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Every night, the Pacific Restaurant aboard Carnival Cruise Line’s newest vessel buzzes with activity. During recent voyages, guests eagerly queued up outside one of Carnival Jubilee’s main dining rooms, leading to a spacious, two-deck area adorned with elegant, twinkling light fixtures and towering white columns.
Yet, the true pulse of activity lies in a windowless chamber several decks below.
Here, in the ship’s primary galley, a labyrinth of metallic counters, stoves, and ceiling panels churns out an average of 15,000 dishes per night. This kitchen, one of 18 galleys onboard, primarily caters to dinner service, which is its busiest period.
“This is no small-scale operation, particularly on a ship of this caliber,” remarked Vivek Menon, the ship’s Food and Beverage Director, during an interview with USA TODAY onboard. Here’s a glimpse into their operations.
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How does the galley of a cruise ship operate?
Extensive planning precedes the arrival of meals on guests’ plates. Food orders are typically placed around two weeks in advance and loaded onto the vessel during turnaround days. Menon heads a team of nearly 900 individuals in the food and beverage department (Jubilee can host over 6,000 guests).
The galley staff aboard the ship prepares approximately 5,000 pounds of whole chicken, grills about 5,000 pounds of strip steak, and bakes roughly 600 loaves of bread weekly.
One morning in late February, fish was defrosting in a walk-in refrigerator on deck 3, two levels beneath the galley. Nearby, a freezer housed ice cream, while another room stored essentials such as Grey Goose Vodka and Crown Royal whiskey.
Chefs collaborate with the storeroom team onboard, placing orders for ingredients two days in advance. “Pre-prep,” including tasks like trimming and marinating chicken breasts, occurs a day before service, with additional preparation on the day of service, albeit varying in time requirements.
For instance, chicken breasts might be prepped an hour before service, while prime rib undergoes a six-hour cooking process, and short rib braises for 12 hours, necessitating significant lead times.
Then comes the rush. The galley caters to an average of 4,000 diners nightly across Pacific Restaurant and the ship’s other dining establishment, Atlantic Restaurant.
Orders begin trickling in around 5:45 p.m., but the crew is primed. Chefs receive headcounts at the start, peak, and end of dinner service.
“For instance,” explained Menon, “if we’re preparing 1,000 fish filets for early dining, the counts are staggered in a way that, within the first 15 minutes, the cook is approximately 200 ahead of the count because the counts quickly catch up.”
As orders taper off, production diminishes accordingly. “Towards the end of dinner service, there’s very little remaining,” Menon noted. “By around nine or nine-fifteen, we’re down one or two, sometimes four or five pieces, depending on the volume we’re dealing with.” However, guest flow varies each evening.
At the onset of a cruise, the crew begins tracking consumption patterns, enabling them to adjust their preparations accordingly, down to preferences like desired steak doneness.
