Have you ever grilled on a speeding yacht?

I have! Scott's catering company (Phusion) got a job last week through our friend Chris. Chris works for Play-n-Trade, a video game franchise company (he sells store franchises). The company owns a 62ft. yacht in Newport Harbor, and they hired Scott to cater a short cruise Thursday evening to impress new franchise owners. I was invited to come along and be the server/sous chef. Phusion is run by Scott and his partner Kevin.
Here's the menu for the evening:
Alaskan halibut ceviche with spicy Spanish gazpacho
Deconstructed guacamole, white corn tortilla chip, micro-cilantro
White Mexican shrimp, charred pineapple, teriyaki glaze
Baby vegetable skewers with smoked paprika oil
Local Blue Lake green bean and baby heirloom tomato salad with a champagne vinegar-fines herb vinegarette
Prime NY steak and Australian lobster surf-n-turf skewer
Strawberry Shortcake skewer
Me, Scott and Kevin pre-cruise.
When everyone arrived on board, I served the gazpacho ceviche and deconstructed guacamole (basically a tortilla chip layered with sliced avocados, diced tomatoes/onions, and micro-cilantro). The boat was still in the harbor and I didn't spill a thing. We were waiting for the AC power to come on so the grill would work (to make the rest of the meal), but that was not going to happen, so someone ran off to buy a grill from the marina. The grill was missing bolts, so we placed it on top on the built in non-functional grill. Once again, not a problem. Scott started grilling shrimp and vegetables, and the group decided to head out to Emerald Bay. Emerald Bay is a good boat ride from Newport Harbor, and the swells were quite large last Thursday. This is when the cooking portion of the evening transformed into a horrible episode of Hell's Kitchen. I had to hold the grill with a towel to keep it from sliding into the middle of the boat. Poor Kevin was in the galley chopping herbs while we flew over swells. At one point, Scott was knocked off his feet by a rogue wave, and the salt, pepper, and a tub of BBQ sauce followed him down! We look calm and happy here, but this is right before Scott dropped the sauce. See how I am holding the grill in place...fun fun!
We stopped cooking, planning on continuing once we anchored in Emerald Bay. Once there, the swells did not subside, and I could not go down to the galley without getting queasy. Basically, I had to sit on deck, gripping the pepper mill, to feel OK. I am amazed at the cooking Scott and Kevin did while we bobbed on the waves. They served the shrimp, lobster/steak, green bean salad and veggie skewers all at sea. Finally, the captains decided it would be best if we return to the harbor to escape the waves (duh...we should have gone back waaay earlier!). In the calm harbor waters, I could once again maintain my sous chef duties and skewered dessert. These strawberry shortcake skewers were a HIT. We skewered a cube of pound cake and 1/2 strawberry (the strawberries were macerated in vanilla simple syrup). Scott quickly torched them, and drizzled it with strawberry basil sauce. They were served with a bowl of whipped cream for dipping. Yummy! The strawberries were our favorite...Harry's Berries from Santa Monica's farmer's market.
I planned on taking pictures of all the dishes for my blog, but my sea-queasiness prevented me from moving for a good portion of the evening! Next time, Phusion will specify that they only cook in the harbor....you have to live and learn!
This is the only food picture I took...the Alaskan Halibut ceviche with spicy Spanish gazpacho. We piled diced avocados and a slice of halibut marinated in lime juice. Then we poured gazpacho over it and garnished it with sweet pepper and Thai pepper slices. It was topped with a crostini to help scoop out the goodies. I don't know why I say "we" when I describe this dish...I had no part it creating it, that was all Scott and Kevin. I only put the avocados and gazpacho in the cups =)
Seals!