What might make you stand out in the crowd of hundreds of yacht chefs!
It all started back in 2011. I was then working in the outback Australia strapped for cash after travelling for 2 years in Europe on a tight budget. I needed money and fast! Really remote restaurants and establishments give great salaries to chefs and $27/hour was the best money I had seen at the ripe old age of 22. So I jumped at the chance and headed into the red, dusty, fly covered town of Westonia and the only pub in town called Westonia Tavern. Here I ran the kitchen for around 4 months before getting over it and figuring out my next move.
I saw an ad online that read "looking for a chef to work on the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns, Australia". Not much more information was given. I leapt at the chance to think of working in such a beautiful place, after all it was one of the natural wonders of the world. I was living in a town of around 300 people with not too much happening besides every Tuesday getting a half naked woman to serve behind the bar who are known as a skimpy if anyone was wondering...
Reef Encounter and Reef Experience rafted up at one of their dive locations.
Flying for 5 hours and 3500km later I landed in Cairns, the gateway to the largest reef system in the world! I stayed in a hostel that night, got a few hours sleep and I was on my way out to sea onboard the fast cat ferry Reef Experience which catered for around 100 people. As I approached the 35m live aboard dive vessel Reef Encounter I thought, what have I got myself into. I'd never been on a boat overnight much less worked on one. Within minutes I was in the kitchen or as most of you know is called a galley on a yacht. Helping prepare the lunch for Reef Experience and the live aboard Reef Encounter which also catered for around 35 passengers and 20 crew.
“In between cooking for the guests I would go scuba diving 3-4 times a day”
Not long after arriving in those coming days I was offered to go diving with one of the instructors. I once again lept at the chance to do so! My day usually consisted of doing a morning dive around 6am, then straight out of the water I was in the galley and cooking up breakfast for those same guests I was diving with. Being prepared was key here! Then after that I would be back in the water for another dive before lunch, finish up lunch and I might be in again later that day or a night dive depending on how much time I had. I remember I did around 30-40 dives before I was even certified. Clocking up dives fast, I soon had my open water, advanced then rescue dive ticket. I was on that Reef Encounter for around one year then moved over to their day boat to setup a new system onboard. I implemented a way of being able to prepare and cook food fresh daily onboard this vessel with a larger selection of dishes for the 100 odd guests.
My day consisted of prepping all morning, then heading upstairs to cook on the top deck BBQ overlooking the reef. It was some of my best and least stressful cheffing days I've ever had. I really needed it after being completely burnt out on the live aboard vessel for the past year. Its funny to look back and think how hard it was to do a roster of 5 days on 3 days off. I once got 'stuck' out there for 10 days at one stage and I was losing my mind. Honestly that cracks me up to write it. Now I live on yachts all year round! Still losing my mind though..haha
Racking up over 1000+ dives in the two years I worked for the company I decided that becoming a PADI dive master would be beneficial to my career if I were to continue on this path. This was a huge bonus on the first position as a chef on a 30m luxury motor yacht as they saw potential in me for being versatile in their unique chef/deck position they had available. Not only hiring a fully qualified chef but one with a diving ticket and deck experience gave me the upper hand against other yacht chefs in this particular job. I will tell you more about this yacht in another post my first super yacht job, which was the most insane start to any yachtie's career. Cruising New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji!
My First Super Yacht Job
M/Y Encore anchored at the famous Monuriki Island, Fiji where the Tom Hanks Castaway movie was filmed.
Versatility is key here.
I can't stress this enough.
Get out there, take chances, do as many things you may think could be beneficial to your career to just make you that much more employable to a potential yacht and captain.
More on the exact tickets and courses you should go for in PART 3!