Friday, March 26, 2010

It Takes a Village...Of Cooks and Dishwashers!

Though the example is for another cruise line, here is a sample of what it takes to prepare cruise ship meals:

Great food starts with a shopping list. A shopping list to service 3080 passengers and almost 1200 crew (on the Emerald Princess) is a little intimidating to the average shopper. Between 110-115 tons of food is delivered to the ship and loaded on the turn around day.

There are eight food preparation stations onboard each with their own team of experts:

  • Fish Preparation
  • Meat Preparation
  • Cold Kitchen (Salads, Specialty Creations)
  • Soups, Pastas and Vegetables
  • Bakery
  • Pastry Shop
  • Fruit and Cheese Pantry
  • Coffee Pantry


Average amounts of food prepared daily:

  • Fish - 1500 pounds
  • Poultry - 1800 pounds
  • Beef - 2100 pounds
  • Veal - 400 pounds
  • Lamb - 460 pounds
  • Pork - 1000 pounds
  • Salads - 1600 pounds
  • Sandwiches - 1500 each day
  • Pasta - 500 pounds
  • Vegetables - 2500 pounds
  • Potatoes - 2000 pounds
  • Soups - 550 gallons
  • Pastries - 6000 each day
  • Cakes - 300 each day
  • Fresh Fruits - 7000 each day
  • Coffee - 470 gallons


We were told that the Emerald Princess serves an average of 20,000 meals a day! Let us not forget that those meals produce about 70,000 dishes and 21,500 glasses to be washed daily as well! That takes a crew of 52 working around the clock.

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