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Pearl Jam... so polite... so green
Long article about a chef on a yacht... recently had Pearl Jam on board... found them to be polite and green. Yet another example of the boys showing their true colors.
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/arts/story.html?id=45805ced-35b2-4ded-bda0-4b81ef25ed36
Cooking with attitude on the high seas
Yacht chefs match food with guests
Lucy Hyslop
Vancouver Sun
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
CREDIT: Stuart Davis/Vancouver Sun
Executive Chef Catherine Cafiti of the Pacific Yellowfin.
Prone to the odd bout of sea sickness, Catherine Cafiti admits her job as a chef on board a boat might at first seem a little incongruous.
Life at sea evokes images of cramped galley kitchens and cooks wrestling with ingredients swaying from side to side. Truth is that life at Cafiti's place of work, while still limited compared with those on land, is far more luxurious.
She is executive chef on the uber glamorous, 114-foot-long Pacific Yellowfin, which features a generous open kitchen, interior design by Robert Ledingham and a hiring fee of $55,000 a week for tours around the Gulf Islands. Last month, Seattle rock band Pearl Jam chartered it.
"I am very active and like being outside, so I had always wanted to work on a boat and I love it," the 26-year-old enthuses. Luckily, Cafiti's also a people person, clearly a prerequisite to working on a boat: "It's all about the attitude. You need to be able to contain yourself - I share my bedroom and the only time that I am alone is when I am in the shower. You need to be unattached to your things. When I walk on the boat I leave my land life on the quay."
Her culinary expertise - honed in her native Quebec, as well as Italy and France - is put to the test out on the oceans. "This is our big backyard," she says pointing to the water. "It's not like we can always pick up the phone and place a delivery order for the morning like in a restaurant. We put our crab traps in the water around Saltspring Island, get spot prawns, clams and oysters up at Desolation Sound."
When they are near Saltspring, the ex-Montrealer likes to visit the market (she adores the fresh lamb and produce) and sometimes she will give Yellowfin guests money to buy "whatever they want from there."
"They will come back with things and I have to be creative," she explains. "Once they brought me a sea cucumber - and I did not have a clue what to do with it because this is not something you get taught at school. I had to make a few phone calls to find out and ended up making sashimi with onions and jalapenos, which was very simple but tasty. I love playing around with food and it really doesn't feel like I am working."
Cafiti, who has been on the crew for three years, also likes to prepare only as far as the first lunchtime menu on a week-long trip. "I wait for the guests to arrive because I want to see them, see their personalities, the way they act, where they are from," she says. "It's more about creating food than a rigid menu." Because of that, she has "a soup in mind that I would like to do but I have not yet found the perfect guest to do it for."
So which foods did Pearl Jam inspire? "I was thinking beforehand, famous rock stars - so will they want fine dining or not?" she says. "But they arrived in their Prius [Toyota's hybrid car] quite unexpectedly right on the quay at Steveston and they were super laidback people - so polite and so green. They just wanted to be surrounded by woods. They were in their sports pants and I know famous people are always hanging out at big dinners and stuff, so I knew that's not what they wanted. I just cooked them simple food - they loved their lamb shank, for example."
To be that flexible, Cafiti knows she has to keep a strict inventory. She encourages anyone cooking on a boat to be disciplined: Label your bags in the freezer, make sure that everything is easily accessible, that all the meat is in one place and the fish in another. "Know that you can find it easily," she insists. "I have a little bit of everything. Also, keep your cooking simple and fresh, let the ingredients speak for themselves - keep it to three flavours."
Before a trip, she sources organic produce close to the dock. She heads for OriginO's farm in Delta ("I like B.C.-grown food not brought in from California") and buys Ocean Wise fish (sablefish, halibut and sockeye salmon).
The former student of l'Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (Quebec Tourism and Hotel Institute) adds that the key to a shipshape kitchen is to use as few pots and pans as possible. Today she is turning on the wow factor even with "a quick simple lunch:" her hallmark rosewater crème brûlée; an artichoke served with a vinaigrette using herbs she grows on the deck in a little greenhouse and ice wine; couscous and sea asparagus with lobster and lemon; and grilled eggplant with mozzarella and tomatoes.
