IamA Superyacht Chef who has travelled to over 100 countries, and it's my birthday today AMA!

Have you ever considered poisoning the bourgeois oppressors and seizing the vessel for a people's revolution?

Yachts are too expensive to maintain. Even if that happened, I can't afford to pay for even the coffee in the crew mess for a week. We'd all be homeless and unemployed. That's a terrible idea.

I feel like you've gravely misunderstood the revolutionary nature of my hypothetical...

haha I can just cook food. I am no revolutionist.

Who was the nicest owner of a yacht you worked on?

Honestly, Niki Lauder. He was delightful and his family were lovely.

You worked on the "princess too"?

No, I worked on his previous yacht

That's fantastic that you got to work with a legend.

It was really awesome! I only met him a handful of times, but he was very kind and a really awesome dude.

Happy birthday! Have you had any particularly odd requests for meals?

Thanks :)

I had a South African crew member who insisted on grilled bananas which I thought was a bit weird. Plenty of crew and guests who say they are gluten free/vegan/whatever is trending and yet happily chow on a burger or something that goes against their initial requests. It's annoying when it's crew, but it's funny when the guests are doing it.

South African here, grilled banana on pizza with bacon and garlic is great. And banana fried in butter to go with your bacon and eggs is also amazing 😉

hahahahaha that's exactly what he wanted!! When I made Sunday brunch for the crew.

Do you cook for the guests and crew? I assume they're not eating the same stuff. Or does it vary by the size of the boat? I spend most of my time on research ships, we're not that fancy...

Omg! I want to work on a research vessel!! They look so much more fun- I’m all down for interesting locations! Crew eat much more simply than the guests. Meat quality is the same as what you would buy at home. And they don’t get lobster and caviar until after the season is over and we have to clear out all the old guest food. That’s always a fun week for crew!!

If you want to work out of Rhode Island I'm pretty sure we're hiring..... please....... it's bad. Our last cook was described as having "the repertoire of a Waffle House cook, but not the skill". Pay probably can't match what you would make on yachts, but it's salary, and a state job with healthcare and retirement.

Ah I’m not American. Looks like you have a few takers here tho! 🙌🙌

Have you ever cooked for a world leader/politician is so who?

Yes. and I cannot disclose :)

Can you tell us what you cooked for them?

Nope sorry

You’re a chef with strong ethics and world-wide experience.

I should really get myself a boat.

Let me know when you do 😂

Is it difficult maintaining long lasting relationships in this line of work? Who would you say are your best friends?

Yeah, pretty much impossible. I've given up now.

Best friends are all people from before yachting, and a couple that I met while yachting. But yeah. The old joke is "Lets be best friends until one of us quits or gets fired" very few friendships last once you leave the boat to that same intensity.

I have a lot of friends in the industry though, everyone is just working atm- it's the middle of the Med season now

How did you get into that business?

Did you go to culinary school?

No I didn't actually! When I was in Europe for my 30th, I actually had a job as a train driver to go home to (Lol that's a whole other story!) and I had just been working as a travel agent. I heard about this yachting thing and thought "yeah fuck, that's gotta be better than going back to Melbourne's winter!" So I flew to Spain and done the courses. I didn't get work right away, it's really competitive. I was looking to just be a stewardess, I had no idea it was possible for someone untrained to work on the yachts as a chef. But as luck would have it, my first boat job was as the winter chef for Niki Lauder's yacht. At the end of the season, as I was about to leave, the captain asked me if I could stay a little bit longer and cook for Mr Lauder. I jumped at the chance even though I was probably utter shite back then. haha. But I gave it a crack and loved it.

Are you talking about the World Famous F1 driver Niki Lauda (may he rest in peace)?

Yes, he passed away recently :(

It was an honor to have worked for him

Did you work as a commis or something before handling being a chef? I see no formal training but you must have known your way around the kitchen a bit before taking on this position.

Honestly. No.

I knew how to cook tho. I had a massive passion for food and toyed for years with the idea of being a chef. Ultimately I was pushed into it accidentally. My little brother is a trained chef and he refuses to come on the yachts.

