Royal chefs add sparkle to HMS Westminster's 'fish Friday'

Cooks from Sweden’s royal household shared their expertise with the ‘Chefs from JEF’ when HMS Westminster spent a few days in Stockholm.

Two members of the king’s culinary team left the royal palace and were given a tour of the Portsmouth-based frigate a tour which naturally took in the galley, where the ship’s caterers were preparing for ‘fish Friday’ – cod and chips.

Royal chefs Eva Skarin and Carolin Maaninka decided to spice up that traditional menu with salmon teriyaki, and offered some filleting and food preparation tips to their RN counterparts Lawrence Griffin and Christopher Hooper-Callcut.

"It was great training to all of us being able to share our experiences and learn new culinary skills,” said Christopher.

"We hope to continue to improve our understanding through exchanges like the one we did with the chefs from the Swedish Royal Palace.”

Westminster is attached to NATO’s Standing Group 1 which is patrolling the waters of northern Europe on peacekeeping/security duties coinciding with the Royal Navy’s amphibious task group in the Baltic Sea Region who are there as part of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).

The JEF is a UK-led group of nine like-minded nations who are able to respond to all manner of international events and crises, which Sweden joined in 2018.

SNMG1’s visit to Stockholm saw the NATO group’s senior officers call in on the Royal Palace, meet students from the Swedish Defence University, and host Swedish military personnel and VIPs aboard Westminster, ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbon and group flagship, USS Gravely.

And sailors were able to take a break from operations and enjoy some time ashore, including joining city sightseeing tours sponsored by the Swedish Navy.