I am new too the offshore catering on an oil rig and just got hired on as a night cook neeing advice on what roughnecks eat and how life is on an oil rig cna anyone please help out? I have many years of cooking inland.
I would assume that anything you cook would be in accordance to a menu created by the camp boss.
What you cook depends on the crew you have. Bodybuilders are going to want salads and proteins with a few carbs. Guys from the south are going to want red beans and rice, creole chicken and shrimp and greens. Northerners are more meat and potatoes based casseroles. Several of your days a week are governed by set menus like Turkey or Fried Chicken with all the fixins on Sunday, Seafood on Fridays and Steak on Saturday. Remember, special holidays that require specific foods like 4th of July, Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years Day, World Series Opening, and several others. Ask you captain if he wants any special meals during your rotation. What you will be able to fix will also depend on the boat budget and product availability. Watching the television show Chopped, could help a great deal when you arrive at shift change and are cooking what is left from the previous cook. It is a challenge but can also be fun. Make lots of snacks.
2 Likes
No camp boss on an offshore supply boat. The cook makes the shopping list, sets the menu and prepares the food.
Having worked on an OSV I know there aren’t anymore designated Chefs/camp bosses onboard. However, he asked about an oil rig.
Sorry. The Seafarers Union puts Stewards on the ships and they do set the menu for the Chef. Many of the offshore rigs use vendors that supply the food as well as the galley staff.
Not quite sure if you were agreeing or disagreeing with me in your last post. Never seen or heard of a single SIU placed person on any oil rig or OSV me or my friends ever worked on in the GOM. Sodexo was usually Filipino with a US campboss, non-union. Only worked with ESS in Alaska and they were all US, but non-union.
Originally I the rig companies to whom I applied said they used companies like Sodexo. I worked for Chouest on supply boats and a research boat until the slowdown. Haven’t been able to get back offshore with private companies so I joined the union. The way I originally answered was not well done.