Can you tell me your favorite story or 2 involving Niki? /u/roundtheworldrachel

He was a friend of mine that I would always meet at the US and Monaco grand prixs and catch up with. I miss him dearly.

I don’t have any stories that you wouldn’t already know about him as a friend....He was a lovely guy who made his own coffee in the morning and didn’t like us bothering after him. He cared that his kids and wife were happy, that is all. Very very lovely family.

I’m sorry for your loss.

Does this mean there is room in this niche of the industry for a hard working line cook? I never went to school, but I've worked in the industry for nearly 10 years, but I wouldn't say I have reached the title of Chef. I am currently travelling around the world trying to rekindle my ambition, and learn new cuisine.

Absolutely!! Reach out to thesuperyachtchef on Instagram they have some resources for new chefs

How do you know when your birthday is? Do you base it on your birthplace timezone or wherever you are right now?

Lol. I've had a birthday message come through already, so I'm just rolling with it now. Technically, it's in a few hours, but I thought reddit would be asleep now.

4am checking in. He's right, we don't sleep

ya'll need to get some sleep! :P

Happy Birthday!

Thanks! :)

It's almost 4pm where I am. Happy cake day!

thanks! :)

I've always heard stories of the rich tipping over the odds. Is this something that happens? Have you received any tips that were a little more than generous?

Personally no... I've always missed out on the good tips sadly. But I have had friends who have gotten a year's salary from a 3-week charter.

Damn that's unfortunate for you. Hopefully the time comes for you aswell. A years salary in 3 weeks is just insane.

Best of luck with your travels :)

Haha thanks. Yeah its a different world those boats... to make that tip, that crew were dragged through it, I dare say 18 hour days every day, no proper lunch breaks etc... it's not easy

I could imagine rich people want things and they want it yesterday. So respect to everyone who works their asses off.

Yeah some of them can be awful people. But honestly, it's rarer than you think. Normal people are way more cunty on a whole.

To be fair, if I was rich enough to have my own Yacht id like to think id be pretty content and relaxed with shit. But easier said than done, considering i'm a broke ass.

You and me both mate!

My stovetop isn’t quite level, it bothers me when trying to fry something. Is it a nightmare trying to work while rolling about on the waves?

Ah, I don't work on sail yachts. Just the big white shiny ones. And yacht owners tend to not want to damage their boats, so the movement is minimal. We don't go in rough seas.

I am not a sailor!

And have stabilizers that mitigate the rocking

yeah that too. But seriously, we don't go out if the weather is shit.

How much time do the celebs spend on their yachts?

What do you do when they aren't there?

Great question!!

So many people (guests included!) think when they aren't on board we are all on vacation! haha this is not the case. Boats are bottomless pits for money. The sheer amount of upkeep is insane. Varnishing, carpets, wood panel repairs, tender stuff, the other crew have their work cut out for them in the "yard periods". In the galley, the down time is a bit more relaxed. We usually use that time to deep clean everything, reorganise the dry stores, shut down and clean out fridges, freezers... replace things that are broken and do a general clean out. Then the prep starts again...

Ah and in that time usually we have to get the boat from one side of Europe to the US.

Guests can be onboard anywhere from 50 weeks a year (liveaboard owners, I've never done it, but It sounds awful!) to a week or two. The general rule is most owners come on for between 4-8 weeks per season. There are 2 seasons usually. Some boats will also charter 1-15 weeks per year too.

Oh wow, living on the same boat as your boss sounds like a nightmare to me.

hahhahahaha I never even thought about it like that.

Any idea on the upkeep of something like an Azimut 50? I’d love to buy one day...

No idea mate... I'm just the chef. Hit me up when you buy a boat and I'll help you with the galley.

Have you seen the show below deck? If so, how accurate is it what they portray on there?

I know some of the people on some of the seasons of Below Deck. It's semi scripted reality, but the general gist of the show is not impossible. A lot of the situations they get themselves in, I can see happening on an incompetently run boat for sure. The show chooses the crew, so usually, this means they pick people they know will have a conflict or play on weaknesses.

In reality, a good captain would never do that.

Do the guests get any sort of discount for booking on ship with a fairly incompetent crew and invasion of their privacy?

