As a child, Jan Markech looked forward to summer and holidays with his grandmother. He loved her and her cooking.

“I used to follow behind her in the kitchen to see what she was doing,” he recalled. “She would say ‘Go away, you might get burned.’ But I still followed her around.”

It wasn’t long, Markech says, before his grandmother began to realize that the young boy was absorbing her culinary techniques and learning what she did to make special dishes.

“One day, she told me, ‘You are going to grow up to be a chef.’ When she said that, I started to cry,” he said. “I told her I wanted to do a man thing like being a driver.”

But his grandmother was right and Markech is so happy she was. He is now a chef for Grand Circle Cruise Line and is in charge of the delicious dishes passengers enjoy on the M/V Athena. Although his grandmother has long since left this earth, Markech says he knows she is happy that he found his culinary path in life.

“I know my grandmother is watching over me and is proud of what I am doing,” he said.

Born in Slovakia, Markech is a graduate of the Culinary University of Slovakia. After refining his cooking skills through hotels and as a stint cooking for the president of Slovakia, Markech joined Grand Circle in 2005.  He works three months on and one month off.

Pulling out his cellphone, Markech shared photos of his family at home in Slovakia – wife Lenka (“She is beautiful), 16-year-old daughter Jessica (“She is an artist”) and 13-year-old son Nicholas (“He wants to be the next Wayne Gretzky”).

What he likes most about his job, Markech says, is the small size of the ship, the support of Grand Circle, his crew and the passengers. “The company doesn’t pay me to work. It pays me to do my hobby,” he says. “I really enjoy cooking and feel happy that I can earn a living doing what I enjoy.”

Over the years, Markech says he has seen changes in the food served and the size of portions on cruise ships. “Food used to be more fancy,” he said. “The questionnaire that Grand Circle sends to passengers is very important. The company looks at the answers and changes things. We keep getting better and better because we listen to what people want.”

As for his favorite food, Markech doesn’t hesitate. “Rack of lamb is my favorite. It is my top of the hill.”

He is also quick to praise his fellow crew members. “I have to say how good the hotel manager Zoran is. And if I don’t have my great staff, I am in trouble.”

Although he meets many different passengers, Markech says he always enjoys it when travelers come back for another cruise with Grand Circle and tell him they are glad to be traveling together again.

“Today, there are so many options if you want to take a cruise,” Markech concluded. “When I get to meet guests again that I have served before, that is the best. Guests who are coming back means that we are making them happy.”

Photo by Jackie Sheckler Finch