Filed under: Boats, chef, cooking, Food, France, Interesting, recipes, yachts
So here it is, my last day in this job. I am not sad about this but rather pleased that I did this adventure and it will be an experience that I will never forget. My last charter was exceptional, with my favourite clients to date on board, a couple from Poland. I was even offered a personal chef job from one of the guests, which was a great acknowledgement at how I improved throughout the season. I am especially thankful for everything that I learned from Michael and I will miss random comments made by Andre and teasing Gavin relentlessly.
But it is time to go home. I look forward to non-stressful dinner parties where I too, can partake in the eating of the creations that I make. I look forward to having Michael back in Canada with me and having him in my life. I look forward to seeing my friends again and their children and soon to be children. I look forward to seeing my family and having my independence back. These are all things that are important to me, that is what I have discovered during this adventure.
Two weeks left in France. As a tourist. I look forward to it.
What is normal? This was a constant question that arose most days when a new charter would start. I constantly marvelled at new guests asking for ‘normal’ cheese or ‘normal’ meat, regardless if they were from Poland, Holland or Russia. Normal seems to change depending on what country you are from, your background and experiences. I am amazed that Europeans still seem to have this word in their vernacular given that there are so many different countries with so many different cultures/food in such as small space. Apparently, it isn’t just the Americans who are completely unaware of those around them.
I found this strange
So we had a Princess from Saudi Arabia on board and I was cooking for her. This is where I was thinking that it was all going to go horribly wrong. This is where they find out that I actually have no training as a chef. That I am actually on vacation in the south of France and doing this for the fun of it. This is where I am sent to Saudi Arabian jail for lying. Welcome to my hell. Le Sigh. These and many more thoughts caused a sleepless night. No pork, no alcohol was my mantra for the night….
After a few panic attacks and a late night google searching for “Gourmet canapes” (hey, desperate times call for desperate measures), the Princess arrived. Here is part of what I served her:
All went well and pictures were even taken of some of the food that I made her by her servants that accompanied her. A very lovely woman and so far the nicest guest that we have had on board. I am not used to being near royalty. Holy. There is probably a good reason for this.
Still it was fun scaring the guys into believing that they were going to be killed if they looked at her in her bikini.
I feel as though I have been quite negative on this blog about this adventure that I have taken. I think that I need to point out some good experiences that I have had also so that you don’t click away thinking that a)I am hating every moment and b) I am an incredibly negative person who can’t see the good in this rare opportunity that I am experiencing.
Good moments that I truly enjoy:
- going to new ports in Italy (recently Portofino). I really like Italy, the people there, their sing song language and their incredibly simple/full of flavour food.
- waking up early before the tourists wake up and walking the streets in a new village, looking for a boulangerie to get bread for the day
- going to the food markets in various villages and smelling the fruit and vegetables
- going to the butcher to get my meat, going to the outdoor market to get my fruit and veggies and going to the fish market to get my fish. It is incredible what these people know about their produce and what advice they can give you on any given day.
- trying out new recipes
- starting up my excel spreadsheet before a charter and creating new menus (geek warning)
- having a deckhand that has had 12 yrs experience as a chef and can fix most cooking dilemmas with simple solutions such as a sauce that has separated can be fixed by adding a few drops of water and stirring.
- looking up why his solutions work in my cooking chemistry book
- improving my french
- sunsets on water
- swimming in the sea, if we are at anchor and if the guests go out for lunch
- watching Michael dance in the kitchen at random moments
- not being seasick
- taking the tender in the morning to get bread when we are at anchor
- rare early morning runs when breakfast isn’t until 10am and the guests like to sleep in
So I have been to St Tropez via boat many times now as apparently that is ‘THE’ place to been seen for the rich and famous during the month of August. Infact, George Clooney was just there last weekend with Cindy Crawford and her husband.
I have decided that St Tropez is quite possibly one of the most horrible places to go as a tourist during the summer (in my opinion of course). It is ridiculously overpriced (one piece of sushi costs 4.50 euros, with a roll of 6 costing 27 euros), riduculously hot and humid and filled with tourists trying to spot stars (which there seems to be about 1 per 1000 people). That being said, there are many glamourous wannabes filtering around that seems to keep our deck hand polishing the rails well into the night. I particularly enjoy watching them coming home at 7am when I am out buying fish from the market and bread from the boulangerie for the day. They are normally slightly wilted, with smudged makeup and teetering on heels while trying to stay balanced on the cobblestone roads. I must admit that I am slightly in awe of some of the amazing dresses that seem to be worn by some of the extremely tall ladies teetering around in the early hours.
