Laura Dakin

Laura Dakin is a shipboard chef and marine-conservation advocate who turns the practical demands of feeding a crew into food writing. Cookin’ Up a Storm gathers plant-based recipes she prepared aboard Sea Shepherd’s vessel Steve Irwin, where provisions had to serve about fifty people through long campaigns at sea. The book combines dishes with accounts of life in the galley, showing how limited storage, rough weather, and an international crew shape daily cooking. Dakin has explained that the project began when crew members asked her to write down meals they remembered after a voyage. What started as an informal collection grew into a cookbook for home kitchens, with recipes ranging from breads and soups to tofu dishes and hearty pies. Lantern Books published the English edition under the fuller title Cookin’ Up a Storm: Sea Stories and Vegan Recipes from Sea Shepherd’s Anti-Whaling Campaigns. The volume connects recipe craft with the routines and collective labor behind ocean advocacy.