…That is how the galley on the ‘Utrecht’ was also labeled..
Coal pit.
The ship still had an oil-fired stove, and the day watch (04:00 – 08:00), also known as the ‘food watch’, always had to light it.
A specific technique was required for this; if you failed, a large cloud of soot would form in the galley.
Before this cloud had settled and disappeared, the cook was already pacing around in despair.
The galley fan could no longer handle it and finally gave up with a roar and a clatter.
Even a newly constructed fume extractor could not change this misery.
From my logbook of operations.
It was sometimes so bad that there were black spots in the bread.
Sometimes the stove would turn on, but the temperature in the oven was too low, and then we had completely different loaves.
Despite the persistent attempts of the cook and the boys, it never got clean inside.
It remained a dark hole.
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