Cruise Galley Training by Chef Ankit Mathur

Cruise Galley Training
Though cruising culture in Europe and the America has stoked the growth of the industry tremendously, India still seems to be struggling with teething problems in meeting the expectation of the companies hiring people. Nevertheless, in terms of staffing requirements many leading cruise line companies have identified India as a Destination of Trained Personnel. But the biggest confront for these companies was to hire the staff which is well trained in food preparation and presentation and good food handling practice.
CULINARY ACADMEY OF INDIA, the only institute in Asia, was satisfying this urge, which is official training Centre for P&O Cruise UK, Princess Cruise USA & Costa Cruises ITALY by formulating “Pre-Embarkation Training Programme” for Prospective Crewmembers aspiring to be chefs on aboard luxury cruise ship.
This Pre-Embarkation training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills through video presentation, practical demos, lectures and training in simulated kitchen.
Being chef myself, and have visited cruise vessel of P&O Cruises and Costa Cruises I have examined the working conditions as well as lifestyle of the crew on board. When I confer about this experience with the student who have not seen cruise ship before, it is just beyond their imagination. I have always believed that giving a clear perception to students about the work and place helps to groom them for any of the circumstances in future because “An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you know and what you don't.”
In the Pre-Embarkation training module the candidate are being imparted knowledge of company profile and its existence in the international market. A lot of emphasis is given on following the guidelines of food hygiene norms of company. The duration of this course is between 3-4months depending upon the position they are hired. Practical sessions are of utmost important as they are asking to work on the corporate menus provided by the company. So that they can understand, the importance of food cost and hence minimizing the food, wastage and accurately anticipating the amount of perishable supplies needed. The good infrastructure and cruise simulated kitchen in the academy acts as motivational factor for the Trainers like me to deliver the best sessions to my students.
Discipline in the Hospitality industry is the only Bridge between the goals and accomplishment, as they are going to work in multicultural environment so right from the day one the discipline kick starts. Candidates who do not adhere to the code of conduct are counseled, warned of consequences of similar misconduct onboard. Apart from the culinary session, I also carve up on Moral values so that they do not give up and remain optimistic when things become tough. Till now I have trained 5 Groups of students for Costa Cruise line ITALY, who are fully satisfied with the performance of the students once they embark the ship. The candidates working on board have always given a Feedback stating the academy as “A Quality Training Centre for Cruiseliners” because of the sophisticated infrastructure and well experienced knowledgeable Chef Instructors.

Multiple / Identical plating

Appetizer plating

Assembling Main Course for Line

Sample plate presentation

Pick-up on the line

Plate construction