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Cooking for royalty in disaster zone
A NAVAL chef from Filey has rubbed shoulders with Prince William and provided aid to a hurricane-hit island while serving on board a ship in the Caribbean.
Matthew Brown, 28, is a leading chef on the HMS Iron Duke and cooked for the heir to the throne who was on the Royal Navy frigate for five weeks.
In an interview with the Evening News from the ship, he said: “Prince William was all right and just like any normal 26 year old. He came on board and got on with it.”
The former Filey School pupil has been on board the Iron Duke for two years and the ship has been based in the Caribbean since June.
He was part of a team on the ship which provided aid to the island of Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos Islands after it was hit by Hurricane Ike.
Mr Brown, who was a member of Filey Sea Cadets for five years, spent a day on the island providing food and water to locals as well as helping to rebuild schools and a hospital.
He said: “There was total devastation and no buildings were left standing. There were a couple of civilians injured but they were airlifted out and taken to nearby islands.
“It’s something different and when you join as a chef you don’t expect to be doing things like that.
“You just expect to get up in the morning and cook, but you end up going ashore and doing all that sort of stuff. You just have to get on with it.
“It was very tasking but it was good experience.”
The Iron Duke has been involved in Counter Drugs work with the US Coastguard and provided re-assurance to the UK overseas territories.
In June the ship intercepted a speedboat containing 900kg of cocaine and Mr Brown had to cook bacon butties for the men, who dragged the drugs on board.
The ship is due to return to Portsmouth in December.
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Weather for Scarborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North east
