Top Chef of the Seas

In order to perform well, withstand fatigue, and cope with the repetition of efforts, eating properly is essential on board. Between freeze-dried and canned meals, comforting dishes, fresh produce, and "pleasure foods," all the duos strive to find the right balance — both to keep going and to lift their spirits.

This is advice that echoes in the minds of all sailors. And it was Charles Caudrelier, skipper of Edmond de Rothschild, who spoke about it best during the Arkéa Ultim Challenge, the round-the-world race sailed on Ultim trimarans last year."What’s essential during a race is to sleep well and eat well," he liked to say.The renowned sailor knows what he's talking about: for a long time, he struggled to eat properly on board during long races.All sailors are now highly aware of the importance of nutrition — especially those competing in the Transat Paprec.

The Importance of "Pleasure Food"

For the first time, sailors are equipped with continuous internet access via Starlink, allowing them to share both the little and big joys linked to food at sea. And it all started the day after the start, last Monday.Laure Galley and Kévin Bloch (DMG MORI Academy) captured their first breakfast: toast and scrambled eggs. Meanwhile, Thomas de Dinechin (Almond for Pure Ocean) snapped a photo of himself, saucepan in hand, preparing a risotto. Julie Simon (Hellowork), celebrating Easter, pulled out a small box of chocolate eggs. Like Julie, many of them brought comforting treats aboard to lift their spirits after the effort.

"Even though we have to be careful with the weight we take on board, we always have some 'pleasure food'," said Lola Billy (Région Bretagne CMB Océane) before the start.And those "little pleasures" are often photographed and shared on social media.For Maël Garnier and Catherine Hunt, it was a "small piece of comté cheese" — and even a kouign-amann they devoured in just two days.Tiphaine Rideau and Pier-Paolo Dean (Les Banques Alimentaires) filmed themselves midweek slicing up a sausage for an aperitif. On Friday, Pier-Paolo prepared an avocado-sardine toast for Tiphaine, which he laughingly dubbed "the Queen’s toast."

Thomas de Dinechin, Almond for Pure Ocean

Happiness is in the Fruit

When it comes to meals, the physical demands also require a good intake of nutrients.Aglaé Ribon (Almond for Pure Ocean) enjoyed a hearty English breakfast, Romain Bouillard (Décrochons la Lune) cooked up some "blood sausage with apples," Adrien Simon prepared pesto pasta while studying the weather files, and Lola Billy whipped up carbonara pasta — "for breakfast."

Onboard DMG MORI Academy, Laure Galley and Kévin Bloch have made it a habit to cook lunch every day. "We have a small pressure cooker that lets us make nice little meals," Laure explained on Thursday. "We had rice with sardines, for example. And in the evening, we eat freeze-dried or canned meals."In a video, Arno Biston walks through the steps of preparing a freeze-dried meal — a mushroom risotto — looking visibly skeptical about the taste.

That’s not the case, however, with fruit — even if after a few days of being tossed around at sea, it’s important to keep an eye on their condition.One afternoon, Hugo Dhallenne (Skipper Macif) carefully sorted the fruit while preparing food bags for the days ahead.Savoring a piece of fruit, its taste and its juice, is one of the small comforts on board.Cindy Brin (Cap St Barth) can certainly testify to that: after being seasick for several days — "I only ate four meals in five days" — she was filmed by her co-skipper Thomas André eating a mandarin just before taking her shift early Friday morning.Nothing better to start the day off right!