Top Tips for Cooking Aboard

Our boats kitchen, or galley in nautical speak, can leave us wanting for space, certainly when compared to our kitchens at home. We thought we’d put our heads together and come up with some hints and tips for how to feed a hungry crew from a compact galley…

Space Saving Utensils

One of the first areas to focus on is the utensils and equipment we use in our galleys. The items we use at home won’t necessarily fit, and we sell a range of items designed for small spaces. If you have a small 2 burner cooker, a large frying pan or wok will take up most of the space available. The Boaties frying pan is rectangular, so uses the space much more efficiently. We also sell a compact pan trivet, that folds in to a drawer when not in use, ideal for not taking up worktop space all the time. Finally it’s worth looking at our folding range of galley equipment, such as our silicone dish dryer and washing up bowl. These can be folded when not in use to get them out of the way in a cupboard or drawer 

Change how you cook

Many of our customer change what and how they cook things when aboard their boats. An essential tool to many is a book called the ‘One Pan Galley Gourmet’, which, as the name suggests, gives you loads of inspiration for things you can cook without trying to juggle 3 different pans on a compact stove. Not got a grill for toast? No problem. We sell a range of stove top toasters that mean you can still enjoy a nice piece of toast in the morning.

Cooking when on passage

Hot water and boiling liquids can be dangerous at the best of times, but try using them on a randomly moving platform and things can get really interesting! That said, when on passage people can get cold, and certainly hungry, so it’s worth keeping things simple. A kettle with a lid is generally much safer than an open pan on a stove, so look for things that only require hot water. It’s incredible how good a simple pot noodle can taste a 2am when you’ve been on watch for 3 hours, and a pot mash can be a total delicacy! Things you can quickly warm in an oven work well too - a sausage roll or a pasty provides a hearty snack quickly and easily. 

What about a BBQ?

When in a quiet anchorage in the evening, nothing beats a barbecue to round off a fantastic day on the water. We sell barbecues specifically for boats starting at very reasonable prices. We sell simple barbecues that hold a disposable charcoal unit, or gas barbecues that remove the risk of ash damaging your nice white fibreglass altogether. Either way it’s important to make sure the barbecue is mounted sensibly, ideally over the water so any fat drippings don’t stain your decks.