A little insight into what to expect when you enter the life of yachting and the position of a yacht chef
Versatility, Flexibility, Composure, Organisation and always remain humble. These are the things that you will have to make a great yacht chef within this industry.
I'm going to explain typically the 3 types of people that become yacht chefs.
1. The fully qualified chef who has done an apprenticeship and worked in restaurants.
2. The passionate home cook who isn't qualified who may or may not have worked in restaurants.
3. The stewardess or deckhand who has fallen into the position.
Doesn't matter if you are 1, 2 or 3. Everyone has a chance to become a yacht chef if you possess the right skills, attitude and motivation!
I can't answer what your best option may be to become a yacht chef and I'm not someone to judge as each person's situation is completely different. Some may have the time to do an apprenticeship for 3-4 years. Which is ideally the best way to get the experience you need to becoming a well rounded yacht chef.
Some may only be able to go and stage or volunteer their time in restaurants. You could go for a sous/crew chef position and learn from an experienced head chef. This is the beauty of yachting, it can give anyone a chance to prove themselves. With only the judgement of what ends up on the table for either crew or guests. If they are happy, in my opinion you have proved yourself!
“This is the beauty of yachting, it can give anyone a chance to prove themselves. ”
Of course that isn't everything!
I want to be as realistic as I can and give you what I have experienced. So after hearing everything I have to say, if your decision is becoming a yacht chef is right for you.
Here's the bad news!
I wanted to highlight early on the fact that yachting itself is not for everyone and some either don't make the cut.
Here are some of the reasons below :
1. Close Confinement
Unable to live in close quarters with many other different personalities while dealing with conflict, disagreements, personality clashes, messy crew members and just plain old grumpy crew that have nothing better to do than to play on people's emotions.
2. Away From Family
Unable to live away from family for a long period of time. This is sometimes a tough one for a lot of crew and it's hard to miss out on special occasions, weddings, christmas, holidays, birthdays and almost every important event in your life. I'm not saying this is going to happen to you, it depends on the flexibility of the yacht, but it's very common and it's good to be mentally prepared if you land on a yacht that doesn't work around your schedule.
3. Long Hours
Unable to work weeks and sometimes months at a time. This may seem crazy to some people who are used to having 2 days off a week. Yachting is another world, it's just not possible to be able to have regular days off. If you have a good captain, they will generally give you days off when its not peak season or when they can. Yachting is very unique in that sense where you don't know what's around the corner, which can be exciting and also emotionally draining all at the same time. You are entering the life of the rich and famous and with that comes lots of sacrifice on your part. They don't run on a 9 - 5, 5 day working week like the rest of us.
4. Pressure
It can be one of the hardest jobs as either guest chef or crew chef. You are a make or break during a charter! The guest's will always remember the food as a lot of the charter will revolve around this. Even when crew morale is low they will always look forward to meal times as its their one escape and break for the day. Thus bringing a lot of pressure down on the chef. I'm not going to lie, it's probably the hardest position on the yacht, I think most crew and captains can attest to this. You are most of the time the only one in your department so again you are doing long days, sometimes 18 hour's. Up at 5-7am and in bed between 10pm-1am if you're lucky and even luckier if you can manage a break in between all the eating the crew and guests do.
To summarise..
Yachting isn't for everyone and don't let the above reason's deter you as there are so many positives to becoming a yacht chef.
1. You save a lot of money!
There are 3 reasons to this.
One, it's generally pretty great pay compared to land based positions. With even better tips if you get on a great charter yacht. Because of so much we will have to sacrifice.
Also, everything is paid for. That's right!
Food, accomodation, medical, flights to and from the vessel and occasionally alcohol will be provided.
You also just don't have as much time to spend your hard earned cash. There's no time during a busy season.
-Entering ports like Valetta, Malta and able to explore on my break is definitely a bonus!
2. Travel, travel, travel!
Your job is travelling the world. It's just a part of it all. You have no choice. Ok, so worst case scenario you spend your summer's and winters in the Mediterranean. Then second best would be Med summers and winters in the Caribbean. Sounds pretty good right!? Well it gets better, what about the remoteness and the unknown of the South Pacific or the far reaches South East Asia has to offer. There really is no boundaries of where a yacht is able to take you. You will experience what only the 1% will ever get to experience in their lives and see things you will never be able to put a price on.
-Provisioners bringing in caviar is defintely a perk of the job.
3.To touch more on the chef side of things. Usually when joining a well run yacht you won't have a budget or limit on what you're able to buy for guests. You have to remember, this isn't a restaurant that has to run within a cost. You are trying to give these people the best, most unique luxurious experience. Not having to skimp on the food or provisioning is a massive weight off the chefs shoulders. So in that sense you're able to access some of the best produce and products from around the world. Flying in white alba truffles, live lobsters from Canada or getting your fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables picked that morning from a sustainable farm.
Being a yacht chef can be one of the hardest positions onboard! But man, I wouldn't trade it for another!
It doesn't end there! There are of course other things that can come into play. Please see my PART 2 of what qualifications, courses and experience that will give you the upper hand of getting a job over your competition and more!