More T.I. time

Time on T.I. was one of the biggest challenges. Keeping staff and guests happy, especially on weekends when you're stuck on a remote island, was a never ending battle. Especially in the wet season, "cabin fever" would set in amongst the staff members, who had to live together in the staff quarters as well as work long split shift days together. This meant many quarrels and arguments had to be sorted out regularly, and the constant flow of staff leaving, and recruiting and training new staff was never ending.

The occasional local "kup murri" hungi-style islander celebration was always a big social event, and sampling local dugong and turtle meat was always different. But if you weren't out fishing or diving on a weekend, F&B was about the only other attraction.

My Sunday was often a cook-up in the manager's quarters, inviting a guest or two in to share my experimental fare.

Perhaps my best effort was a cook-up I put together to celebrate the birthday of one of my regular guests Tania, a federal police officer from Cairns, who was stuck on T.I. on the day of her birthday, which fell on a Sunday:

The Jardine Light Luncheon

Celebrating the birthday of Federal Agent Miss Tania

Aperitif: White castello on pear slices

Soup: Drunken endeavour prawn tom yum

Appertiser: Home-smoked oysters kilpatrick

Entree: Lettuce cups of steamed Yorke Island cray with sweet corn, mango & ginger drizzle

Main: Boigu Island mud crab and chip buttees, on See Hops thick white sliced

Dessert: Vanilla Heavens

Beverages: Moet et Chandon, Hardy's Voyage Colombard, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Brown Brothers Liquer Muscat Frappe

Entertainment: Views over Anzac Park and Ellis Channel. One Day International Australia v. Pakistan from Bellrive Oval. The launch of the TI Tunes mix.

Mission Statement: "To fight crime together and win"



Took many hours to work our way through all that, and was a hell of a way to kill time on a lazy T.I. Sunday.

T.I. Time

As I mentioned in the previous post, I spent a couple of years managing a remote hospitality venue on Thursday Island, just north of the tip of Cape York. I'm having fun right now flicking through some old photos & deciding what to post.

Here's a few more images from when we built and opened our new "Barracks Bistro" at The Jardine....Uncle Seaman Dan, Easi, & Russ entertaining the crowd, Bishop Mabo performing the opening rites, Emily & Jodi in the gleaming new kitchen, and romance in the kitchen.

Fond memories of lots of great people...between us all, we made it all happen guys!

Mud crab boogie

Being a Queensland lad, it was never going to take me too long to get to the tender, juicy topic of mubcrabs.

I was lunching at Hope Estate in the Hunter last Sunday, and this subject came up, causing much debate about the very best way to cook and serve muddies.

"All of the above" I say...any mud crab done anyway is a good thing.

I spent 2 years managing a motel / lodge / resort complex in Torres Strait, and I used to buy muddies for the bistro from Boigu and Saibai Islands by the box load for a couple of dollars each. The locals were not the best at tieing them up, and of course, it was only a matter of time before one latched onto my wrist without warning.

Fortunately, I was in the tool shed sorting them...and was able to pick up a large metal file and splinter the offending claw in a split second, but still suffered for weeks afterwards.

That particular crab ended up in a pot of boiling salt water in the manager's quarters very, very quickly, and may even be the subject of one these photos.

That was "sweet" revenge indeed!

Favourite mud crab recipes please....