The cooks on the voyage to Truong Sa

Tilted kitchen

Train 490 carried a working delegation including soldiers, officers, and reporters to visit and wish the army and people a happy New Year.Truong Sa island districtOn the occasion of the Spring of Quy Mao 2023, the ship set sail in extremely difficult weather conditions. Strong winds and big waves caused the ship to constantly sway and tilt. During the first 2 days, most members of the working group "experienced" seasickness in such harsh conditions.

Ship 490 takes the working delegation to Truong Sa, the beloved Truong Sa of the Fatherland. Photo: Quang An

However, when it was time for dinner, everyone was surprised to see that clean, full tables had been prepared for the working group. In the kitchen, the waiters were quickly preparing food and drinks. When the ship announced that it was time for dinner, and all the members were present, everything was ready and clean.

We had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Nguyen Huu Von, a native of Nghe An, born in My Thanh, Yen Thanh district, currently working at Brigade 146 and assigned to cook for the working group on ship 490. After sincere inquiries from his fellow countrymen, Mr. Von shared honestly about his work and the difficulties of feeding troops in the middle of the ocean.

Soldiers on board prepare food together for each meal. Photo: Tien Dong

“There are 11 members assigned to serve meals for the working group and soldiers on board throughout the voyage. Some prepare food, some cook, some wash dishes, some preserve food, raise pigs and chickens on board… each person has a task, so that it is carried out in the most synchronous and smooth way to ensure the health of the entire group.”

The cooks from Nghe An were assigned to ensure meals for the soldiers and working group on ship 490. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Von said that the first days of departure were really hard, even those who had many years of experience at sea faced no small challenge because this voyage had bigger waves and stronger winds than other seasons. On the first day, some comrades also got seasick, so they had to constantly support each other. For example, to prepare breakfast for hundreds of people, including dishes such as rice, porridge, noodles, etc., they had to prepare food from 10 pm the night before, then take a nap for a few hours, and at around 2 am they had to wake each other up to work, in time for the whole group to eat starting at 6 am.

“Preparing meals for a few people is simple, but for a working group of hundreds of people on board with over 40 trays of food per meal is not easy. How to ensure time, quality and safety of the dishes is an extremely difficult problem. However, with the spirit of Uncle Ho's soldiers, we can overcome any difficulty, and we all strive to complete our tasks,” Von confided.

In rough waves, pots and pans on the boat are held securely by clamps on the stove to avoid shaking and falling while cooking. Photo: Tien Dong

Witnessing the cooks on the ship performing their duty of ensuring each meal for the working group, one can feel the hardship and difficulty. With each big wave, the ship seemed to tilt to one side, pots, pans, bowls, and dishes were thrown to one side, the cooks had to hold on to the clamps on the stove with one hand, and arrange the kitchen utensils neatly and cleanly with the other.

“Due to the distance from the mainland, we all have to calculate the menu reasonably, so that we can serve enough for the working group while ensuring savings, because getting fresh water and vegetables in the middle of the ocean is not easy,” said Vu Dinh Dao, from Thanh Hoa, a kitchen assistant on ship 490.

Efforts to ensure the health of the whole team

With his hands turning over the frying pan, Mr. Le Sy Lam, from Tan Ky district (Nghe An), who is also the cook on ship 490, shared: “For the brothers serving meals for the working group, ensuring the health and safety of the members is the most important thing. The meals are carefully prepared by the team for 4-5 hours continuously, from choosing food, cleaning to cooking, all must be cooked and boiled. In conditions of strong winds, big waves, far from the mainland, if any member has an accident due to eating or drinking, it means that we have not completed our mission and must take full responsibility to the unit and the working group…”.

Providing nutritious and safe meals is a task that the cooks always strive to fulfill on board. Photo: Quang An

According to the comrades, due to the nature of cooking on a ship, which often rocks when there are waves, to ensure safety and avoid spilling food during the cooking process, the kitchens are equipped with bars that clamp tightly to the pot during the cooking process. The bars are responsible for fixing the pot in the correct position for convenient cooking.

In addition, for dishes such as soup, porridge, noodles, etc., the maximum amount of water poured into the pot each time is about 2/3 of the pot's capacity. According to the soldiers, if the water is full, it will spill out when the boat is tilting, so it must be cooked many times, but preserving the water and food, avoiding spillage and food waste is the most important.

To ensure that the working group has full and varied meals, according to the reporter's records, the dishes on the menu for each meal are constantly changed, harmonious, and full of nutrients such as meat, fish, green vegetables, eggs, spring rolls, fruits, etc. It is known that the ship 490 is fully equipped with cold storage and cool storage, so all food and provisions are safely preserved throughout the long voyage.

After each meal, the soldiers are assigned to wash dishes and chopsticks, preparing for the next meals. Photo: Tien Dong

Sharing with Nghe An Newspaper reporter, Major Nguyen Van Thanh, from Loc Ha (Ha Tinh), logistics assistant of Brigade 146 said: “On average, each year, we serve about 10 sea voyages from the mainland to the islands. Encountering many difficulties due to weather and sea waves during the trip, however, the comrades in the unit, when assigned the task, always uphold the role and responsibility of soldiers in the Navy. We always keep in mind to strive to overcome all difficulties to ensure the health of the working groups, helping the working groups complete their work safely, which is both a mission and a task that we soldiers are always ready to carry out, no matter what danger we face…”.