Marko: My most favorite cook in the world, A tribute

I was given the opportunity to ride a ship for 3 months as an assistant cook on the Rainbow Warrior. Initially I had applied as a volunteer deckhand but instead I got the AC (Ass Cook) position. I thought what the heck, just as long as I got to sail!
I embarked in Palawan and I was sooo excited that I was all smiles when I got on. I felt very eager to plunge into ship work ASAP. And boy did I!

I went right to the galley and I found the cook. I introduced myself and said “Hi I’m the new cook assistant!”. He didn’t even turn his head as he said “Hi.” I thought, weird. “My name is Maan!” “Maan right?” and he turned his head and smiled.

My ‘boss’ (he doesn’t want to be called boss, he said we were equals) was a cute Finnish guy named Marko. He has been heating up the galleys of GP for 10 years already. Remarkable guy as I discovered through out the time I was his assistant, but to many he came across as an unapproachable, unsmiling, silent guy. That was my first impression as well but I believed that first impressions are usually just…first impressions. I got to know and like people better by being patient and digging a little bit deeper.

Silent was an understatement!
We would start preparing food at 10:30 a.m. for lunch and 4:30 p.m. for dinner. And we didn’t talk the whole time! Hell yeah he would answer my questions… only when I would ask, otherwise he was very, very silent.
How silent? The first time I had asked him how he wanted me to cut up the veggies, he showed it to me.
After a while he, got pen and paper and proceeded to draw 8 different cuts and told me
"I will just tell you the number and you would have to cut it like its illustrated in that number"

The unsmiling part…ahhh I had tricks up my sleeve (which I will not divulge, trade secret hehehehe). After some time of talking and drinking he was smiling at me already. And we were actually having a conversation. HALLELUJAH!

As I said dig a little deeper…

People were afraid to approach him but his silence never bothered me. I was a pretty talkative person but I am also used to long stretches of silence, being alone at the house most of the time. He was a gruff looking bear but he was actually a softie at heart. And when he would smile wow! It really lightened up his face. On the few occasions that we would talk he told me about his life and what he went through (very personal I cant divulge it here), his life in Finland. Not only could he cook, but he also does welding, builds houses assembles cars and motorbikes when he is on land.

He also taught me a lot of things, thus I learned how to make veggie burgers, assemble a salad, boil the veggies right, make a mean vegetarian lasagna, different simple pasta sauces that would blow you right out of your socks, distinguish and buy the best cuts of meats and fish, etc. this to the music of Iron Maiden, To Die For, Johnny Cash and Metallica.
At Christmas and New Years we had a feast whipped up by Marko and everyone couldn’t resist filling their plates up a second time.

In the end I considered him my brother and I was over protective of him. He grew on me so to speak. I made sure that everything he needed in the galley was there without him asking, cleaned the cooking mess and utensils right away, and making sure he had his juice in stock all the time.
I heard from the other crew as well as from the captain that Marko considered me his best assistant ever in his ten years of being a cook. Of course I was flattered but it was small compared to the privilege of knowing and working with this person.
I was transferred to being a deckhand after the tour and I was sorry to leave the galley. I was loathe to leave the comfortable silence and the occasional beer after we had finished galley duty. I was truly going to miss working with him.

UPDATE:

I still get to talk to Marko in chat.
He is doing well.
I gave him my DVD of “Equilibrium” (one of my collectors items DVD, pirated of course) which I left on the ship.
He still drinks juice.