Sea cookery

Front matter

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Introduction To The First Edition

By the late LORD NUN BURN HOLME.

I am glad to be able to commend this little book on Sea Cookery to the class for whom it is intended. The nautical cook of the future must be prepared to lay aside many old prejudices, and to acquire man)' new ideas. The time has gone by for the wasteful and inefficient methods which in the past have proved so detrimental to Shipowners, Officers, and crew alike, and have deterred so many Englishmen from following the sea vocation. Nor must the cook suppose that he has qualified himself for his career merely by obtaining a certificate of competency. The lessons of the school must be tested under the conditions imposed by the galley of a ship at sea, and approved or modified accordingly. The theoretical principles of the art always remain the same, but care, commonsense, and a trained faculty of observation are more than ever needed to carry them into effect.

Mr. Bond has had experience both of shore theory and sea practice, and any advice from him must carry weight. I trust that the book will prove a boon to the rising generation of sea cooks.

NUNBURNHOLME.

Hull, January, 1907.

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Introduction

By The Right Hon. LORD BRASSEY , G.C.B.

Our unskilful cookery is a national defect, from which no class has suffered more than British sailors, depending as they do largely on salt meats and preserved provisions.

During my Presidency of the Association founded by that noble-hearted philanthropist, Dr. Barnardo, Mr. Bond, the Author of the present volume, occupied the post of Chief Cook at the Watts Naval Training School, a branch of Dr. Barnardo’s Homes. A number of boys from this school have had a promising start in life as Ship's Cooks, and the success has been largely due to Mr. Bond’s practical skill and organising ability.

Mr. Bond has rightly judged that good work may be done for the improvement of sea-cookery by clear writing on the subject. His first publication, entitled “Sensible Cookery,” was widely circulated ; and now he is bringing out a more comprehensive volume, with many additional recipes.

I confidently recommend “ Sea Cookery ” to all men of the sea.

BRASSEY.

January, 1911.

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Preface To The First Edition

In days gone by, the term " son of a sea cook ” seems to have been one of the most opprobrious epithets that could be bestowed upon a not altogether satisfactory shipmate. The exact origin of the expression I have never inquired into, but it may well be that at a period when seamanship, or, rather, that portion of the art ot seamanship which formed the every-day equipment of the able seaman of the period, stood on a higher plane than it now does, the comparative phenomenal and colossal ignorance and absolute incompetency of the contemporaneous nautical cooks stood prominently forth and specially marked them out, and, by natural inference, their unfortunate offspring also, to be the recipients of the sarcasms of their long-suffering shipmates, whose normally hard lot was rendered still harder by the lamentable want of practical knowledge displayed by those who pretended to be exponents of the culinary art.

Time was, and that not so long ago, when “ the doctor," as the ship’s cook is frequently called, was oftener selected more out of compassion for his infirmities than because of his fitness for the post that he undertook to fill, and, under such circumstances, the saying that “ God provides food and the Devil sends cooks ” acquired peculiar force.

Although this somewhat Gilbertian arrangement is now pretty well a thing of the past, and matters are on a better footing generally than they were, sea-cookenq even at the present moment, presents a very large field for improvement.

Of late years, Nautical Schools of Cookery have been established in a few of our sea-ports, the object being to train the ordinary ship s cook, while using the stoves and utensils with which he will have to woik when afloat, to properly prepare the provisions that are ordinarily supplied to the vessels belonging to the mercantile marine, and also to so manipulate them as to introduce a greater variety into the daily menu of the officers and men. These schools have done, and are doing, excellent work, and their graduates appear to be specially sought after.

And now for a word or two about the food. Drawing upon my own reminiscences, it is certain that in the sixties of the last century, the ci'ew provisions supplied to even sailing ships of the most superior class left much to be desired. The biscuit kept in bags — tanks were hardly thought of for the purpose then — was full of weevils, a condition which we were assured was only a convincing proof of the goodness of the bread ; the beef was so highly pickled and so hard that snuff boxes could be, and were, manufactured out of it ; the aroma of the salt pork did not suggest the perfumes of Araby the Blest ; and a great portion of the water was carried in evil-smelling casks. However, we have progressed since then, and it is an undoubted fact that the general character of the provisions supplied for the use of our merchant sailors has considerably improved of late years. While that is so, there is much need for a greater variety of articles, and that is being provided for by the new Dietary Scale in connection with the Merchant Shipping Act of 1906.

Probably three-fourths of the troubles that arise on board ship are due, directly or indirectly, to matters connected with food. Certain it is that nothing conduces more to the maintenance of a comfortable and contented ship than an ample supply of good and well-cooked viands.

Various schemes have been put forward from time to time with a view to rehabilitating British merchant sailors, so long a dwindling quantity, in our mercantile marine, and it is satisfactory to know that the proportion of their foreign rivals in our employment has been checked and even slightly diminished during the past two or three years. But the bringing about of a large increase of respectable British sailors will much depend upon the amelioration of some of the conditions of life and service afloat, and from this point of view the reformation of sea-cookery may be looked upon as a very important factor.

Side by side with better cookery one would like to see the food served up to the men in a more decent manner than is now too frequently the case. What, for instance, can be more abominable than the mess-kids so often in evidence ? Hunger must indeed be a good sauce when it enables men to eat, I can scarcely say enjoy, their meals served up in such unappetising utensils. Again, how few of the forecastles of our vessels are fitted with mess-tables ! Attention to a few items of this description would cost but a mere nominal sum, and, at the same time, would greatly add to the comfort of those who, by the very nature of their employment, are cut off from much that is deemed essential ashore.