And are the tips on that show typical for charters? Like $1500+ per crew for a few day charter?

Do people really pay their tips with a big pile of cash? Who the fuck just walks around with like $20K in cash??

Haha no. The captain and crew would just get fired. I’ve never been on a boat where there was incompetent crew. The captain wouldn’t hire that and certainly wouldn’t put up with it. We are all there to do a job and be professional

As for tips. Not all boats get tips. Most of the yachts out there are actually private. Which means, no tips :) I’ve worked on mostly private boats. The tips aren’t given in literal cash very often

What is the pay like?

Depends on the boat. Some pay really well, some pay shit. Also depends on the management companies and what other things can be added to the package.

Some people only work 6 months a year and get a full years salary, other work 7 days a week for 11 months for 1500Euros a month. It all depends.

What's your favorite country that you have visited and why? Any memorable experiences there? Thanks!

Ohhh. um... shit. that's hard.

For all kinds of different reasons, I want to say: Trinidad, Cook Islands, South Korea, Albania, Mozambique, Nepal

Mostly because the people were epic! But this little list changes constantly depending on my mood and what sort of food I'm craving at the time haha.

Must have been an adventure to take a yacht to Nepal.

The crew just carried an 80m boat on their backs, no sweat.

What did you think of New Zealand?

I grew up there, I hated it.

As a tourist, it's lovely... clean, green and the locals are super lovely.

But growing up there, it sucked.

Happy Birthday from a chilly Wellington.

Thanks cuz!

How do you get other gigs? Do you find them, or do they find you?

It's a bit of both. There are "crew agencies" online that we all register with. But after this long, most of my jobs are through word of mouth. It's a small enough industry.

I'm jealous.

Of what...? I'm not stopping you from doing this too ;)

I'm not stopping you from doing this too ;)

Nah, age, kids, and a mortgage is doing that.

Maybe I'm jealous that you have those things.... ;P

Right isn’t it how thy say the grass is always greener on the other side. Enjoy your birthday get some shots and enjoy the day! You go!

Haha this is true. I’ve made my sacrifices for the life I live

Is the environment impact of superyacht a topic of conversation at all within the crew?

Cruise ships emit as much particulate matters as a million cars

omg yes!! It is a massive topic of conversation!

Many yachts are doing their bit in terms of plastic usage on board, monitoring food so there is less waste. We do beach cleanups as we travel. Some owners will allow their boats to be used for humanitarian and conservation efforts. There are a bunch of yachtie run Instagram accounts that outline this sort of stuff more... I can find the names of them if you are genuinely interested.

Is there any romance between crew members? Any details you can share?

Loads. There's not much else to do at sea when you are stuck there for weeks at a time.

What sort of details are you looking for here?

Are they mostly quick hookups or long term relationships? Do they create enemies or alliances among crew mates? Is it like a reality show?

haha the question you really wanted to ask!

Everyone in yachting seems to say "below deck" is nothing like our jobs, but I honestly think it kinda is. Obviously they turn up the drama a lot for the show.

yachting creates a lot of short term romances, for sure but there's a lot of long term ones in there too. I know a few yachties who have gone to get married and lead normal lives.

Are you finding your love life satisfactory as you mature? Anything you can share?

What's a love life?!

Dead ship. Haha sadly. The guys my age in yachting are never going to settle down, and normal guys don't seem to understand the nature of the beast.

"I'm working" "yeah, but what are you doing on the weekends/after work?" "What? no, I'm working... mon-sun there are no days off!"

They never get it.

Oh my man I hope you find a suitable partner (if you are looking for one that is). I definitely do not work in a yacht but I do have a similar vibe going coz I work all day, every day by myself at home. I'm used to it now. I have very little time to spare. But sometimes my friends have all these dates and interactions and I'm sitting here thinking.. huh.. how the hell do I get one? Haha! I do have my breaks though before it gets too unhealthy.

You should take breaks! Life is too short to be wasting it working all the time

How common is it for a yachtie to meet and get married or live with a yacht charter guest or owner?

Lol that’s fantasy land. No. That shit only happens in Hollywood movies my friend

Thanks for doing this!

