The story of food on a scientific ocean drilling expedition is deep and complex, just like the cores that are drilled on the seafloor. From the initial food orders and what is brought on the ship to those that prepare all the meals, there are many ingredients for what is required to successfully sustain the nutritional needs and overall well-being of the crew, technicians, and scientists on board.

To set you up for thinking about the scale of food items necessary for a two-month expedition at sea, try responding to these questions.

How Much Food Is Enough?

At the start of each JOIDES Resolution expedition (which lasted ~60 days), the ship would stock enough food for a minimum of 80 days and for approximately 120 people on board. As the drilling activities and work in the science laboratories extended 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, meals were served four times a day across a two-hour window centered on: midnight/12AM, 6AM, 12PM, and 6PM. The meals consisted of 3 main courses and a chef’s special, one of which was required to be a vegetarian option, and one a healthy option. Specialized food was brought on board to address the allergy needs of those sailing. There were also snack breaks and 24-hour availability of beverages, cookies, cakes, breads, and breakfast cereals.

In addition to these regular meals, the Entier crew would provide a weekly outdoor BBQ (weather-dependent) or an indoor Theme Meal on weekends.

SciOD Spotlight – Sailing with food allergies

What if you have an allergy to certain foods? Are you still able to join a ship at sea? Two Onboard Outreach Officers on back-to-back expeditions had a discussion around their food allergies and highlighted the accommodations made on board JOIDES Resolution. Laura Guertin (IODP EXP 390) talks about her allergy to tomatoes, while Tessa Peixoto (IODP EXP 393) shares her allergy to nuts (peanuts, pistachios, pecans, and hazelnut).

Storage was another factor that had to fit into the equation of how much food could be brought on board. The storage on JOIDES Resolution was limited to one walk-in refrigerator and freezer. There were two “reefers” (refrigerated containers) on the top deck of the ship which could store extra frozen foods, extra fruit, eggs, etc. In addition, there were three main dry stories which could be filled to capacity before the JR left port.

Images are of the reefers on the top deck of JOIDES Resolution. (Credit: Tessa Peixoto, Onboard Outreach Officer, IODP EXP 402, CC BY 4.0)

Images are of the walk-in fridge/freezer on JOIDES Resolution. (Credit: Tessa Peixoto, Onboard Outreach Officer, IODP EXP 402, CC BY 4.0)

See the fire extinguisher in the right corner of the above photo? Safety was important not just for food storage but for food preparation. In the food preparation area of JOIDES Resolution, there was a built-in system above the fryers (normally in the hood) that would smother a grease fire by utilizing a dry chemical agent. The range hood had a wash system built in to remove the grease and to try to eliminate the fires that could occur in the vent ducting above the ranges. There were also several portable dry chemical fire extinguishers in the Galley.

Starting the Day

All of the crew, technicians, and scientists on JOIDES Resolution worked 12-hour shifts on the ship – some worked 6AM to 6PM, while most worked the day shift (12 Noon to 12 Midnight) or the night shift (12 Midnight to 12 Noon). This meant that your first meal of the day may not be when the Galley was serving breakfast! Fortunately, the Entier staff was accommodating and would scramble eggs or cook an omelette to order while lunch options were available on the food service line.

The Essentials – coffee and tea

Whether one is at home or at sea, a fresh mug of coffee or steaming cup of tea is a critical part of starting the day. Although not on the official packing list of items to bring on board JOIDES Resolution, scientists that sailed on prior expeditions would offer the helpful suggestion to bring on board enough of their favorite morning beverage. But packing enough coffee and/or tea for two months at sea is not always as easy as one might think! Here, two scientists share their adventures of getting acquiring their supply of coffee and tea, and then getting their purchase to the JR.

We start with geochemist Jeff Ryan, who discusses his coffee-purchasing plan as well as the social culture around coffee on the ship.

Next, geochemist Tracy Quan shares a tale of going shopping for tea in Hobart, Australia, before joining JOIDES Resolution.

 

The Desserts

Not only did the chefs offer plenty of options during mealtimes, there were plenty of desserts available not just at meals but throughout the day. Freshly-baked cookies and pies were a welcomed treat in the dessert case for all that worked long hours in the laboratories and on the rig floor, supplemented by the ice cream machine also available for 24 hours a day. At times, desserts would match the international focus of the food being served in the Galley that day, such as churros being a part of the Mexican-themed meals. The most-discussed dessert was the weekly offering of fresh lava cake, served with a scoop of rotating flavors of hard ice cream. This weekend dessert was something everyone on board looked forward to and helped marked the time during an expedition that worked ~60 consecutive days at sea.

Images across the top: dessert case, lava cake, ice cream machine. Image on bottom is a snapshot of the Galley in-between meals. Note there are only two chairs per table, as the photo was taken while the JR was following COVID protocols – when the protocols were lifted, the number of chairs per table increased to four. (Credit: Laura Guertin, Onboard Outreach Officer, IODP EXP 390, CC BY-NC-SA)

Holiday Celebrations

JOIDES Resolution worked on and through holidays, but that does not mean there was not an acknowledgement of these celebrations. The Entier crew exercised their creative talents to generate memorable meals, whether it be decorating birthday or retirement cakes to constructing full food buffets for Chinese New Year, Easter, or the holidays highlighted below.

Top left: Carved fruit as part of a New Year’s celebration (Erick Bravo); Top right: July 4th celebration (Erick Bravo); Bottom left: Thanksgiving buffet as prepared by the Entier staff (Sarah Kachovich); Bottom right: Christmas banquet in the Galley (Tim Fulton). (Credit: IODP JRSO,  MerlinOne photo archive, CC BY 4.0)

SciOD Spotlight – Birthday noodle soup

What is it like to celebrate your birthday on a scientific research vessel in the middle of the ocean? Geochemist Yi Wang describes her birthday celebration while on board JOIDES Resolution for IODP Expedition 390, combining community and culture in a COVID-safe environment for an extra-special day. It had been years since Yi could celebrate her birthday as she had growing up in China with the tradition of birthday noodle soup. The Entier staff went the extra step to ensure Yi and others on board shared in Yi’s special day in a special way.

Quote from Yi: “It was so exciting because I could actually share the beef noodles and soup with all the people I know on board, and also tell them the story of the longevity noodle. That was amazing.”

 

 

 

All of the food onboard JOIDES Resolution, which served as the foundation not just for the physical/nutritional health but the center of great conversation, laughter, and smiles for everyone on the ship, was made possible by the talented and dedicated Entier staff. Take a moment to meet two of the chefs!