GARRETS INTERNATIONAL VESSEL
INTRODUCTION PACK
Contents
Introduction...............................................................................Page 3
About Us ....................................................................................Page 4
What We Do .............................................................................Page 5
Garrets Catering Management Guidelines .........................Page 6
Where to Order.......................................................................Page 8
Reducing Waste/Maintaining Stock .......................................Page 10
Healthy Eating............................................................................Page 12
Introduction
Welcome to Garrets International [Link] shall now be looking after
the catering requirements for your vessel and will be your main point of
contact for all provisioning.
This introduction pack contains all of the information you will need in
regards to our services as well as our “Food Inventory Stock Book”
program and instruction book.
If you have any questions about our service, please do not hesitate to
contact us at any time either by phone or e-mail using the contact
details below.
Garrets International Ltd Stewards House
St Edwards Court, London Road
Romford, Essex RM7 9QD
Tel: +44 (0)1708 740400
Fax: +44 (0)1708 768444
email: purchasing@[Link]
_______________________
Garrets International Singapore Pte. Ltd
Level 17 Chevron House, 30 Raffles Place, 048622
Tel: +65 6809 6294
3
About Us
Garrets International Limited is a leading Marine Catering Management Company and has
been providing the highest standards of on-board catering services to vessels since 1991.
Through our efficient and professional approach Garrets are established as the
benchmark for providing best quality, most nutritious and completely wholesome food
produce to the global shipping industry.
Having been in business for over 24 years we have developed and perfected our practice
and systems, priding ourselves on understanding the difficulties and logistics in supply and
[Link] work with both large and small fleets that operate across the globe
without interruption, around the clock.
To help improve the quality of provisions on-board and to help with seafarers wellbeing,
Garrets have introduced a policy of supplying free range chicken and eggs, low fat and
sugar varieties of popular products and sustainably sourced fish at a number of ports
where these items are assessable.
Our catering management solution is independent of supplier interests and reduces
shipboard and shore-side administration and accounting, delivering cost effective galley
management at predictable costs.
4
What We Do
High Quality, Good Value Food
At Garrets we are constantly striving to improve the standards of food on-board. Due to
the large number of vessels we manage, we have significant purchasing power with our
suppliers and are able to obtain quality food at good [Link] have a Quality Audit
program where our suppliers are evaluated by an independent third party on their safe
handling of food, to ensure that globally regulated standards are adhered to at all times.
Reduced Administration
Garrets stock ordering system will reduce the workload on-board for both the Master
and Chief Cook.
Our easy to use Food Inventory Stock Book and ordering system will keep on-board
paperwork requirements to a minimum. Each month the Chief Cook needs only to enter
his stock take and provisions order into our program and all calculations will be carried
out automatically.
At each port that you place a provisions order Garrets purchasing staff will obtain
quotations from at least 2 suppliers, compare and select the most competitive quote, then
make suggestions as to changes that can be made to the order based on prices, stock
levels on-board and locally available [Link] this frees up time for the Master and
Chief cook to concentrate on other matters.
Expert Advice
With more than 24 years’ experience of supplying good quality food to vessels all over
the world, we are able to draw on our considerable knowledge to offer advice to vessels
on all aspects of on-board catering.
We can advise the most convenient and cost effective ports worldwide, offer advice on
menus, cost control and recipes for crews of various [Link] also provide
training to the Chief Cook on cooking techniques, health eating and food hygiene through
visits to vessels and instructional materials.
5
Garrets Catering Management
Guidelines
As we are now looking after the catering requirements for your vessel all provision
orders and stock reporting should be directed through us. Listed below is a description of
how our system works.
Orders
When you wish to place an order for provisions at a port, you should prepare the order
using the “Food Inventory Stock Book and Order Form” program which is included in
this starter pack. Full instructions on the use of this form can be found in the instruction
manual which is also included.
Once you have compiled your order please send this to us via e-mail to
purchasing@[Link] and as far in advance as possible include the following
information which will help us to arrange timely delivery.
