Athens: “The galley is one of the last places on a ship to be brought up to standard,” says the founder of Food Inspection & Training (FTI). A former army man in the UK with a catering background, David Steele has been living in Greece for the last 16 years. Three years ago he was asked by Oman Shipping to inspect the food preparation onboard the company’s fleet of ships. He quickly realised what a huge issue food onboard was and he went on to form FTI a couple of years ago.
“We are taking the galley into the 21st century,” says Steele.
How FTI goes about its business is to head onboard, snap lots of pictures and write up a preaudit. The team then sits down with senior ship staff to show where improvements can be made. Cooks are then trained.
“The biggest problem we find,” says Steele, “is temperature control. Food is often left out too long.”
This is often a result of seafarers having urgent work to complete just as meal time approaches. Simple solutions such as bain maries or hot plates can solve this issue. [11/06/14]
