P&O Cruises and the feeding of the three thousand
If you think sourcing and storing food produce can be a headache, spare a thought for the chefs onboard a cruise liner.
Arcadia was docked in Southampton early this week, taking on fresh passengers before heading off to the Baltic for a fortnight. I got the chance to tour its many galleys and store rooms with Mike Monahan, Corporate Chef. I'll write up my day in full, for the 6th September issue of Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Before then, I thought I'd share some big numbers with you.
Arcadia's 112 chefs create 12,000 meals daily for its 2000 passengers and 950 crew. That's 168,000 main courses in a typical two-week cruise. To serve these meals, the crew has to taken on an average of 220 tons of provisions before setting sail.
This includes:
26 tons of meat
6 tones of fish
9 tons of poultry and game
5 tons of bacon, ham and gammon
70 tons of fresh fruit and vegetable
51,000 eggs
97,000 litres of milk
4,000 litres of ice cream
45,000 cakes and pastries
70,000 frshly baked rolls
5,000 freshly baked loaves
13,000 bottles of champagne and wine
550 gallons of draught beer
49,000 cans of soft drink