There is an organizational structure implemented in a professional kitchen, just like the military, that is necessary for efficiency and to avoid chaos. Developed by Georges Auguste Escoffier, a legendary French chef and restaurateur born in 1846, this system was modeled after his time in the French army, creating a chain of command that delineates responsibility and reporting. In the profession, it is mandatory that this hierarchy is respected and the common response by cooks to any question or directive given by their immediate supervisor is an emphatic “Yes, Chef!”, or “Oui, Chef!”. This also applies in the classroom. So, with two sea days ahead, I and eleven other passengers, signed up for Marina’s intensive “Culinary Boot Camp at Sea”, knowing we would be “privates” in the kitchen, and were willing to take it on.

Patterned after basic training boot camp offered at The Culinary Institute of America, America’s preeminent private culinary college, we were to embark on in-depth, personalized instruction and hands-on practice in knife skills, protein and vegetable cookery, technique, sauces, baking basics, and kitchen organization and preparation for the next two days. We were each assigned to a single station in the culinary center with Chef Noelle Barille and Chef Karlis Celms in command for three hours each morning and afternoon as we chopped, sautéed, poached, grilled, roasted, mashed, and whisked our way through the intensive program.

Our immersion culminated with a Pro Chef practical exam on the afternoon of the second day, dedicated to the preparation, execution, and evaluation of two dishes: one which required a protein and two sides, and the other our choice of a salad, first course, or dessert. We received a list of market basket ingredients from which to create our food order, and at noon the second day, each of us selected, randomly, a protein from out of a hat. We had an hour-and-a-half to produce our menu, food and supply order, begin cooking at 3:30 p.m., with judging to begin at 5:00 p.m. Based on taste and presentation, our final dishes would be evaluated by Senior Executive Chef Alban Gjoka and Master of M/S Marina Leo Strazicic.

We were excited and frenzied, nervous and intense, serious and lighthearted, exhausted…and fulfilled. And we toasted, in the end, to our appreciation, respect, and newfound knowledge in the culinary ranks.

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