Hokulea crew members learn food prep for 4-year Pacific voyage

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Crew members of the Hokulea are getting a taste of food prep training as they gear up for their upcoming four-year voyage around the Pacific, which is set to begin this summer in Alaska.

The voyage covers 43,000 nautical miles and will require planning to ensure the crew is well-fed and nourished throughout their journey.

At the Marine Education Training Center in Sand Island, crew members work with award-winning Chef Mark Noguchi to learn about nutrition, food safety, and meal preparation.

The crew is divided into groups to prepare different meals, including chop chae, chicken curry, chili, corn chowder, and grilled chicken.

Chef Noguchi says, “as a cook, you’re in charge of morale health. You gotta make sure people are nourished.”

Voyaging life can be very physically tough on the body; Voyage Cook Gary Yuen says he loses weight every time he goes sailing. “If there’s something that they don’t like and they don’t eat, they get weak out there. You know your body is constantly moving. I lose about 20 pounds every time I go sailing,” said Yuen.

Crew member Leilani Josselin emphasizes the importance of the chef and cook’s role, “Besides the captain and the navigator, the next important person is the cook, so making sure that everyone’s fed good looking forward to the next meal keeps everyone going keeps the energy level up.”

The most popular meal on the voyage is fresh fish caught straight from the ocean and prepared lomi style.

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