What was most surprising to you that you didn’t know before?

What do you think is the most common personality trait of a yacht owner?

What is the most requested food?

no worries ;)

uh, about yachts? I guess the whole industry- I didn't know it even existed until I applied for my first job. it was never a life long dream, it was just something interesting to do.

common personality trait actually seems to be kindness. I think I have been lucky, I have worked for many lovely owners who treated the crew with respect and were polite. They all seem to have their finger in many pies tho... lots of different investments and income streams.

Pasta. Constantly pasta! haha its so easy, but it's everyones favourite. American charter guests love pasta, burgers and pizzas. oh, and fries. You can never have too many fries ready to go.

Curious: how do you deal with a frying pan out at sea? Seems an accident waiting to happen.

how so?

Well... waves and such. Disclaimer: I know jack shit about life at sea, so I have this image of the boat rolling to and fro and you trying to fry French fries in that.

ohhhhhhhh

no we have deep friers on board :)

Do you notice any appreciable differences between people that have inherited / been born into the money vs people that have worked hard to earn it themselves in the way they act and treat you?

Yep! I had a boss who was a potato farmer. Then he got mega wealthy thanks to the Soviet collapse. He was a legend- so chilled! Would take us all hiking and buy us lunch ashore etc.

Yachting seems super glamorous, and I get that! But no one is posting the pictures of them balls deep in grease and crap from the deep fat frier, messy hair and burns up their arms. Like any restaurant job, it’s still dirty work at times.

I've been on more than 30 super yachts over the past ten years and honestly can't think of a single one that had a female chef. I'm just now realizing this. Do you find your industry is primarily guys or do you know a lot of women chefs as well?

I asked a head stewardess one time what the previous charter guest was like, she said they had someone in their group that requested a lavish ice cream dessert around 2AM every day for a week and she had to wake up the chef every time and felt horrible about it every time.

On the other end of the spectrum, have you dealt with a guest that only requested such mundane foods that you wondered why you were there?

"ANOTHER ham sandwich!?!?" :D

The chief stew sounds pretty shit. I've never heard of a stew who can't scoop ice cream in a bowl for a guest at 2am.

There's plenty of female chefs!! www.thesuperyachtchef.com has interviewed a few female chefs now. I've met a lot more recently in the industry. But it is still a bit more male dominated. Some boats will only hire female chefs due to cabin arrangements, so that's always a win in our favor

It's amazing to me that the industry is so big and specific that there is a website dedicated to the specific profession.

I was on a yacht for a boss trip (a rare occasion for me) and the guests wanted dinner from a restaurant served on board. So the purser called the restaurant and placed an order that the deck crew would pick up with a tender. There was a language mix up and there were only 2 meals prepared when they needed 12. The time from the restaurant to the yacht was nearly half an hour, so they didn't want the guests waiting for more meals to be prepared. The yacht chef just said he'd look up the restaurant's menu online and "make their dishes".

Have you ever done "covert" meals for guests?

Haha that’s great!! Sounds like a really good chef the boss had there!
I’ve never had to do anything like that, but I do like dissecting restaurant menus and trying to recreate elements later myself

Do the owners/rentors sometimes invite the crew to hang out with them? Or do you barely see them?

Depends on the guests. Smaller boats and sail boats tend to attract a more laid back guest. They will sometimes take crew out with them and really interact. The bigger the boat, the most formal it all tends to get.

I’ve been hiking and swimming with guests, boozy lunches etc... but that was when I worked on a much smaller yacht.

Hope I still caught you in time! Im actually leaving in the next couple days to go work as a sous on a private yacht. This will be my first time ever on a boat of this caliber and I was just wondering how you found the transition from a regular kitchen to that in a boat??? What special tips or advice to ya have??

Congrats on your first yacht job!! Ping me privately if you have any other questions, I’ll be happy to help where I can.

I’ve never worked in a restaurant so I can’t tell you the differences- some of the chefs interviewed on www.thesuperyachtchef.com have spoken about it before tho

Have you had to stop at a port because you needed a single ingredient for a recipe?

