When I took the job cooking on the Sea Fever in The Bahamas, I was proficient in 2 meals, bean + cheese burritos, and popcorn – which I still consider a meal. LOL . One of the first things I learned to make was a recipe the captain/owner, Tom Guarino, taught me. His mom’s buttermilk waffles recipe

Breakfast in The Bahamas – Mrs. G’s Buttermilk Waffles Recipe

I accepted the job because I’ve always had a knee-jerk reaction to say yes to adventure.  It was challenging to go from not cooking at all one day to preparing breakfast, lunch, hors d’oeuvres, dinner and dessert for 22 people the next, but it was worth it!

The way I got through the first year was with the awesome cookbook – affiliate link –  “The New Basics“, a gift from my friend Janet who had done the job before me and had gone on to cook on tv sets in Vancouver.

The owner of the dive charter, Captain Tom, was also instrumental in teaching me to cook.  When people ask if I went to culinary school I always say that I apprenticed.  Tom was passionate about food, and I’m grateful that I had no budget constraints at all when it came to ordering ingredients.

My parents recently returned from a charter on a yacht in Croatia and had such an unusual experience that I had to revisit this post.  In the charter business, the crew works for tips and in our case, we were empowered to do whatever it took to make our guests happy.  I mean, within reason.  No felonies.  When my Dad told me that on the yacht he was on, he had to watch the crew having coffee in the morning for about an hour before any passengers were allowed into the lounge area to get a cup, I was shocked.

This is a recipe from Captain Tom’s Mom, and don’t be afraid to freeze leftovers and pop them in the toaster later.  We’ve made them as a base for ice cream sundae’s too.

Recipe Index