The port/terminal at which you wish your
provisions to [Link] ETA/ETB and ETD
at the port.
Your nominated agents contact details.
Your next port if known.
Please allow 72 hours notice before delivery is [Link] will of course do our best to
arrange your order no matter how urgent it is but if we have sufficient time to obtain and
compare quotations then we will be able to get the best deal for your vessel.
You should receive confirmation that we have received your order within 24 hours (36
hours at weekends). If you have not received confirmation within this time please re-send
the order to us at purchasing@[Link]
We will then seek quotations for the best prices available at the port. If any changes or
replacement items are recommend this will always be discussed with you prior to placing
the order.
Once the order has been confirmed with our supplier we will forward you their full
contact details and advise them to liaise with the agents and your vessel directly to
organise a suitable delivery time.
When the order is delivered, the provisions should be checked by the Chief cook as usual
and any items that are not satisfactory should be [Link] invoice and delivery notes
should be signed and stamped as [Link] will then be settled by Garrets with the
supplier directly.
6
If there are any problems with the order or if there is anything that you are unhappy with
then please notify us as soon as possible and we will do our utmost to resolve the issue.
We will also follow up all orders that are delivered to the vessel in order to receive your
feedback for the overall service provided.
Monthly Reporting
When your vessel first begins to use our service we will ask that the chief cook
undertakes a full accurate stock check and records this in the “Food Inventory Stock
Book and Order Form”.This should then be forwarded to us via e-mail to
returns@[Link]
Each subsequent month the cook should take a full stock inventory on the last day of
every month and forward this to us via e-mail using the “Food Inventory Stock Book and
Order Form”. More detailed instructions on using the “Food Inventory Stock Book and
Order Form” can be found in the instruction booklet which is included in this pack.
Stock Control
Stock control, also known as inventory management, is a series of procedures intended to
manage the flow of goods through vessel environments. Garrets digital inventory
programs make the process of managing stock an easy administrative daily task.
We provide advice on stock management and preventative measures with regards to
wastage reduction, our Superintendents encourage cooks to manage their stock
efficiently and will audit this during their routine vessel visits.
We try to maintain a maximum of 2 month worth of stock on-board at any one [Link]
is to ensure that the provisions are fresher when consumed and stock control is more
[Link] is of course dependant on your voyage pattern and will always be discussed
with you when processing your order.
The Food Inventory Stock Book ensures that shelves are appropriately stocked with the
correct ingredients to produce healthy well balanced [Link] much stock means that
some perishable products might not be used and would have to be thrown away causing
financial loss to the company.
Golden Rules
1. Organise your store areas prior to delivery.
2. Keep "like" things together and lay out as per Food Inventory Stock Book.
3. Check expiration dates.
4. Move the first to expire to the front to be used first.
5. Rotate your food inventory as you use it.
6. Stock Check before ordering.
7
Where to Order
Prices and quality of provisions vary greatly at different ports throughout the world.
With a little forward planning it should be possible to minimise the effect on the quality
and budget by stocking up at the best locations and storing as little as possible in the less
convenient ports.
If you can inform us of your future schedule as early as possible we can help you plan
ahead and select the best port for you to order provisions through one of our Preferred
or Approved Suppliers.
Below is a summary of the best ports for provisions, by region:
Europe
Best Ports Comments
Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Antwerp The Amsterdam/Rotterdam/Antwerp region is the best place
Germany for price and quality in Europe, closely followed by Turkey.
Northern France Scandinavian Ports are generally very expensive and vessels
Turkey proceeding to Black Sea Ports should store provisions during
Greece Istanbul transit (as the price and availability in this region is
Spain not ideal).
Asia
Best Ports Comments
Singapore Singapore is one of the most competitively priced
Hong Kong ports in the world with very high quality and availability.
South Korea Indonesia,Taiwan and Thailand are quite expensive ports.
Japan is very expensive and storing there should
be avoided.
