Birthday cooking with Giorgio

Credits: A. Kumar

New entry from Giorgio: My name is Giorgio Deidda and I am the chef on Planet Concordia. Anyone who has been hungry will know that food is very important to how you feel and for morale. I take my job very seriously.

I will be helping Alex with this blog and will share some of my favourite recipes with you.

This is my third winter in Concordia where I enjoy the freedom to cook what I wish and I enjoy the challenge of cooking in the extreme environment. I try to continually surprise my crew mates and to push the boundaries of Antarctic cooking.

Cooking on Concordia is different in every way. Even water boils differently here. Because the atmospheric pressure is so low water starts to boil at 87 degrees Celsius instead of 100 degrees. Getting pasta to cook perfectly ‘al dente’ requires both experience and trial and error.

Birthday breakfast for Alex. Credits: A. Kumar

In addition I have to make sure that the crew get all their vitamins. We use melted ice to drink and cook which is equivalent to distilled water. I have to alternate dishes and be as imaginative as I can to ensure the crew gets the minerals and vitamins to remain healthy.

This Saturday we will celebrate the birthdays of Alex and our French Glaciologist Sebastien Aubin. I want to combine the national cuisine of these crew members – so I will cook a fusion of French, British and Indian dishes, as Alex has Indian connections.

I will share the recipe and some photos of the meal next week.