Jenny’s Cooking Story –
Cooking at home in Australia was always a joy, with the vast selection of wonderful fresh produce and fantastic quality seafood that was always available.
When I moved to London, it took a while for the food scene to raise its gain. But raise it did, and the range of international restaurant cuisines and produce available improved so much that I was inspired to find a way to combine some of my most favourite things – sailing, cooking & travelling – into a lifestyle!
When the financial crisis hit the British film industry hard, it was time for me to re-evaluate my options. I had been working as a successful Production Designer on major film and television projects and had also relocated to Siena, Italy to be with Paolo.
So I steeped myself in Italian cuisine and cooked for Italians, who really know their food. I then went to Ashburton Chefs Academy in Devon, UK and sailed across the Atlantic for the first time to see if I could cook on passage without getting sea sick, which I did successfully. When I arrived in the Caribbean, I got my first Chef’s position on a Super Yacht in St Lucia.
On my return to Europe, I signed up with the best crewing agencies, and was soon inundated with offers to work on other Super Yachts as a multi-skilled Chef/Deck Crew member. Most other candidates only had one of those skillsets – rarely both.
As much as I enjoyed cooking my way around the world on other people’s boats, it was only a matter of time before I needed to return to Paolo’s and my own boat to start planning our shared dream of Circumnavigation.
I filled our galley lockers with my favourite pots & pans, gadgets, plates and glasses, and as we sailed to different countries, started compiling a vast library of notes, recipes and inspiration on to my computer. From these I devise each of my destination menus.
One of the best aspects of sailing on Sea Pearl, is that I get to bring my very familiar, well-appointed galley with me wherever we go.
I simply love arriving at a new destination, sampling the local food at street stalls, bars and restaurants, then shopping at the local markets to find all of the new, strange and wonderful ingredients I get to take back to my own kitchen and try out for myself, sharing the results with Paolo and friends.
“You can’t do that travelling out of a suitcase.
You need to take your kitchen with you.”
Jenny’s Sailing Story –
My introduction to sailing was back home on the Gold Coast in Australia. My father threw me onto a Hobie Cat by myself at the age of 12 and pushed me off from the edge of Advancetown Lake saying, “see if you can get to the other side and back”. Luckily, when I was six he had already taught me how to swim – in a similar fashion!
To my great surprise, I actually made it to the other side of the lake and returned, only to discover that I had actually had a great time working out how to drive that thing in the process.
After that, I had fun capsizing a friend’s Laser to see how you right it, and then tagged along on Twilight and Sunday races on my flatmate’s 36-footer at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron on Sydney Harbour.
When I re-located to the United Kingdom in 1988, I told my then partner, that I had always wanted to try living on a boat. He was an impulsive ex-navy guy who replied “Yes, me too”. So we bought a copy of Boats & Planes for Sale, where we found the 60-foot Dutch barge that he bought and that we both moved onto the following week.
We lived on our Barge on the Thames for five years, motoring up and down the non-tidal and semi-tidal stretches, between the locks most summer weekends.
I became an excellent rope thrower during this period, controlling the heavy steel barge through the countless locks, with my mooring lines lassoed around bollards and cleats, as the Thames rose and fell between the lock-gates.
In 2000, when I was once again a landlubber, I returned to the Thames because my best friend signed up for an RYA dinghy sailing course on Shepperton Reservoir, which seemed like a good idea to me. So again, I tagged along.
But I soon wanted more, and for the first time I decided to take sailing matters into my own hands, taking an RYA Day Skipper Theory and Practical sailing course that summer. Then I just had to get myself onto any boat I could find, so I joined Crewseekers and started crewing at weekends.
After years of spending every free weekend onboard the boats that sail out of Southampton, I soon ventured on to the Med and then to Thailand. I loved every minute I spent on the water, learning and re-learning lessons each time I stepped on to a new boat.
In 2006, I met Paolo on Find-a-Crew. He asked me to sail with him on his 34-footer around Corsica. After that I hung up my crew hat and started sailing exclusively with Paolo on his boat, as we had fallen for each other.
Chef Jenny’s Qualifications
- RYA Yachtmaster Theory
- RYA Day Skipper – Commercially Endorsed.
- Ashburton Cookery School – Advanced Cookery Certificate
- Level 2 Award in food Safety in Catering
- W.S.E.T. Level 2 Award in Wine & Spirits
- STCW Safety Training for Mariners Endorsements –
– Personal Sea Survival Techniques
– First Aid and CPR
– Basic Fire Fighting
– Personal Safety and Social Responsibilities
– Proficiency in Security Awareness