Programs Blog

November 12, 2024

Location: ~32˚ 18’ S x 175˚ 35’ E

Weather: Easterly wind, 10-12 kts

 “Kelsie, its 5:15, your stu-stew day starts in a few minutes,” have been my favorite words to wake up to during our voyage so far. “Stu-stew” stands for student steward, and you get this opportunity 2-3 times during our trip. During this day you get to work in the galley with our amazing stewards, Tobi and Tom. 

During my first galley day I was craving “carnival style” food, and Tobi and Tom were able to make that dream come true. We woke up really early, around 5:15, to start on breakfast, which was waffles! All meals are split by watch group and the time of your next watch shift, so we didn’t have to make enough waffles for 32 people at a time. Each meal seating got a warm stack of waffles, a bowl of green apples, crispy bacon, and yogurt. We have a lot of savory breakfasts on the ship, so I think the waffles were a fan favorite. Once 10:00 rolled around, it was time to bring out snack, which I chose to make rice crispy treats. These treats are my favorite snack off the boat, so I decided to bring them to the boat, and they were eaten pretty quickly. For lunch, Tom, Tobi and I made mac and cheese. This was the most amazing mac and cheese I’ve ever had; everyone ate so much, and we got lots of amazing feedback on the meal. A few days later, in Tuvalu, we used the left-over mac and cheese and had fried mac and cheese balls for dinner! For afternoon snack we kept it simple with a refreshing fruit salad, since it was hot out that day. For dinner I saved the best for last, with my favorite meal ever: hotdogs with homemade buns, and french-fries! If you know me, you know that hotdogs are my absolute favorite food, and when I found out about stu-stew days, this option was a no-brainer. To finish off my carnival-themed meals, we ended the day with 4 large tins of caramel corn for all watches and the others ( the non-watch standing staff).

I have been lucky enough to have 2 stu-stew days at this point in the trip. For my second day, the galley and I started off with pear muffins, maple bacon, and yogurt. We had extra muffins, and they were delicious to snack on throughout the day. For snack, once again, we made rice crispy treats, but this time we used Trix and Lucky Charms cereals. Personally, I like this better than the last ones! Lunch took a long time to prepare but it was well worth it. We made salmon sushi cups. We seasoned the sushi rice with rice vinegar and packed the rice in muffin tins, with seaweed liners. We then stuffed them with a seasoned salmon and green onions and baked them. This meal was definitely a fan favorite, even Cap said so himself. We served another fruit salad for afternoon snack because, once again, we had a lot to prepare for dinner. For dinner we made 35 calzones! Tom, Tobi, and I set up an assembly line. Tobi rolled out the dough, I stuffed them with ricotta, mozzarella, and sausage, and then Tom folded them and gave them their calzone shape. Served with the calzones, we have sides of sautéed mushrooms, peppers, and onions, along with a blush sauce to dip. And for my midnight snack, we served big buckets of Chex mix.

I truly think that Tom and Tobi play one of the most important roles on this ship. I am so extremely thankful for how much work they put into these trips in order to feed everyone such amazing food multiple times a day. I absolutely love the idea of bringing a student into the galley. It truly gives us a whole day to get to know the stewards on a deeper level and allow us as students to share our favorite foods with the rest of the crew.

Kelsie Bottari, Syracuse University