Creating as little garbage as possible is also essential on a boat due to space. "You have to discipline yourself not to waste anything. You can't afford to have loads of bins on-board a boat for lots of garbage. I keep my organic waste separately."
Even the skins of tomatoes morph into tomato sugar (she dries the skins on a low heat in the stove and processes them with sugar), which is used on tarts or sprinkled around the rim of a drink.
Certain foods such as bread, however, are difficult to make on-board. Countertops are lipped, slightly sunken - which will keep hold of things in case the boat is rocky - and wooden, which means it takes a little more effort to clean off the food than say stainless steel that can rust in the salty sea air. Rare choppy waters might throw the odd curveball. "This boat is very stable," she says, "but I do factor in how many hours we might be sailing, because I won't be cooking if it's too rocky."
Has she always been such a foodie? "I've worked in the business since I was 14," she explains. "I got my taste for cooking from my grandmother when I was a child; I was a very troubled child - super active - so cooking would calm me down and keep me focused."
Wintertime offers her a life, however, outside of the kitchen. When Cafiti is not slicing up her latest creations on-board the Yellowfin during the sailing season from May to September, she's carving up the backcountry in Whistler where she has her home on land. "I don't work up there," she says, "I just go there to recharge my batteries."
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/arts/story.html?id=45805ced-35b2-4ded-bda0-4b81ef25ed36
Cooking with attitude on the high seas
Yacht chefs match food with guests
Lucy Hyslop
Vancouver Sun
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
CREDIT: Stuart Davis/Vancouver Sun
Executive Chef Catherine Cafiti of the Pacific Yellowfin.
Prone to the odd bout of sea sickness, Catherine Cafiti admits her job as a chef on board a boat might at first seem a little incongruous.
Life at sea evokes images of cramped galley kitchens and cooks wrestling with ingredients swaying from side to side. Truth is that life at Cafiti's place of work, while still limited compared with those on land, is far more luxurious.
She is executive chef on the uber glamorous, 114-foot-long Pacific Yellowfin, which features a generous open kitchen, interior design by Robert Ledingham and a hiring fee of $55,000 a week for tours around the Gulf Islands. Last month, Seattle rock band Pearl Jam chartered it.
"I am very active and like being outside, so I had always wanted to work on a boat and I love it," the 26-year-old enthuses. Luckily, Cafiti's also a people person, clearly a prerequisite to working on a boat: "It's all about the attitude. You need to be able to contain yourself - I share my bedroom and the only time that I am alone is when I am in the shower. You need to be unattached to your things. When I walk on the boat I leave my land life on the quay."
Her culinary expertise - honed in her native Quebec, as well as Italy and France - is put to the test out on the oceans. "This is our big backyard," she says pointing to the water. "It's not like we can always pick up the phone and place a delivery order for the morning like in a restaurant. We put our crab traps in the water around Saltspring Island, get spot prawns, clams and oysters up at Desolation Sound."
When they are near Saltspring, the ex-Montrealer likes to visit the market (she adores the fresh lamb and produce) and sometimes she will give Yellowfin guests money to buy "whatever they want from there."
"They will come back with things and I have to be creative," she explains. "Once they brought me a sea cucumber - and I did not have a clue what to do with it because this is not something you get taught at school. I had to make a few phone calls to find out and ended up making sashimi with onions and jalapenos, which was very simple but tasty. I love playing around with food and it really doesn't feel like I am working."
Cafiti, who has been on the crew for three years, also likes to prepare only as far as the first lunchtime menu on a week-long trip. "I wait for the guests to arrive because I want to see them, see their personalities, the way they act, where they are from," she says. "It's more about creating food than a rigid menu." Because of that, she has "a soup in mind that I would like to do but I have not yet found the perfect guest to do it for."
So which foods did Pearl Jam inspire? "I was thinking beforehand, famous rock stars - so will they want fine dining or not?" she says. "But they arrived in their Prius [Toyota's hybrid car] quite unexpectedly right on the quay at Steveston and they were super laidback people - so polite and so green. They just wanted to be surrounded by woods. They were in their sports pants and I know famous people are always hanging out at big dinners and stuff, so I knew that's not what they wanted. I just cooked them simple food - they loved their lamb shank, for example."
