SMORGASBORD : Platform Dining : This catering company does its cooking three stories above the ocean on an offshore oil rig.

When conversation about working offshore arises, one point is repeatedly made: there is plenty of good food.

But the sign above the galley door--Road Kill Cafe--gave me second thoughts.

The menu is posted above the coffee pot. It features unique selections such as Center Line Bovine (tastes real good, straight from the hood) alongside more familiar fare such as chicken (no doubt those that didn’t quite make it across the road).

Welcome to the galley of UNOCAL’s Platform C.

Perched three stories above the ocean, the kitchen/dining room has a panoramic view of the Channel Islands, the coast and the mountains. A true “C side” dining experience. Occasionally, a sea bird will stop by to see what’s cooking.

Catalyst Offshore Inc. is a catering company specializing in food service for oil rigs. For this particular job, they have sent veteran rig cooks Jim O’Reamer and Darrel McCauley. “We like following drilling details,” McCauley said. “Even though the work schedule is more hectic, a well in progress is always exciting.”

The cooks live on the rig for two weeks and then have two weeks off. Their days, sometimes 16 hours long, are spent keeping the crew well-fed.

Supplies arrive via boat. A crane lifts a large steel bin to the deck of the platform. Roughnecks are always eager to help unload the food. Flats of berries, sodas and candy bars are easy targets for oily fingers.

A typical meal in the C galley is not Road Kill but good old-fashioned food. One evening featured pork roast and barbecued chicken (both extremely juicy), mashed potatoes and peas with pearl onions, and for dessert fresh blueberry pie. (The sweet smell of pastries and cookies baking overcomes the pungent petroleum odors, and serves as a morale boost among the hard-working crew.)

When company VIPs show up for a visit they are treated, along with the rest of the crew, to filet mignon and jumbo prawns.

On a typical day, three meals and endless snacks are provided for 20. While the chow is tasty, some workers actually moan about the abundance of food.

“It seems like every time I work offshore, all I do is eat,” lamented Bill Hughes, a thruster tool operator from Houston.

If that is the only complaint lodged against the Road Kill Cafe of Platform C, I would say Catalyst Offshore is doing a pretty good job.

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