But if you enjoy hot/humid weather, being surrounded by overwhelming crowds all straining their necks for a off chance that they might spot a star and paying ridiculous prices for food and clothes then this just might be the place to go for your next holiday. To each their own.
So I was thinking that my seasickness would subside after being on the yacht for a few months but sadly this is not true. I am merely more adept at recognizing the early onset of the condition now. An overpowering desire to sleep or lie down seems to be the first sign of seasickness for me. I am amazed at how many solutions are provided to me from the guests during one of my bouts. I would like to think that these offerings are coming from a place of concern rather than a desire to get me better so that I may serve them another glass of wine or cook a meal.
Here are some solutions that have been offered. All seem to be to be valid but different ones work for different people, such as I prefer to go to my dark bunk and lie down with the air conditioning and drink a cola.
Some may work for you, some may not. Regardless, seasickness sucks and is one of the reasons that I have decided to end this boat adventure slightly earlier than expected. I have decided that I need to enjoy the rest of my sabattical and become a tourist in France for my remaining time here.
Exactly what are you teaching your children if you are still hand feeding them at age 9?
We currently have children on board. 4 kids, 2 families. 2 children are incredibly well mannered, pleasant dispositions and smiley. 2 children are finicky, loud, annoying, very ill mannered and not fun to be around. They are all perfect reflections of their parents.
If you have annoying children, I suspect that you should really look to yourselves first. Those are my thoughts for today. Based on a sample size of two.
So I have been experimenting with a basic cookie recipe lately, in search of the Perfect Cookie ™. Now I realize that this is quite a subjective topic so I will explain a bit more as to what I am looking for.
The Perfect Cookie ™ has the following attributes:
- chewy in the middle, even after a day
- retains it’s circular shape
- fluffy and raised in appearance (not flat)
My experiments have so far revealed the following:
- Flour: stops the spread and helps retain the shape. Depending on the proportion with water to flour, the cookie will be soft and cakelike or crisp and crunchy. Replacing some flour with ground almonds adds a nice subtle nutty flavour
- Sugar: causes spreading and competes with the flour at absorbing water. Too much sugar will crystallize upon cooling (if there isn’t enough water in the mixture) thus losing it’s chewiness. Replacing a bit of the sugar with honey absorbs more of the water and doesn’t allow it to crystallize, thus leaving it chewy, even after a day.
- Eggs: Provide most of the water and binds the flour together. The higher the proportion of whole eggs or yolks, the more cakey texture.
- Butter: causes it to spread and thin. Also provides richness, moistness and suppleness. About 15% water.
- Baking Soda: tenderizes cookies and helps them rise. Needed if you are using honey, brown sugar or cake flour as they are acidic and the soda neutralizes them.
If you have the Perfect Cookie ™ recipe that yields a cookie with all my desired attributes then I would love to see it. I am slowly closing in on it withusing different variations each time!
Filed under: Uncategorized
One year ago on July 7, 2007, a very good friend and climbing partner of mine was climbing with Sertac on Mount Slesse, in Chilliwack, BC. Sertac was unfortunately hit with falling ice and died on this day. His body wasn’t recovered until Sept.
I have so much to say about this and its effects on my friend, myself and the whole climbing community in Vancouver and yet so little to say about it. I am changed forever because of it and this event was the first catalyst for taking this adventure. Life is too short.
I would like to take a moment today and remember Sertac, his energy and his love for life. I would also like to send my thoughts and love out to my friend that was there with him during his last moments. You are well loved by many.
Now I know that it is cliche to mock American tourists, especially as a Canadian, who tend to do it for sport, but some stories are just so good that I think that even Americans will find it funny.
ps. I like naming my American characters after characters from the tv series “Alice” and “The Golden Girls“
Story #1:
Flo: “Blanche, Did we ever go to Florence?”
Blanche: “Yeah, that is where you bought your yellow slacks from”
Flow: “Oh yeah! Now I remember”
Story #2:
After talking to a french person in a very loud and slow voice in english, one american woman walks away from the man in a huff, exclaiming “Gawd, people are so illiterate here!”
Apologies in advance for any offence I may cause my American friends. But come on……