Middle East
Best Ports Comments
United Arab Emirates The united Arab Emirates is one of the best places to order
Bahrain provisions as price, quality and availability is very good.
Prices in Bahrain are a little higher but still reasonable.
Oman,Yemen and Saudi Arabia are very expensive with low
availability of products.
North America
Best Ports Comments
New Orleans The US Gulf Ports i.e. New Orleans and Houston
Houston Mobile are the most competitive in this area with good quality and
Los Angeles/Long Beach variety.
Canada is generally more expensive than the US but quality and
variety are the [Link] more remote ports in Canada can be
very expensive and the Caribbean should be avoided due to
high prices and low availability.
8
South America
Best Ports Comments
Ecuador The most convenient ports in South America are Ecuador
Panama and Panama with availability, with the price best in Ecuador.
Prices are generally quite high in Brazil but southern ports
such as Rio Grande are more competitive than the more
remote northern ones.
African Continent
Best Ports Comments
Durban Prices and availability in South Africa are very good. Prices
Cape Town are low in Egypt but we would suggest taking fresh only in
Richards Bay this port depending on your itinerary.
Egypt for fresh provisions West African ports are generally very expensive and should
be avoided if possible. Bunkering at Las Palmas/Tenerife
would be a good opportunity to take provisions.
Australia / New Zealand
Best Ports Comments
Sydney Australia Is a very expensive place to order provisions and
Melbourne should be avoided if possible. If it is necessary to order
Auckland Napier provisions in Australia it is worth remembering that some of
the more remote ports are up to 3 days drive from the
nearest supply hub so ample notice is required. Prices in New
Zealand are better than Australia although still quite expensive.
9
Reducing Waste/Maintaining Stock
In order to get the most from your food budget it is important that waste on-board is
kept to the minimum [Link] preparing a meal for the crew it is important that
you get the quantities right otherwise you will have excess left over, which will have to be
thrown away if unusable for the next meal. If you adhere to the below guidelines then you
should find that you are able to gain the maximum from your food budget and therefore
provide the best quality food for your crew.
Correct Stock Control and Rotation.
One of the most important aspects of reducing waste is correct stock [Link] vessels
should follow the “First In – First Out” [Link] means that all stock should be used in
the order in which it is delivered i.e. the oldest stock is always used [Link] will reduce
the risk of items expiring before they are consumed.
To make this system easier to operate it is a good idea to divide up and label the shelves
in your storerooms and freezers based on when the stock was delivered. For example
you could divide up the stock so that the left side contains only the stock received in
March and the right side contains the stock received in April. If this is not possible then
you could divide the stock so that the top shelves contain the older stock and the
bottom shelves contain the newer stock.
If your storerooms and freezers are tidy and well organised then the task of stock rotation
and inventory taking is far easier. For this reason it is important that you do not order too
much stock as this will make it very hard for you to keep your storerooms [Link]
recommend that you try to keep your stock levels at no more than 2 months.
What Stock Control Measures Can be Used?
• Incoming food should not be accepted if its packaging is damaged exposing the
product to the risk of contamination or if the food is obviously contaminated.
• Incoming food must not be accepted if its use by date has already expired. Though
cooks must be aware that in the USA and other similar countries, expiry
dates are not used and are substituted with production dates to allow
the cook to determine if the food is suitable for consumption.
• High risk foods prepared on the vessel and then stored for use at a later date
should be labelled with a use by date.
• High risk foods which have been removed from their packaging should be
re-labelled with the correct expiry date showing.
• Stock should always be rotated on a first in first out system.
• Dried Foods should be held in suitable containers and should never be topped up
until all old stock has been used.
• Any foods that can cause an allergy or allergic reaction should be stored separately
to avoid any risk of cross contamination.
Catering Superintendents
Garrets Catering Superintendents are available to assist, offer advice and train the Cook
during the contractual vessel visits. Stock Control and wastage management is an area
10
that will be inspected during vessel visits and is often the cause for the vessel not meeting
the daily rate budget. Menu Planning
Importance & Benefits of Weekly Menus. Planning a weekly menu enables the Chief
Cook to plan ahead and control the following:
• Control of daily feeding rate budget.