To be that flexible, Cafiti knows she has to keep a strict inventory. She encourages anyone cooking on a boat to be disciplined: Label your bags in the freezer, make sure that everything is easily accessible, that all the meat is in one place and the fish in another. "Know that you can find it easily," she insists. "I have a little bit of everything. Also, keep your cooking simple and fresh, let the ingredients speak for themselves - keep it to three flavours."
Before a trip, she sources organic produce close to the dock. She heads for OriginO's farm in Delta ("I like B.C.-grown food not brought in from California") and buys Ocean Wise fish (sablefish, halibut and sockeye salmon).
The former student of l'Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (Quebec Tourism and Hotel Institute) adds that the key to a shipshape kitchen is to use as few pots and pans as possible. Today she is turning on the wow factor even with "a quick simple lunch:" her hallmark rosewater crème brûlée; an artichoke served with a vinaigrette using herbs she grows on the deck in a little greenhouse and ice wine; couscous and sea asparagus with lobster and lemon; and grilled eggplant with mozzarella and tomatoes.
Creating as little garbage as possible is also essential on a boat due to space. "You have to discipline yourself not to waste anything. You can't afford to have loads of bins on-board a boat for lots of garbage. I keep my organic waste separately."
Even the skins of tomatoes morph into tomato sugar (she dries the skins on a low heat in the stove and processes them with sugar), which is used on tarts or sprinkled around the rim of a drink.
Certain foods such as bread, however, are difficult to make on-board. Countertops are lipped, slightly sunken - which will keep hold of things in case the boat is rocky - and wooden, which means it takes a little more effort to clean off the food than say stainless steel that can rust in the salty sea air. Rare choppy waters might throw the odd curveball. "This boat is very stable," she says, "but I do factor in how many hours we might be sailing, because I won't be cooking if it's too rocky."
Has she always been such a foodie? "I've worked in the business since I was 14," she explains. "I got my taste for cooking from my grandmother when I was a child; I was a very troubled child - super active - so cooking would calm me down and keep me focused."
Wintertime offers her a life, however, outside of the kitchen. When Cafiti is not slicing up her latest creations on-board the Yellowfin during the sailing season from May to September, she's carving up the backcountry in Whistler where she has her home on land. "I don't work up there," she says, "I just go there to recharge my batteries."
For those who scoff at "Jamily" in my name... 9 years ago, when my first daughter was born there were jokes about whether my priority would be my family or PJ. I smiled and quipped "I am a JamilyMan." What was a family joke became a hated term among jammers. Didn't see that one coming!
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I read elsewhere recently that Ed is a vegetarian. Wonder if he changed his mind, or was just "cheating."
Does anyone else know whether any of them are vegetarians?
Now if I ever meet Ed, we'll have something to talk about! Cool!!!
rolled up in a prius - the boys don't disappoint ... i wish there was a way of contacting ev - i'd take him kayaking out here next week - he'd love it ...
cool - BC is awesome for kayaking - if you're ever in toronto area - i can take you out for some urban paddling!
now, how to send ed an invite for next week!??
Same urban paddling invite is open to you in NYC!
http://www.downtownboathouse.org/
I've started volunteering here this summer and I love it, would love to go today but looks like thunderstorms.
ooooooooh...I would so love to take him SUP boarding in the Saanich Inlet with me...and over to Saltspring Island (the good looking side)....I've been doing that for the last month and WOW!! Makes me so greatful to live where I do...I wonder if I can PJ to help me save it...
Did they all drive up in one Prius...which three were in the back? I bet Ed was in the middle...
Fifty-five grand ...
For a boat trip.
"That's me in the corner ..."
Don't you do it, too.
uhhh ... they aren't actually owning the boat ... it's really the best way to see them islands ...
girlinwhitepants - i remember seeing a doc at a paddling film festival about the boathouse - super cool!
vedderfan10 - i'm guessing mike was in the middle, he's tiniest!
My question is--the boat only has four cabins according to their website, so who doubled up? And who got the VIP suite? (I jest--it seems the boat can also be chartered for just a day cruise, which sounds like the most likely scenario--you know, a summer "fun" event for the whole crew and staff.)
