If you don't care what you put in your pie hole skip this post...
Went out on the Apollo out of 22nd Street for a 3 day last week. If you haven't fished the Apollo, you should. Yeah, I know, it's a smaller boat at 57', but it is a solid boat that fishes better than some of the bigger models I've been on and the food flat out puts many of them to shame.
If you're lucky enough to be on the Apollo with Chef Ritchie, you're in for a treat.
Let's start with the candy. I know it's a small thing, but when you're strung out on caffeine and nicotine at 3 something in the morning grinding on a bluefin night bite, good candy is appreciated. I'm talking the good stuff, Snickers, Peanut M&M's, Twix, Almond Joys, Reese's...
Breakfast the first day started off with a danger sign, Chef Ritchie was making biscuits...
If you've read some of my other food posts, you know I'm not a fan of Shit on a Shingle, Stir Fry, or Roast Pork Loin. So the warning bells were going off. No worries, false alarm.
Chef Ritchie did make biscuits and gravy, but from scratch and with real skill. He paired one biscuit covered with gravy with some real scrambled eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns.
There's a lot of guys that can do that, but Chef Ritchie combines his own personal touches with outstanding techniques to consistently produce winners.
And that's what really separates great from good.
A great cook can do some pretty amazing things in the galley. But a great Chef can consistently elevate their food above and beyond that.
Like when he served cream of mushroom soup as a starter for dinner. Anybody can open a giant can of cream of mushroom soup. Chef Ritchie did his from scratch. When's the last time you got excited about a first course on a fishing boat?
He followed that up with lamb chops. Like bro, seriously, lamb on a fishing boat? Chef Ritchie delivered perfectly seasoned medium rare racks that paired perfectly with seasoned rice and veggies. Again, it's pretty easy to grill lamb chops, but delivering roasted racks for 30 people and crew, that's some next level stuff.
Or let's take the tri-tip he did the second night. I've had tri-tip on a number of boats now, and honestly it's mediocre at best. Not Chef Ritchie's. He braised the tri-tip perfectly until it was you don't need a knife tender. Then he covered it with a Heavy Cream Curry that was totally unexpected and beyond anything I've been served on a boat yet.
We had some pretty big boys on this trip, and we had a number of guys that have eaten in some of the finest restaurants, and everybody was a member of the clean plate club.
I could go on, but I don't want you to come and expect the same dish.
Chef Ritchie is a true chef. He goes about his business like a real pro. Never rushed, quietly, with precision and purpose. Like a true chef, he's going to work with the best available and seasonal ingredients at his disposal. I'm guessing you could go out on several trips and see something different each time. He's spent a lot of time in fine dining restaurants and it shows.
His food is perfectly balanced. His portions aren't too large. Which is why you can actually enjoy breaking a training diet without worrying about blowing up like a fat kid at McDonalds even when you enjoy the deserts
What's even more amazing is that he does it solo. There's no second or sous chef in the galley with him. I've been on boats with two man galley crews and Chef Ritchie runs circles around them with no wasted effort. He's a machine behind the counter that's setting the bar for multi-day trip food.
I've got trips scheduled on the Polaris Supreme and the Independence. I've heard the stories and I'm really looking forward to enjoying what they offer.
But I seriously doubt they're going to beat Chef Ritchie.
If they come close, or match what he can do I'm going to be really happy 💕
Went out on the Apollo out of 22nd Street for a 3 day last week. If you haven't fished the Apollo, you should. Yeah, I know, it's a smaller boat at 57', but it is a solid boat that fishes better than some of the bigger models I've been on and the food flat out puts many of them to shame.
If you're lucky enough to be on the Apollo with Chef Ritchie, you're in for a treat.
Let's start with the candy. I know it's a small thing, but when you're strung out on caffeine and nicotine at 3 something in the morning grinding on a bluefin night bite, good candy is appreciated. I'm talking the good stuff, Snickers, Peanut M&M's, Twix, Almond Joys, Reese's...
Breakfast the first day started off with a danger sign, Chef Ritchie was making biscuits...
If you've read some of my other food posts, you know I'm not a fan of Shit on a Shingle, Stir Fry, or Roast Pork Loin. So the warning bells were going off. No worries, false alarm.
Chef Ritchie did make biscuits and gravy, but from scratch and with real skill. He paired one biscuit covered with gravy with some real scrambled eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns.
There's a lot of guys that can do that, but Chef Ritchie combines his own personal touches with outstanding techniques to consistently produce winners.
And that's what really separates great from good.
A great cook can do some pretty amazing things in the galley. But a great Chef can consistently elevate their food above and beyond that.
Like when he served cream of mushroom soup as a starter for dinner. Anybody can open a giant can of cream of mushroom soup. Chef Ritchie did his from scratch. When's the last time you got excited about a first course on a fishing boat?
He followed that up with lamb chops. Like bro, seriously, lamb on a fishing boat? Chef Ritchie delivered perfectly seasoned medium rare racks that paired perfectly with seasoned rice and veggies. Again, it's pretty easy to grill lamb chops, but delivering roasted racks for 30 people and crew, that's some next level stuff.
Or let's take the tri-tip he did the second night. I've had tri-tip on a number of boats now, and honestly it's mediocre at best. Not Chef Ritchie's. He braised the tri-tip perfectly until it was you don't need a knife tender. Then he covered it with a Heavy Cream Curry that was totally unexpected and beyond anything I've been served on a boat yet.
We had some pretty big boys on this trip, and we had a number of guys that have eaten in some of the finest restaurants, and everybody was a member of the clean plate club.
I could go on, but I don't want you to come and expect the same dish.
Chef Ritchie is a true chef. He goes about his business like a real pro. Never rushed, quietly, with precision and purpose. Like a true chef, he's going to work with the best available and seasonal ingredients at his disposal. I'm guessing you could go out on several trips and see something different each time. He's spent a lot of time in fine dining restaurants and it shows.
His food is perfectly balanced. His portions aren't too large. Which is why you can actually enjoy breaking a training diet without worrying about blowing up like a fat kid at McDonalds even when you enjoy the deserts
What's even more amazing is that he does it solo. There's no second or sous chef in the galley with him. I've been on boats with two man galley crews and Chef Ritchie runs circles around them with no wasted effort. He's a machine behind the counter that's setting the bar for multi-day trip food.
I've got trips scheduled on the Polaris Supreme and the Independence. I've heard the stories and I'm really looking forward to enjoying what they offer.
But I seriously doubt they're going to beat Chef Ritchie.
If they come close, or match what he can do I'm going to be really happy 💕
