Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-11-05


tables and soft bread, no matter what the voyage
he may be on. Modern refrigerating plants and
modern cooking methods are to be thanked for
that.
On the hundreds of ships which are being
built for the merchant marine by the United States
shipping board careful attention is paid to the
equipment for storing, cooking and serving food.
The government is fully aware that sailors like
soldiers, work best wel-filled stOmachs
Care is taken also that efficient men are en-
ployed as cooks on the nations new merchant
fleets. Good sea cooks not numerous, even in
normal times. Having that fact in mind the
United States shipping board, with the thorough
ness that marks all its efforts to create an I'M
equaled merchant marine, is engaged in training
an adequate number of cooks to man the galleys of
lbs new ships Young men of character and intelli-
gence are chosen for instruction.
The training of cooks is part of the work done
by the shipping boards recruiting service. This
service has fleet of training ships based at At
lantic and Pacific ports, all of which young
Americans taught by experienced cooks the
serious business of preparing good food at sea.
Besides that, the board has special cooking schools
on two of the ships-the Meade, a former Atlantic
liner stationed at Boston, and the steamer Dorothy
Bradford, stationed at New York.
Cooking at sea is by no means the same thing as
cooking on land. The cook has several things
to bear in mind that the land cook in hotel restau-
rant or home kitchen never has to think about
Take for instance some of the precautions he
must observe as Illustrated by the following
"Don'ts for Sea Cooks
Don't expect the stove to remain in a perpen5ic,lar
position, the cook You are on a moving
platform. namely. the ships deck. which often
rolls md sways with the motion of the ship in
the sea
Don't fill Kettle fu4 of liquid The rolling of the
ship Will cause the contents sop over and
viii Ia IS start fire.
Don't allow pots and pans to get adrift AS guard
against this the galley range has an iron rail
around it.
Don't permit dishes to be left on dresser or pantry
shelf as land. If do they win slide off
for each kind into which the dishes fit there
being high bar across the front, with a space
cut out through which dish may be reached
and lifted out
On modern ships the serving is done by men in
the stewards department, called stewards so the
sea cook of today needs none of that dexterity of
foot that one-leggeds John Silver showed as he
pegged his way aft with dinner along the slippery
deck in the brig of Treasure Island"
1t is truism aboard ship that only cook who
likes his Job is worth his salt discortented cook
will spoil good food. This psychology is recog-
nized by the shipping board in choosing young men
for training as cooks. Only those who volunteer
for the lob are wanted There plenty who do.
out of 5000 apprentices always on the training
ships certain percentage may be counted to
ask for training cooks.
These young men are serving on the nations
bridge of ships" from patriotic motives Some
may go back to their home towns when the war
is over; but others Will remain in the merchant
marine, and will take part in the country peace
evanston at sea as dignlied as that taken by
captain mate or engineer on the ship which
they serve Nor viii they suffer in financial
way, for chief cook gets $50 a month wages be