By Patti Morrow, Epicure & Culture ContributorĀ
Tracie Triolo thought her life would be that of a musician. And it was, for a while. But her passion for food and the pull of the ocean proved irresistible, and she found herself on an entirely different path. One that she wouldnāt trade for anything.
āI grew up in a family of foodies before the term was even coined,ā says Tracie. āMy first memory was making fudge with my grandmother in Colorado when I was four years old. My father owned a restaurant, so if I wanted to see him, I went to work with him.ā
Her father raised snails so the family could have escargot, whileĀ her grandfather had a fig tree that he loved so much heād pot it and build a greenhouse over it every winter. Meanwhile, her mother went through a āEuell Gibbonsā phase, harvesting wild things all the time. Tracie recognized at an early age that the produce in the grocery store was pretty awful, especially during Colorado winters.
āI had a broad variety of food influences, both in terms of restaurants and people. It gave me a really good food education and desire for nutrition thatās fresh, tasty and healthy,ā TracieĀ explains. āEven in high school, I liked to go to the earthy-crunchy restaurants at the mall.ā
From Music ToĀ Gastronomy
Tracie studied music in college and thought that would be her career, but in the middle of her junior year she realized that vocation would be a really hard way to make a living. After music school she enrolled in the culinary arts program at the New York Restaurant School (now part of the Art Institute of New York City).
āI decided I should do something to supplement my education so that I could work in any city in the world,ā she explains.
After graduating from both career courses, Tracie took a few small jobs back in Colorado. Before long she decided she wanted to be closer to Alice Waterās food revolution, a movement revolving around creative cuisine made from locally grown, organic and seasonal ingredients and one of the most influential figures in food in the past 50 years. She moved to northern California and helped open the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. Tracie later went on to work for Wolfgang Puck in his heyday.
When her grandmother became ill, Tracie took a hiatus from her high-profile jobs to care for her. During that time, she worked as a pastry chef and also started playing music again ā in symphonies and jazz, salsa and big bands.
āIāve always had a pull towards music, but cooking for a living is all-consuming. Most cooking jobs are sixty hours a week and thereās no time left to practice the eight-to-twelve hours a day I need to maintain competency.ā
A Turning Point
Tracieās sister owned a busy catering company. One day, sheĀ asked TracieĀ to fill in and do the food for a large bar mitzvah, to which Tracie agreed. The event proved to be opportune. One of the attendees was a woman named Betty Sederquist, a well-known and published photographer who also taught photography on a small boat. Impressed with Tracieās decadent menu, she singled her out and said, āHey, how would you like to come and cook on a boat in Alaska?ā
āIād read John McPheeās Coming Into to the Country when I was in my early 20ās. His account of Alaskaās wilderness, landscapes, grizzlies, and early settlers was unforgettable,ā Tracie recalls. āI immediately knew this was something that I wanted to do.ā
Tracie worked for ten weeks on that boat in the first season, and immediately fell in love with Alaska and the different style of cooking. She also hadĀ total autonomy and creative license.
āCooking for an audience of twelve passengers and crew and having access to immediate feedback is very different than working in big, high-profile hotels.ā
Small ship work in Alaska is seasonal, so Tracie started to look for off-season eco-cruise work in more tropical locations. She went to the Caribbean and obtained her Captainās License. It was while she was working on boats in Baja, Mexico that she met Bill Bailey, the Captain of the Westwood and Catalyst ships.
āHe invited me to come aboard. I fell in love with the galley immediately and knew I wanted to work on the boat.”
Westward Bound
So Tracie wrote a letter and sent her resume, and Bill called her to be the shipās chef the next season. Sheās been with the company and Captain Bailey for nine years, and their crew is currently rounded out by naturalist Hannah Hindley.
The Westward is an 8-passenger/3-crew historic wooden yacht, just 86 feet long, which allows it to enter coves and bays too shallow for larger ships to safely navigate. Cruises in Alaska and Baja, Mexico on the Westward are organized by AdventureSmith Explorations a likeminded eco-adventure tour company promoting responsible and sustainable travel.