• Ordering stock is made easier as the Chief Cook can plan ahead of storing.
• Food production is standardised by using set recipes.
• Reduction of wastage by planning in recovered items into the next day menu.
• Efficiency in working patterns, time management.
By producing menu plans on a weekly and monthly basis you can accurately calculate
provision requirements between [Link] significantly reduces wastage of food onboard
and minimises the amount of items being condemned.
Garrets Superintendents are able to offer advice and assistance in creating varied menu
plans for crews of all nationalities and take into consideration the menu composition.
Menu Composition.
The composition of the menu should be drawn from the 5 food groups. In addition, all
cooking methods should be employed to provide a variety of flavour and texture and to
present attractive food by sight and smell at the point of [Link] principle
determinants of composition are as follows:
Compatibility.
A meal of compatible components can be derived from the menu options.
Variety.
Menus should provide a variety of flavour, texture, appearance and innovation to
generate interest.
Availability.
The food commodities need to be available on the Garrets Stock availability and in
sufficient quantity to service the menu.
Season.
Although many foods are now available year round it reduces menu boredom to
produce food for the season and climatic environment and to reflect tradition.
Nutrition.
The menu should attract personnel to eat well and there should be sufficient choice
to provide the options for varying nutritional needs.
Crew Availability and Capability.
It is essential that the staff possess the skills to produce the menu described and
there are sufficient numbers to achieve the production volume and service.
Equipment Availability.
Due consideration should be given to both the range of equipment in the vessel
kitchen and the workload placed on the equipment in producing the menu.
Cost.
The menu cannot be compiled to be more expensive than the level of finances i.e.
daily feeding rate, available.
11
Healthy Eating
The dangers of unhealthy eating and obesity are well documented. Nobody should be
forced to eat healthily but likewise the crew should have the option to eat a healthy meal
if they wish to. Eating healthily does not mean cutting out all of the foods that you enjoy.
With a few simple changes most popular meals can be made much healthier. For example
rather than adding salt, oil or salad dressings to your dishes before serving make these
available on the table and allow the crew to add these to their own taste.
The below table offers some ideas as to healthier alternatives that you could offer to
your crew.
Item Comments
High saturated fat products such as palm oil, Oils and spreads high in mono-unsaturated fats
lard, ghee and butter. such as olive oil and rapeseed oil.
Full fat milk Semi – skimmed or skimmed milk
Fatty meats, skin on poultry and fried fish. Lean meats, skinless poultry, baked, grilled or
poached fish.
Glazed vegetables Steamed vegetables
Fried potatoes, French fries Boiled or baked potatoes
Ice cream Frozen yoghurt/Sorbet
White Bread Wholemeal, granary or rye bread
Mayonnaise, Salad Cream, French Dressing Relish, chutney,Vinaigrette dressings.
Pies and Pastries using short crust/puff pastry Use filo Pastry instead
Ketchups and sauces Use low salt and sugar varieties
Tinned Fruit in Syrup Tinned fruit in fruit juice
Tuna in oil. Tuna in brine/spring water
What are the benefits of a healthy diet?
A healthy diet may help to prevent certain serious diseases such as heart disease, stroke
and diabetes. It may also help to reduce your risk of developing some cancers. If you
become sick, eating a healthy diet may help you to recover more [Link], a main way
of preventing obesity and overweight is to eat a healthy diet. If you are overweight or
obese, eating a healthy diet can help you lose weight.
Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 Standard A3.2 – Food and catering “the
organization and equipment of the catering department shall be such as to permit the
provision to the seafarers of adequate, varied and nutritious meals prepared and served in
hygienic conditions” “Each Member shall ensure that ships that fly its flag carry on board
and serve food and drinking water of appropriate quality, nutritional value and quantity
that adequately covers the requirements of the ship and takes into account the differing
cultural and religious backgrounds”.
12