I don't think any of their music or "message" has ever been outright "anti-materialism," more of general social responsibility.
They're allowed to go on vacation.
As for eddie being veg, that's what i've always heard. when he put on the lab coat in boston he said something like it was for experimenting, not butchering animals or something. But, you know, the article says "they" liked the lamb shank...could have been anyone, maybe everyone didn't eat it, maybe she was lying, or maybe eddie's just a most-of-the-time veg (I know some).
For a WEEK. You think they're not all very wealthy men? I guess they should give all of their money away. I'd say the luxuries they allow themselves offset nicely with the lack of privacy they're afforded by the likes of us.
Sheesh. I hope they had a blast. I find it very nice and encouraging that they would want to spend some time together after a tour.
There are 6 people in the band. She never said anything about Eddie. I hope he does eat meat though. Guys who don't eat meat are weird.
Nope. Sorry hippy.
oh give me a small fucking break! :rolleyes:
good one.
materialism is about wanting to have fine things just for the sake of having them. so what if they blow threw some cash to have a good time, they work there asses off (compared to other rock bands) and deserve it
pearljamguy@gmail.com
Seriously, they earn nice paychecks and donate large quantities of money to social issues that they believe in and stand behind... and someone has to give them grief for it?!? Should they do all of their vacationing in a KOA parking lot campground because this is the frugal way to vacation?!? Should they do a STAYCATION and check out the sites in Seattle?!?
I don't think so. I think they have earned the priveledge of being able to do whatever it is that they can afford to do, and should not be judged for it. Now, had they gone on that yacht and tore it up, disrespected the staff, or made total a*holes of themselves, then I might have posted this in a different light
Give me a break. Maybe they should burn the royalty checks that come in? Maybe they should tour for free? I pray you aren't serious.
Also, one of the NYC solo nights before "Driftin" Ed said something about being grateful to all of us for buying tickets & records because it has allowed him to travel to beautiful places where there are dirt roads and no people...I think they are very aware of how fortunate they are. They use their money & influence for good, not evil. And if I were loaded travel is the first thing I would spend my money on too, so I relate.
well said!
Ed can;t be a vegetarian, cuz i hate vegetarians, lol
Come off your battlefield."
I'm not going to call you stupid fucking names or tell you how ridiculous you're being, I'm just going to try to explain.
When you charter a boat, essentially all you are doing is renting it, and someone who knows who to run it and where to go. My girlfriends dad does charters. His customers are mostly people who want to be on a boat and be ensured that they are going to catch something. Now, these people may know how to run a boat but they don't know the area as well as him so that's another thing they're paying for, knowledge of the area.
And when you get right down to it, isn't chartering a boat for a week better if you're against materialism than buying one? 55,000 isn't going to get you a large boat, and nothing close to a yacht.
Ed had to sit bitch!!! LOL!
Hey, i didn't attack anybody or call anyone names or suggest we burn their records and launch a revolt.
But i fell in love with this band in '92 at the age of 16 because of what they stood for and how they endorsed these "real" ways of life that, while i inherently believed in them, i was not seeing as important to anyone else emerging onto the music scene. In essence, they helped validate my indignation over the evils of corporate America (among other issues).
So with that in mind, when i read that they were cool to the staff, respectful of the 65-year-old boat and arrived in a Prius -- that sounds 100 percent like the band i've followed for almost 16 years.
Yet in a way, learning how they're now vacationing (which everyone, especially them, deserves, by the way) in the same places as Kevin Costner, John Travolta and Kurt Russell feels ... funny. I mean, doesn't it? If you really think about it?
I'm not slamming the band or to posting "negative comments;" i'm not throwing out my records, t-shirts, ticket stubs or guitar picks that i've accumulated over the years; and the next time they decide to come within a day's drive of me, i'll be one of the first to buy a ticket and take the ride.
But it feels weird, to me (and only me, apparently) that a band that was never about the clothes and the cars and the chicks are now taking $55,000 rides on yachts.
We all grow up, i suppose, and it appears that i'm just realizing how much the band that refused to play in to the hype machine but fought like hell for us on Capitol Hill has changed.
And i guess i just fucking miss 'em.
Don't you do it, too.
Have you ever rented a hotel room?
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