#Explore the outstanding #beauty of #Alaska while indulging in world-class #cuisine. Click To TweetThe small Westward ship cruises through Alaskaās Inside Passage, able to pilot into lesser-explored bays, secluded channels, and islets for kayaking and whale watching. Some of the adventures offeredĀ include onshore hiking to gorgeous settings such as Baranof Hot Springs, Eva Lake, and Baird Glacier, as well as a cruise to the LeConte glacier. The itinerary alsoĀ offers opportunities for responsible viewing of grizzly bears, sea lions, bald eagles and other wildlife.
Food Focus: Local, Organic, Sustainable
Tracieās understanding of the importance of small-scale sustainable farming began with a wrist injury while in northern California. During her recovery time, she drove a produce van and met the farmers. She was amazed and delighted by farmers and their lives. It was this encounter that made her realizeĀ that food is much more important than how itās generally glorified by many food media shows and high-end restaurants.
āYou canāt smell or taste it. It can be far from what food really is, whatās important about it, and our connection to it. We literally are what we eat, but that gets lost,ā Tracie explains. āIt came to me as a kind of revelation when I was working for Wolfgang Puck. It was all about the show biz. People would come and have dinner and watch you sweat over the grill station. Iād sometimes think, āOkay this is great job security, theyāre really into it, but wouldnāt you rather see a movie than watch me sweat?āā
According to Tracie, thatās not what food is about at all. Itās about the connection of food, the land that it comes from, the people who grow it, and the history and generations of people who have saved seeds. Itās about the Peruvians giving us tomato and corn and ancient grains.
āOur modern revolution of huge monoculture farms is not sustainable,ā Tracie insists. āEventually it will end, at the very least cause another dust bowl.ā
Tracie believes it is each chefās responsibility to source things and to use ingredients that will help sustain the land.Ā She uses only spelt flour and ancient wheats because she considers it important to avoid using ingredients that are harmful.
āModern wheat depletes soil. Spelt adds carbon to the soil and itās useful in a rotation crop kind of way.ā
Tracie makes an effort to source locally, despite not being an easy thing to do in both Alaska and Baja. About 70% of her produce and cheese come locally. Ā She buys seafood from local fishermen whenever possible and tries to incorporate exotic local ingredients to give people a broader experience. She even grows her own organic herbs, edible flowers, and lettuces on the roof of the ship.
āOn the ship, Iām the only restaurant in town, so itās really nice to have variety,ā she laughs.
Variety is far and away an understatement. Just a small sample of the Westwardās dinner menu:
- Local Silver Salmon, Wild Mushroom Vinaigrette, Brown Rice Risotto, Snap Peas
- Lamb, Pumpkin and Apricot Curry, Chard with Cashew Yogurt, Basmati Rice
- Elk Picadillo Filled Roasted Poblano Chile, Summer Squash
- Salt Fish Cake, Mango Salsa, Cuban Style Black Beans, Mashed Yams and Plantains
When Your Job Turns Into Your Calling
A true Renaissance woman, Tracie wears many hats around the ship. She takes turns driving the ship, cleans the engine, loads kayaks, lowers and raises the anchor. Being part of a three-person crew, she does whatever needs to be done on the ship.
Combine #responsible #travel with a #delicious culinary #experience when #traveling to #Alaska. Click To TweetThatās the beauty of cruising on these small boats, not only from the perspective of crew, but from guests as well. There is a very clearly defined community.
āWeāre all literally surrounded by danger, and it brings people together in a very different way than ever happens on land,ā she tells me. āInstant intimacy, just add water! Itās an intense thing, and it has to start with the crew. We really have each otherās backs.ā
Disclosure: The author was honored to be the guest of AdventureSmith during her Alaska cruise on the Westward, but as always, the opinions, reviews and experiences are her own.
In terms of eco and food-focusedĀ things to do in Alaska, what are your picks?Ā Please share in the comments below!Ā
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The local silver salmon, wild mushroom vinaigrette, brown rice risotto, and snap peas looks delicious. I can only imagine how fresh the the salmon is in Alaska.