib on Sunday night.  Other days it may be Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for lunch.  The menu is varied and some days may be 5-star meals and other days not.

Seaman Peter Flynn and Seaman Steven Timmermann.

 
 
 

The Polar Star goes grocery shopping for...


Food Item Quantity
Cheddar Cheese 800 lbs
Mozzarella Cheese 120 lbs
Potatoes 2,500 lbs
Yellow Onions 600 lbs
Red Onions 300 lbs
Chocolate Chips 192 lbs
Chicken Breast Tenders 600 lbs
Orange Juice 204 liters
Vegetable Mix 600 lbs
Alaskan Fillet Cod 225 lbs
Corn Dogs 110 lbs
Salmon Fillets 500 lbs
King Crab Legs 600 lbs
Heinz Ketchup 60 gallons
Chicken Breasts (split, skinless) 930 lbs
Honey Nut Cheerios 100 lbs
Coke Classic (syrup) 90 gallons
Coffee 600 lbs
Butter (10 lbs per day) 900 lbs
Burger Patties 600 lbs
French Fries 1200 lbs
Peanut Butter (amount used to date) 252 jars
Milk (only lasts a few weeks) 225 gallons
Space Milk (no refrigeration date) 285 gallons so far
Granulated Sugar (for baking only) 100 lbs
Sugar Packets (for coffee) 140 lbs
Sliced Bread (wheat and white) 252 loaves each
Salsa (amount used to date) 30 gallons
Hot Cocoa Packets (amount used to date) 292 lbs
Marinara Sauce 1120 lbs
Eggs 5,920 shelled + 13,500 liquid = 19,420 eggs

 
 
 
 
  A big question that the scientists had for the Galley was, "How did they keep the lettuce around for so long?"  Answer:  They just keep peeling the outside layer off as it goes bad.  We had lettuce up until last week.

  Lucky for us all, culinary professionals are in charge of the Galley.  Pizza night was good, but there isn't much room for trial and error when you are out at sea for long cruises.


Scientists experimenting during pizza night.  Mmmmm!!!