CHEF ON THE HIGH SEAS

On a balmy Saturday last October, booming cannons reverberated through the ancient streets of Valletta, the capital city of Malta, signaling the launch of a five-day competition on the Mediterranean Sea.  This rigorous and renowned Rolex Middle Sea Race — also known as a “sailing Everest” — featured 119 sleek ocean-racing yachts with crews who, according to a participant, “required steadfast persistence and patience in conditions that veered from the mentally sapping benign to the physically punishing malign.”

The nonstop race covered 606 nautical miles from Valletta, around the island of Sicily, then back to Malta, through waters acclaimed “the most beautiful racecourse in the world.” Among the flotilla of yachts competing for the Rolex title was an American-owned 1985 Hinckley Sou’wester 51 named “Kiva,” manned by a crew of eight men. 

Eight hungry men, actually. 

Which is how and why Kennebunk’s noted caterer, Peggy Liversidge of Kitchen Chicks Catering and Cape Porpoise Kitchen, flew to Malta last October 9. She toted her special culinary knives, several aprons and small deli containers, kosher salt, butcher ground peppercorn, ground ginger, oregano and basil. Plus five favorite recipes.

Liversidge recalls, “A few months before, I had a phone call from my friend Deb Otto who handles shore logistics and registrations for ocean-racing yachts. She said, ‘Peggy, they need a chef for the Rolex Middle Sea competition.’” 

Peggy admits she gets seasick standing on a dock. “But it took me less than five seconds to say YES.” 

She assumed she’d be cooking three square meals a day in the yacht’s galley, assisted by friend Deb who moonlights as a pastry chef. “However, I was both relieved and disappointed that the galley was just too small.” 

Peggy in her catering kitchen in Kennebunk, Maine

Instead, the yacht’s owner arranged for Peggy and Deb to stay, and cook, in a “lovely spacious townhouse with a modern kitchen, right in the heart of Valletta.” Their driver Yourem toted them daily to the local markets in a Mercedes Sprinter van. “We need fresh fish” Peggy would say.  “I take you,” Yourem would answer. 

Peggy and Deb scoured the markets foraging for vegetables, meat and Lampuki, a Maltese fish which was in season. “We discovered fully-stocked modern supermarkets so gathering provisions was easy.”

Then the two chefs donned aprons and ignited the gas range for three days of cooking. The menu featured beef bourguignon, braised chicken thighs with rosemary and garlic, turkey meatloaf, fish stew and chicken piccata. 

Her biggest challenge was figuring out how to store these five different one-pot meals in the 3-feet-deep 24-inch-wide freezer aboard Kiva. Peggy says, “We put them in two-pound Ziploc bags and froze them on cookie sheets. The packages were thin and flat enough to easily slide and stack them in the galley freezer. Since the crew was on four-hour shifts and someone was always hungry, they could easily warm them on the small range.”

For breakfasts, Peggy supplied yogurts, granola and breads. Lunch consisted of sliced deli meats and wraps. “One day I made chicken salad with grapes.” She also supplied Cadbury dark chocolate bars for desserts and pick-me-up instant energy.

After the cannons echoed through Valletta and Kiva headed toward the Strait of Messina, Peggy and Deb enjoyed a brief vacation on this fabled island. “Travel & Leisure” cites Malta’s “azure waters, charming historical vibe and a cuisine that’s a perfect melange of Italy, Greece and the Mahgreb influences.” The ladies hung around the Royal Malta Yacht Club and explored the centuries-old city noted for its eclectic architecture and medieval charm. "Malta had not been on my bucket list but it’s a great tourist destination,” Peggy says. And not a bad day job for a Maine chef!

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If and when we can ever travel again, Malta is on my bucket list. Meanwhile, I’ll just read another travel article and dream.