When the Royal Navy frigate HMS Cumberland went for a refit, the galley was upgraded with new equipment. Diane Lane reports on the special requirements of cooking for the crew of a modern warship
Technically, the engine room on a ship is the space housing the powerful machinery driving the vessel, such as generators, compressors and pumps. However, so important is food to the morale of the ship's company when out at sea for months at a time, a close contender for the "engine room" title on HMS Cumberland is the galley, which feeds the 250 personnel on board.
"When you're at sea, the only thing you look forward to is your meals," says Petty Officer Duncan Kniebbs, who joined the Royal Navy in 1991 at the age of 17 and trained as a chef. Not that they're called chefs in the Navy any more, but "catering service providers".
"We're logisticians now, not chefs," he says, with a wry smile. Armed with a team of 22 catering staff, Kniebbs is tasked with ensuring provision of a balanced diet for the entire ship's company. Now rarely in whites, his role is managerial, although Saturday nights see him at the range, juggling three pans to keep up with orders of omelettes
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Kniebbs must work to a budget, reviewed every three months, of just £1.90 per man per day, and the key is sticking largely to basics. Menus are on a five-week cycle, and weekends see a series of specials, including fish and chips on Friday, steak night on Saturday and a traditional Sunday roast.
Breakfast is a traditional affair, with the full English, toast and cereals all on offer from 7am. Lunch is served at 11.30am and available until 12.30pm. There are always two hot choices, with accompaniments such as rice and pasta, in addition to cold fare such as rolls and sandwiches. Dinner time is from 7pm to 8.15pm and consists of two hot choices when in port or three when at sea. The galley operates on a three-watch system with a Leading Hand and an Able Seaman on each watch responsible for the meals.
The galley is one of the areas to have benefited from a £20m refit of the 22-year-old ship, a Type 22 frigate based at the port of Devonport in Plymouth, Devon. It has been completely stripped out and refitted with a mix of existing kit that has been renovated and new additions. "The food offering has been enhanced by the equipment we've got," says Kniebbs. "It enables us to achieve tasks more efficiently and with less wastage."
With no gas allowed on board, the whole operation is powered by electricity, and kit has to be safely bolted down - as you'd expect in a moving kitchen. With up to 250 sailors to feed three times a day, batch cooking is the order of the day, and this is reflected in the choice of equipment.
At the heart of the galley are four new Convotherm combi-ovens, two six-grid and two 10‑grid models, which are used to their full potential. Having four smaller rather than two larger ovens means they can be on different settings - one for steaming, one for roasting, one for baking and one for dry heat - to cover all the cooking processes needed. They take 1/1 gastronorm trays, which then slot in to the servery - the original one, by Henry Nuttall, installed when the ship was built in 1986 - from which the sailors take their meals. A refrigerated counter from Williams serves up cold dishes.
Additionally, the combis have simplified the galley's bread-making process, since they will prove the dough and then switch to a baking programme, eliminating the need to move the dough around. They are also used to cook some items that would normally be deep-fried, such as battered food, dim sum and filo pastry products.
Two Frymaster fryers facilitate a high throughput of chips, up to 75kg an hour, which the galley previously struggled to deliver, especially on fish and chip days. Large quantities of rice, pasta and curries are cooked in two boiling kettles, and an Edco Marine bratt pan sees to the stream of steaks needed on a Saturday night by cooking off 20-30 at a time. In place of the traditional six-burner range is an electric hotplate and grill unit for any pan work.
Around the corner from the cooking area, the prep area has ambient cupboards for defrosting meat, which is then cut into joints and refrigerated in one of the three West Beynon fridges. A Hobart mixer sits at the end of one run of cupboards and takes care of bread dough, mash and sponge mix.
Obviously, calling out an engineer hundreds of miles out to sea isn't an option, so all servicing and maintenance of the kitchen equipment is carried out by Petty Officer Marine Engineer Mechanic Simon Dash.
The ship's stores, on the deck below the galley, are stocked with provisions for at least 14 days and hold a maximum of 60 days' worth, with battens and curtains holding stock in place. When at Plymouth, the ship receives deliveries of bread and milk 2-3 times a week, with fresh, frozen and dry items arriving weekly or fortnightly. When at sea, supplies are procured from approved chandlers in various ports or from local suppliers.
While the stores hold frozen vegetables and canned goods, fresh produce is sourced whenever possible, and certainly while docked at Plymouth and for the first 10 days at sea there's a supply of fresh carrots, potatoes, swede, parsnips, courgettes, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, salad leaves and plenty of fresh herbs.
Tubes of Ethysorb - beads of aluminium oxide impregnated with potassium permanganate - hang in the coldroom to absorb the ethylene gas given off by the fresh veg. The gas is naturally produced and triggers the ripening of most fruit and vegetables, so controlling ethylene levels in the storage area gives longer life to the produce.
Besides regular chef training, the catering team also undergoes Basic Operations Sea Training, which tests their ability to work without various pieces of kit - as might be necessary if the ship takes a hit in battle. They have to improvise to produce a meal, for instance by using a fryer to cook veg or sauce.
When at war, the galley closes down, and only an "action mess team" is allowed in to prepare meals, with just half-an-hour to prep and cook and 45 minutes to serve.
3 Two 40-litre boiling kettles really come into their own for cooking large quantities of rice and pasta in addition to some 12‑16 gallons of curry.
2 Where chips are concerned, there's a need for speed, especially on Fridays, so the Frymaster fryers' quick recovery time is a real bonus. A chemical system for fire supression sits above in case of emergency.
1 The Convotherm combi-ovens have "disappearing doors", which slide back down the side of the oven for space saving and safety. The fact that they are the same make as used in the Navy's training centre for catering provides an element of consistency for young chefs.
4 At mealtimes, the 12ft-long servery in the 40-seat junior rates' dining room is the hub of the ship. Senior rates have their own dining room with a separate servery. A further dining area, the wardroom, is used by officers and has its own small galley, which serves up plated meals.
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