“GREASIES” — by the tonne

Fish 'n' chips by the tonne

A ferry good place to eat!

By KATIE CHAPMAN - The Dominion Post | 8:43AM - Thursday, 23 December 2010

CHIPS GALORE: Amanda Thatcher, right, and Debbie Pierca
head a line of workers loading supplies on to the Aratere.
— MAARTEN HOLL/The Dominion Post.

FISH AND CHIPS by the tonne along with thousands of cups of coffee will be served up as hungry hordes cross the Cook Strait in the Christmas rush.

Staff on the Interislander ferries are preparing for their busiest week of the year, with supplies being swiftly loaded into fridges and freezers this week.

With more than 20,000 passengers expected to cross between the North and South islands on the heavily booked ferries between yesterday and December 29, staff are preparing to keep passengers' bellies full.

In some areas the amount of food has been multiplied by more than five, compared with the amount served in winter, in preparation for the flood of travellers.

Across the week two tonnes of hot chips and 1.2 tonnes of fish are expected to be devoured, washed down by about 32,500 drinks.

Aratere head chef Damian Hooper said the Christmas period was so hectic, staff rarely had time to take notice of how much was being consumed.

"You're so busy you don't realise how fast the time is going."

There are 145 staff across the three ships for each crossing, with up to seven crossings each way every day.

Despite the crowds, staff managed to keep a festive atmosphere on board and have fun. "Every sailing's going to be pretty much full, so we just go for it."

The festive spirit often saw people willing to spend a bit more on food and beverages, as they got into the swing of eating and drinking, Mr Hooper said.

Fish and chips were the No.1 seller year round, but butter chicken was also growing in popularity, he said.

Besides the passengers, Mr Hooper also had staff to think about. About half the staff were "live-ons", who spent seven days living aboard and seven days ashore, so they would also be catering for them on Christmas Day, he said.

But far from fish and chips, the staff would be having a cooked breakfast, glazed ham and poached Marlborough salmon for lunch, fillet mignon and roast turkey for dinner, and a leg of lamb and scallops for the late-night shift.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/4488787/Fish-n-chips-by-the-tonne-a-ferry-good-place-to-eat