6. FIRST ATTEMPT AT COOKING ON BOARD

After having meals prepared by our chief cook on the ship, I slowly realized that the food here was almost restaurant-style. Honestly, I was a little skeptical about cooking because at home my mother-in-law hardly allowed me to cook. I had learned from her, but since she is the best cook and my father-in-law is a very strict food critic, I never felt confident in the kitchen.

But on ship, it was different. There was no one to judge me. One day I told Smith, “I want to cook. Please introduce me to the galley.”

He first gave me a tour of the provision store. On ship, when the food is loaded, it is called provision. Below the galley was the provision store, and stepping inside felt like entering a supermarket. There was a dry provision room with spices, cooking oil, sauces, custard powders, noodles and more. A vegetable room filled with fresh vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, and corns. A fish room and a meat room, each with its own set temperature. I was amazed by the variety.

For my very first dish, I chose to make a Bengali-style fish curry with mustard paste- Smith’s favorite. I picked a king fish from the fish room, mustard seeds from the dry provision room, and some green chilies and coriander leaves from the vegetable room. With everything ready, I stepped into the galley.

When I told the chief cook and GS that I was going to make fish curry, they happily offered to help me. But since at home, I was used to doing everything myself-from cutting to cooking to cleaning, I told them, I did not need help. They stood nearby anyway, watching me with a readiness that reminded me of a Bollywood movie scene from Jodha Akbar, where Queen Jodha enters the royal kitchen to cook for her husband and the cooks just stand and stare. I felt exactly that- awkward, dreamy but excited.

Cooking on ship, however was nothing like cooking at home. There was no fire. I had to use hot plates with temperature 1, 2 and 3. The temperature took almost 10 minutes to rise or fall, so cooking was either in extreme high or low heat. On top of that utensils were huge and heavy. At home, we cook for just four people, but here the chief cook prepares food for 22 crew members. Handling only two pieces of fish on such a big frying pan with a giant spatula felt like a task in itself.

Still, I managed. That day, I cooked fish curry just for Smith and myself, since I was not confident enough to cook for others. But at lunch, Smith offered a little to Chief Engineer and Chief Officer. To my surprise, they loved it so much that they requested me to cook again and said they would love to join whenever I prepared something.

And that was the beginning of my cooking journey on the ship. Slowly, from cooking for just the two of us, it expanded to four, and then sometimes to all 22 crew members. I learned how to measure the right quantity, manage heat on hot plates, and enjoy cooking in this new environment.

The officers, engineers and ratings loved to eat whatever I served, and the appreciation and respect I received from them gave me a joy I had never experienced before. That’s how my journey with cooking began at sea, in a galley, with a simple king fish curry.

Sometimes all it takes is one small step, or in my case, one fish curry, to discover a passion you never knew you had.

Somedays, when we were just sailing and Smith did not have much work, he would give off duty to the GS and Chief Cook, and then we both cooked for the crew-mostly dinner. Most of the time we prepared Bengali Cuisine. Our very first dish together was Radhabalabhi with Aloo r dum, a famous Bengali delicacy. Smith helped me to knead the dough and together me made around 175 pieces of Radhabalabhi! These are small fried chapatis with a filling of spiced lentil paste, served with potato curry flavored with special spices. That is how we slowly learned to cook together, and with each meal our bond grew stronger. We even began to understand each other’s gestures and what we wanted to say just through our eyes. It was love-love in the galley. The crew members were overjoyed to see their Captain cooking for them, and the whole environment turned warm and festive.

“Cooking on board became more then just preparing meals-it became a way to share love, laughter and piece of home with everyone at sea. Every dish we made together became a chapter of our love story in the ocean”.