cociana
The Yacht Chef

One oven, a moving floor, no shop

The Yacht Chef

€350 to €600 per day on charter

Provisions for a week, a galley the size of a wardrobe, guests who want sushi at eleven and a barbecue at two. The most constrained cooking there is.

Yacht cooking rearranges the order of the job. Provisioning happens once, prep happens in the cool hours, and the dinner is designed so that only one element is cooked to order. Cold first courses live ready in the fridge, the centrepiece comes off the aft deck grill, and the dessert was made yesterday and improved overnight.

The constraints are absolute. One oven, no dishwasher that matters, no late delivery, a galley where two people cannot pass, and motion that rules out anything that slides or splashes. Yacht chefs compensate with produce and ice, which is why the best food on board is usually the simplest: a plate of raw fish with citrus, a grilled whole fish, a fruit dessert with proper acidity.

On charter the chef is crew at 350 to 600 euros a day. For a visiting dinner at anchor in the Mediterranean season expect 900 to 1,400 euros plus provisioning at port prices, and expect the chef to rewrite your menu once they have seen the galley, which is a good sign rather than a bad one.

Skills

What the job actually demands

  • Provisioning for seven days with no resupply
  • Prepping everything that can be done at anchor in the cool of the morning
  • Cooking while the floor moves and nothing may slide
  • Making ice last and keeping fish at two degrees

Watch out

The warning sign

A land chef booked for a yacht dinner without seeing the galley. Ask for the equipment list in writing, with oven dimensions.

Trial

How to audition one

Ask how they would serve four courses for twelve from your galley. The answer should reorganise the menu, not promise everything.

Ask these five questions

Before you book

  1. What do you prepare ashore and what on board?
  2. How do you plan provisioning for seven days?
  3. What will you not attempt in this galley?
  4. How do you brief the crew for service?
  5. What is your plan if the swell picks up at eight?

Questions hosts ask

Can a yacht chef do a tasting menu?

Four or five courses at anchor, yes. Eight is not possible in a galley built for six people’s breakfast.

Who serves the food on board?

The deck crew, briefed with a written service order. A visiting waiter rarely justifies the space.

Formats

Where this profile fits

Yacht DiningFormat A galley the size of a wardrobe

Yacht Dining

Dinner for ten at anchor, cooked in a galley built for six, with no shop, no second oven and no possibility of a late delivery.

6 to 20 people · €180 to €380 per guest

Read on The Travelling LunchFormat Boat, vineyard, mountain, bonnet of a car

The Travelling Lunch

Lunch where there is no kitchen at all: a boat, a vineyard row, a mountain hut, a beach at the end of a track.

4 to 24 people · €60 to €160 per guest

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Menus

What they cook

The Mediterranean Raw BarMenu Cold, sharp, no oven

The Mediterranean Raw Bar

The summer answer to a kitchen you cannot use: raw fish, marinated prawns, tomatoes that need nothing, citrus, oil and salt.

May to September · €45 to €120 per guest

Read on Caviar ServiceMenu Thirty grams, done properly

Caviar Service

A tin on ice, a mother of pearl spoon, warm blinis and cold crème fraîche.

All year, traditional at New Year · €60 to €300 per guest

Read on Whole Fish in a Salt CrustMenu One fish, one table, one knife

Whole Fish in a Salt Crust

A three kilo fish in a salt crust, cracked open at the table.

All year, best May to October · €40 to €90 per guest

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Markets

Where to find them

Côte d’AzurMarket The most expensive kitchen logistics in Europe

Côte d’Azur

Between Saint Tropez and Monaco the season is eight weeks long, the villas are spectacular and every supplier knows it.

Guide price €265 per guest · 2 formats

Read on MykonosMarket Eight weeks of terrace dinners and the highest logistics premium in Greece

Mykonos

Mykonos charges Saint Tropez prices with island logistics.

Guide price €225 per guest · 1 formats

Read on IbizaMarket A short, expensive season with the best private chefs per square kilometre

Ibiza

Ten weeks of the year Ibiza hosts more private dinners per head than anywhere in the Mediterranean, and the island’s chefs have built a trade around fincas with no kitchen and guests who arrive at eleven..

Guide price €205 per guest · 3 formats

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