The ship's cook — chief cook on larger crews — feeds twenty people three times a day for months, far from any shop. On a long contract the food is one of the few things everyone looks forward to, which is why a good cook is valued by every master.
What the cook does
- Menus. Plans meals for the whole crew, often of several nationalities, with religious and medical diets.
- Provisions. Orders and receives stores, checks quality and dates, and works within the company's daily food budget per person.
- The galley and stores. Hygiene, cold and dry stores, temperatures and records, cleaning schedules — all checked by the master and by inspectors.
- The team. On bigger ships the chief cook leads a second cook and the messmen or stewards.
- Safety. Galley fire risks, fryers and gas, plus the cook's own role in drills.
What it takes
Under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006), Regulation 3.2, a ship's cook must be trained and qualified for the job, and nobody under 18 may be employed as a ship's cook. In practice that means:
- a ship's cook certificate issued or recognised by the flag state (often a course at a maritime training centre) — or a recognised culinary qualification plus food-hygiene training;
- Basic Training and Security Awareness, a valid seafarer medical, a seaman's book and a passport;
- experience in a professional kitchen; companies often ask for previous sea time as cook or second cook.
On ships with a small prescribed crew the rules can be lighter, but food-hygiene training is still required.
How to get the first contract
- Get the cook's certificate and Basic Training before applying.
- Show your kitchen experience — restaurants, canteens, catering — with dates.
- Start as second cook or messman if no company takes you as cook at once.
- Learn the basics of international cooking and of the diets you will meet.
Pay and jobs
The cook's pay sits in the middle of the ratings and rises with the size of the crew. The current range from real vacancies is on the cook jobs page; compare ranks on our salaries page.
Your CV
For a cook, crewing desks look at the size and nationalities of the crews you fed, the vessel types and the certificates with dates. The maritime CV puts them on one page.
MLC 2006 sets the minimum; your flag state decides which certificates it recognises.