Not personally. A good chef is usually well stocked for the trip.

Guests do throw curve balls though and it's not uncommon for more exotic ingredients to be flown in by helicopter... think caviar, or certain types of seafood.

How long do you work aboard each yacht? Do you hop around cooking on different ships all the time, or stay for a season? Who provides all the hardware: you bring your own kit, or do the owners have to provide the right tools?

Again it’s different for every yacht.

Some contracts are temp. So you might only come on for a week or a month etc. others are permanent with the idea that you stay on board for a year or 2 at least.

I always bring my own knives, but boats have their own too. It’s just a personal preference.

Do you feel respect in the role ? By the crew owners while family ?

Depending on the boat, yeah.

I've worked on about 10 yachts (I temped for a while) and some were better than others in that respect

What are you doing for your birthday?

This!

Do you cook for the crew too? What do they/you get to eat?

I mostly cook for crew- bigger boats employ a chef just to cook for crew! they eat whatever I feel like that day.

Usually: 2 different meat options 2 salads a soup a carb and a something else. an extra veggie dish, or something fried etc.

I cook a lot of Asian style food, fresh herbs, grains, curries,sushi and ceviches, burgers with home made buns, pasta, steak... we have to be able to cook pretty much any dish because the food is so varied on board.

I worked at a Walmart McDonald's for a couple years so I feel as though I can ask you this as an equal. What was the biggest mess you ever made and had to clean up?

Mine was several gallons of vegetable shortening.

Ok now I am snoring In a restaurant 😂 mate. That sounds like a shit clean up job. Sucks .

I can’t think of anything but I’m sure I’ve dropped eggs or something over the years. Nothing as extravagant as shortening tho. Fuckkk man how did you clean that up!?

What are the more annoying tasks on board? The crew has loads if cleaning to do, like the deck and outside of the hull, do you have to help with that?

I don't no. I only work in the galley space.

It does depend on the boat tho, I have worked on smaller yachts where everyone helps out a bit more. I'd come out and help the boys on deck with a wash down for example. And they would come by the galley and take my trash for me, that kind of thing.

Ultimately we are all trained in our specific areas tho. I wouldn't be allowed to climb the mast or harness in to clean the hull because I'm not trained in that. Likewise, the junior deckie wont be frying the bosses eggs anytime soon :P

if you had the money, would you ever buy a super yacht? is it worth it?

Nope. And nope.

I’d get a fishing boat tho, because those things are fucking awesome! And I love fishing.

Happy birthday! Someone already asked what your favourite country to visit was, but which country would you least like to see again?

Hmm normally I’d say Haiti, because I had an awful time there, but I believe in giving countries a second chance. I’d still go back to see how much it’s changed.

I have Cambodia and Vietnam on my list of places I absolutely hated. Swore I’d never go back. Well I did. And utterly loved both places. It would be shit of me to rubbish a whole country based on one experience.

I always end up going back

May I ask why was it such a bad experience? My mom travels a lot through america and she told me Haiti ppl were generally nice. I feel bad for the country tbh even if ppl arent good, they've been through so much shit. Its been like 5 years and they still havent recovered from that massive earthquake they had since they're so poor.

They are nice! I think they have just had a pretty raw deal with aid and they think all white people are aid workers there to fuck them over. I’m like nah man. I’m just here to hang out, chat, learn. They didn’t want a bar of it. Fair enough. They assumed i worked for an organisation who had let them down, why would they trust me

How many creepy DMs do you have right now?

Any tips for Paris or Amsterdam?

Happy birthday!

No creepy DM’S but my inbox is ded. Haha

My dad is a 60yo chief with reference and even got a Michelin star. Could he get a job as Superyacht Chef? How? Would he need to speak english?

It would be hard because of his age- there are physical requirements they would need to have. And English is generally the language on board- but many issuance or Chinese owned boats will employ their own nationalities. Your dad would be suited as a guest chef if he had a particular speciality that he cooked, he could come on board for an event and headline it if the owner was into that sort of thing.

Is it true that major celebrities work as prostitutes for the super rich on yachts?