There is also another point closely allied to this cookery question that should not be overlooked, and it is this : We are frequently told that many of our seamen are in the habit of getting drunk upon the least possible provocation, and I would ask : What is so likely to drive men to drink as bad accommodation and indifferent victuals ? Moreover, it must be remembered that, no matter how good the raw provisions may be, if they are improperly cooked the food cannot be anything else but bad. Who can be surprised if men who are compelled to live for long periods on badly cooked rations, and in the unsavoury atmosphere of a dingy forecastle, should, when opportunity offers, succumb to the attractions of the comparatively palatial public house ? It is only in accordance with the instincts of human nature that they should do so, and I venture to think that few of us have the right, everything considered, to cast the first stone. We are all very much the victims of circumstances, and are potentially influenced by our environments, whether for good or for evil, and one is at a loss to understand why it should be imagined that sailors are formed of a different material to other people. It may be laid down as an axiom that the better the surroundings of our seamen, the better will the conduct of the men themselves become.

Personally, I gladly welcome the clause in the before mentioned Act of Parliament, which will, after June 30th, 1908, render compulsory the employment of duly certificated cooks on board British vessels of 1,000 tons and upwards. That it will enhance the importance of the various cookery schools is unquestionable, and it may be that in the halcyon clays to come, when well-cooked meals for our seafarers form the rule rather than the exception, the one-time opprobrious epithet of “ son of a sea cook ” will be looked upon in the light of a title of honour.

My interest in the subject of sea-cookery is not a thing of yesterday, for in June, 1901, I presided over a public meeting in London having for its object the foundation of a National Association of Nautical Schools of Cookery. Although that scheme did not attain maturity, it may be that good seed was sown which has to an extent fructified.

Since then, I have visited the various schools, including those at Hull and Liverpool, the former of which was and the latter of which is under the direction of Mr. Richard Bond, and, from what I have seen of him and his work from time to time, I have no hesita^ tion in cordially commending “ Sensible Cookery ” to the favourable notice of the public.

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Preface

In January, 1907, I wrote a Preface (which is retained in this book) for “ Sensible Cookery,” the well-deserved success of which work has rendered it desirable for Mr. Richard Bond to now issue another edition in an enlarged and more ambitious form, although under a slightly different, but distinctly nautical, title.

Of all that has been done during recent years to better the conditions of service afloat of our mercantile seamen, in the front rank must be placed the certificating of ships’ cooks, the new dietary scale, and the inspection by the Board of Trade of ships’ provisions.

It affords me much pleasure to assist with these few words in the launching of the new vade mecum, “Sea Cookery,” and to wish it that conspicuous measure of prosperity which it undoubtedly richly merits.

W. F. CABORNE.

January, 1911.

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SEA COOKERY

By R. BOND .

I believe there is room, and indeed a decided need, for a cookery book which will on sensible and plain lines give a number of recipes of value both on sea and shore.

Seeing that food plays the most important part in our life, it should be considered equally as important to prepare it in a proper manner, and more especially in a manner so economical that the utmost value is obtained from the articles treated. I therefore consider that no apology is needed for issuing a work with these aims in view.

I have now entitled this work “ Sea Cookery,” and the recipes will be found to supply the most distinct information to that rapidly-increasing body of men who have received special training in the art of sea-cookery. It will be noticed that I have carefully avoided using foreign terms and titles, as I have found these to be a constant source of bewilderment to students, and the common cause of many of the mistakes in preparation of the various foods made by cooks, both experienced and inexperienced. I am now and then asked by students for recipes for strange dishes which are sometimes made at sea, such as “ Palm Oil Chopp,” the best way to prepare “ Porpoise Steaks,” or “ Buffalo Hump,” &c. As these are only occasional dishes and do not enter into the scope of my work, my advice to these men is to get such recipes from experts on the particular coast or part of the world in which these “ dainties ” are usual, when the proper materials for these, if I may use the term, freak dishes, may be obtained.

Another difficulty with many cooks is, that they find the recipes either too large, or too small in quantity for their particular requirements. For the benefit of these cooks I may mention that the dishes may be made larger or smaller as required so long as the proportions of the various ingredients are increased or reduced pro rata. A great source of difficulty with many sea cooks is their lack of knowledge of how to use the various herbs and seasonings, which are so necessary for the proper flavouring of foods, and the foundation of variety in made dishes.

I have given the quantities to use in these recipes in measurements so exact, that no one need be afraid to follow them, and I venture to say that with a careful and intelligent cook success will be assured.

It is hardly possible to divide the book into sections which would deal exclusively with sea cookery or land cookery ; for in the present day “ tramp ” steamer, when almost everything in foods are either dried, tinned, or compressed, there may be found everything necessary for the preparation of palatable dishes, and passenger vessels now are little less than floating hotels, and as far as the cuisine is concerned, there is no difference between the firstclass hotels on shore and the majestic liner out on the broad Atlantic.

In conclusion I place these recipes and instructions before my readers with the fullest confidence, they having each and every one been worked out in practical lessons and demonstrations by myself.

R. BOND.