Chef Sue is cooking up a storm during her Antarctic adventure
A SIMPLE online job search has landed an adventurous woman from Castletownroche a job in one of the most remote outposts on the globe.
Chef Sue Harding, who has jetted off to the Antarctic to take up a post with the British Antarctic Survey, said she wanted to find a job “somewhere remote, and decided the Antarctic would be perfect”.
“I love travelling and doing things that are a bit different. So I googled how to get a job there and this one popped up,” she told the Neil Prendeville Show on Cork’s Red FM.
She will spend the next three months living and working in one of the most inhospitable locations in the world and was left under no illusions about just how tough the climate is out there.
“I went over to Cambridge for a week’s training about all the things you need to know while in the Antarctic. We also learned basic stuff about what to expect when you go out there, things like even going to the toilet,” said Sue.
“A lot of it was about getting your head around the fact that you will be in a place where if something goes wrong you are on your own. One of the first things we were shown was a picture of a hand with two missing fingers bearing the message ‘ don’t get frostbite’”.
As if living in sub-zero conditions were not a big enough challenge, Sue said the station on the Brunt Ice Shelf was “a bit precarious at the moment” due to a crack in the ice about 10k away. This could cause a section of the shelf to ‘calve’ off at any time.
“The station has already been moved to the other side of the shelf so we don’t float off. Because of the crack we can’t get a ship in to bring fresh supplies, so I will be cooking using food that has been there since last year,” said Sue.
Despite all this, and the fact that she will only be able to communicate with home by email, Sue was looking forward to the job.
“If all goes well, I may even sign up for another three-month stint out there,” she said.