I’ve not seen anything like it. But then I am in the galley 🤷‍♀️ not my business anyways

Hey, Happy birthday! :-)

What was the weirdest food/dinner you have ever prepared? And what do you love to prepare the most?

Thank you for doing this :-)

Thanks ❤️

I love making sushi. Mostly because I love eating sushi. Haha

I’ve worked in a galley where the owner liked burnt onions in his omelette. But burnt so bad they were black and crunchy. That was weird. And gross. It did not taste good. He otherwise had a really good palette so I’m not sure what that was about

Happy birthday, Chef! I, too, choose to burn myself for shitty pay as a career!

Which is your favorite port of call specifically for provisioning foodstuffs?

Haha gotta love that oil splatter burn mark on the forearm hey!

I think Antibes is great. All of the best European produce and meats, oh and cheese nom nom nom

Where are you from? Do you ever get home sick?

I grew up in New Zealand. I never get homesick for that country tho. I do miss Australia sometimes tho. And London. And Nepal. Haha I have many places I call home around the world

What were the best and worst living accomodations you've dealt with?

Also, /r/kitchenconfidential would love you

Oh thanks. I’ll sub to that!

The worst would probably be on the smaller sail boats. They were still clean and really nice, but the space or lack of really did suck a bit. The best we’re on the boat I just left. Holy shit. The cabin was soooooo big! I loved it! We had space for a desk and a wardrobe. Each!! It was cool!

What happens if you are unwell and unable to work. What if you need to see a doctor for something and your in the middle of nowhere?

We are all trained in basic first aid. Officers have advanced first aid. Plus we have 24/7 availability with doctors and nurses via satellite phone if we need it

Happy birthday! I guess most of the yachts you work on are sailing in tropical areas but have you ever been working in colder/arctic conditions? How does it affect your work?

No, but I would love to do the arctic on a yacht. Friends have done it and the pictures are gorgeous. Not to mention the quality of the salmon

What is the worst tip you've ever received from one of those billionaires? I ask because a friend of mine that works as chef for an Amway heir once got a gift certificate for a free ice cream cone at Fred Meijer's grocery store after feeding him world-class food for a week on the Van Andels' yacht.

Lol that’s pretty fucked. Sorry for your mate.

I once had charter guests refuse to leave a tip, even after saying they had had the most amazing time. The also shat in the showers.

I don’t name them. But I still think they were fucking gross. And the management company made them leave 10% in the end.

What's the model of your current vessel?

I am between jobs.

It’s also my birthday! So happy birthday birthday twin. Do you always have a menu planned for the entire trip? Or do you tend to cook to the guests request on the day?

Oh yay! Happy birthday!!

A bit of both. We plan for every eventuality. Sometimes we buy loads of stuff they have on their preference sheets and then not use any of it because they get on board and just want comfort food 😂

I’m tired of the rain. When will it stop?

It's perfectly sunny in Thailand, get on a plane!

lol I’m in the galley, I wouldn’t know ;)

When the day comes, what is the one thing you are going to miss about this job? What is the one you are absolutely not going to miss about the job?

Also, I read your comment about doing courses in Spain to get into this industry. How long were the courses and how long did it take you to score the gig?

I’ll miss the constant travel and the people. I won’t miss the constant protocol.

The initial course everyone on yachts had to do is 5 days long. It’s related to fire safety and life rafts etc. it’s actually a fun course to do!

It took me a few months to get my first permanent job

How many people have you slept with so far ?

Just your dad. He says hi.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you're getting something more than just memes and silly comments for your birthday.

Do you have any people you've worked for that are super particular about how you do your job? Like how you cook or prepare the food, for religious reasons or not.

And how often do people try to use your kitchen themselves? How do you feel about that?

I’ve had guests come in and cook with the galley team. That was fun!! I’ve worked with chefs who are super particular about how a carrot is cut for example. That was difficult. Guests know what they like, which can be a blessing and a curse.

How much did the tits cost?

About $3000, but that was 17 years ago 😂

You are quite a beautiful lady, how often do you get sex advances from millionaires?

Literally never. Suits me well, they wouldn't be able to stand my incessant swearing anyways. I've tried dating rich guys. Not for me.