From Land Kitchen to Sea Galley

Reinventing the Way We Eat

I’m a good cook. Well, I used to be—back when I lived on land. I had plenty of bench space, a six-burner stovetop, a big fridge, a freezer, and every cooking utensil imaginable. Even a dishwasher, so the messes I made were easily cleaned up. I had easy access to a wide variety of fresh and exotic ingredients. If I needed something, it was just a quick dash to the shops.

Then we switched to boat life.

Our goal was to live the best life we could—seize the moment, love each other passionately, and stay strong and healthy enough to do it for many years to come. The first parts fell into place beautifully. We moved onto our boat in the Mediterranean and loved every moment of this dream life—sunrise swims before breakfast, exhilarating day sails, dinners in the cockpit at sunset, and being gently rocked to sleep in the swell.

The one part that didn’t just fall into place was cooking delicious, healthy meals.

A boat galley is more like a camp kitchen: a two-burner gas cooktop, a tiny fridge, and a saucepan cupboard barely big enough to hold my old Le Creuset casserole dish. I had two choices: try to continue cooking as I had on land and feel like I was on a summer camping trip, or overhaul our entire approach to food. I chose the latter. Either way would take effort, so I decided to start fresh and completely rethink what “sustenance” would look like on the water.