Growing the galley: NMC's culinary maritime speciality gets underway

Stephanie Shomin, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·3 min read

Oct. 1—TRAVERSE CITY — Megan Cook spent much of her Toledo childhood in the kitchen with her mother.

"I grew up cooking and baking — that's how we bonded," Cook said. "She's legally blind, so we were always in the house and we'd bake."

Cook said her mom convinced her to pursue a career in the culinary field, so she attended the Great Lakes Culinary Institute. She graduated in May with a culinary arts degree and a baking and pastry certificate.

She never thought she would work on a ship, but she participated in an internship on board the Great Lakes Maritime Academy's training ship State of Michigan. She was responsible for making the salads and desserts for most meals.

"It was a blast," Cook said. "I found what I love to do. You get to cook while you're traveling along Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, New York and the U.P."

Cooking on a ship is a bit different than in a full-size kitchen, Cook said. She stuck to the same routine every day, crafting menus for 30-40 crew members. Her goals were to make sure everyone got enough to eat and that the meals were balanced with meat, vegetables and starches represented on the plate.

"I have creative freedom with what I want to do," Cook said. "I learned that I needed to change the menu pretty often, and they are happy."

Some challenges, she said, included managing her time and making sure the amounts were correct when baking for a larger group. Additionally, she learned to "work with what you have" available on board.

"I'm known for my cupcakes," she said. "They didn't have all the supplies on the training ship."

So, she brought cupcake liners and other tools with her.

Northwestern Michigan College recently announced the addition of a culinary certificate with maritime emphasis that will be available starting in the fall 2023 semester.

Great Lakes Culinary Institute Director Les Eckert said the program aims to fill a gap in their offerings, plus satisfy the demand for ship cooks.

"We realized there's a niche in the market we weren't addressing," she said. "There are chefs cooking for people all over the world. Companies want to hire galley stewards with experience in culinary and maritime."

She explained that the new program includes lectures as well as an internship on the State of Michigan. Students learn about staffing a kitchen, safety procedures and other topics they can use on a ship.

"It provides students with all of the culinary foundations they need to be successful," Eckert said. "They learn how to menu plan on board a ship when you can't just run to the grocery store. They learn to cook in an extremely small space with limited equipment."

Galley stewards must know how to order, store and prepare food "so everything is fresh," Eckert said. She added that ship workers are in high-energy positions, so cooks will also learn to cater to their caloric needs.

"Food is morale," she said. "Everyone needs food."

Cook said she is "glad I got the education I got," but that she would have enrolled in the program if it was available while she was in school.

"I'm excited to see what it becomes," she said. "It's a cool opportunity. I hope more people do it, or at least look into it."

Cook was hired by the Interlake Steamship Company. They will train her to work as a steward in the galley (ship kitchen). She said she likes being able to fuel the crew that works to get materials to people.

"It's the hidden treasure of the culinary world," she said of cooking on a ship.

Prospective students can contact the Great Lakes Culinary Institute if they are interested in a tour or learning more. Eckert said enrollment is open now, as they can start gathering the paperwork required to work on a ship before the program begins.