Your Experience Hiring a Chef for a Charter

[jmc42]

I am considering hiring a chef to do the provisioning, cooking, and galley clean up on our next family charter trip to the BVI. I wanted to hear the experience of others who have tried it. Was it worth it? Was it awkward? What did you pay? Did you hire through the charter company or own your own? Do you know a chef you'd recommend?

Any info you could share would be appreciated. This isn't something we'd normally do but considering it for the "vacation" aspect.

[GordMay]

I married mine (over 52 years ago).
It's worked out fine, so far.

[Kenlyn66]

Originally Posted by jmc42

I am considering hiring a chef to do the provisioning, cooking, and galley clean up on our next family charter trip to the BVI. I wanted to hear the experience of others who have tried it. Was it worth it? Was it awkward? What did you pay? Did you hire through the charter company or own your own? Do you know a chef you'd recommend?



Any info you could share would be appreciated. This isn't something we'd normally do but considering it for the "vacation" aspect.

Following

[George_SD]

Here a story for you:

Went on a 10 day trip with my friend's family. they typically don't cook much and what they do make is pretty basic. My family on the other hand is the opposite - home cooked meals, organic food, new ideas/styles/cuisine all the time. I really enjoy cooking, don't mind clean up and love making people happy. So we've worked out a plan for ourselves, but I ended up cooking most of the time for the entire crew. Although i was told that others would make their own food and didn't eat much, everyone ended up going for seconds and never missed a meal or decided to make their own food.
In addition, I love fishing, so there was plenty of fresh catch almost daily. Some of the things i've made on the trip

- thick ramen soup with soft boiled egg and trimmings
- ceviche (freshly cured fish with vegies and spices)
- poke bowls (rice, cucumbers, green onion, wasabi, soy sauce, marinated or fresh fish, spice or not, etc)
- sushi/sashimi
- whole grilled fish with salads and sides
- marinated pork kabobs, roasted potatoes
- sugar sprinkled pancakes with fresh berries and condiments
- korean style egg sandwiches (egg, mayo, mustard, soft white bread)
- charred tomatoes with cold yogurt (with spices, etc) served with lightly charred bread
- grilled burgers with mexican street corn on a cob (elote)
- pollo asado tacos (grilled marinated chicken tacos)
- salads and more

All of that was done with both - lots of flavor and restaurant quality presentation, which is difficult to pull off on a boat with everything constantly moving, stove and microwave not being as powerful as in a chef's kitchen, few pots and pans, and finally - VERY limited space for prep and serving.

If I did this as a job, I would charge you at least $350/day + cost of the food + any fees required by local ports. If this is a one way trip, the cost may be even higher due to the need to fly back. Costs will greatly depend on location and local talent, type of food you are interested in, length of the trip and other factors.

You do want to hire someone with experience cooking on the boat as even food selection becomes critical due to limited amount of space, very limited refrigeration space, no access to fresh produce for periods of time and need to make it all in a small kitchen with minimum of tools.


I don't see a difference between doing this with someone i knew for 10 years or someone I just met - everyone loves good food and fun company. Of course it depends on the person, but anyone who is doing this for a living and is worth their salt will have no trouble being entertaining, participate in fun conversations, be polite, friendly and make it not awkward. At the same time, a lot of will depend on people on the boat - if they want to have a good time and are friendly - it will be great. If they have a chip on their shoulder or don't do well in limited space with strangers - yes, it can be a bit awkward.

So if you like good food and want to enjoy new conversations and dynamics while being able to relax - get a chef, it will be worth it.

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by George_SD

Here a story for you:

Went on a 10 day trip with my friend's family. they typically don't cook much and what they do make is pretty basic. My family on the other hand is the opposite - home cooked meals, organic food, new ideas/styles/cuisine all the time. I really enjoy cooking, don't mind clean up and love making people happy. So we've worked out a plan for ourselves, but I ended up cooking most of the time for the entire crew. Although i was told that others would make their own food and didn't eat much, everyone ended up going for seconds and never missed a meal or decided to make their own food.
In addition, I love fishing, so there was plenty of fresh catch almost daily. Some of the things i've made on the trip

- thick ramen soup with soft boiled egg and trimmings
- ceviche (freshly cured fish with vegies and spices)
- poke bowls (rice, cucumbers, green onion, wasabi, soy sauce, marinated or fresh fish, spice or not, etc)
- sushi/sashimi
- whole grilled fish with salads and sides
- marinated pork kabobs, roasted potatoes
- sugar sprinkled pancakes with fresh berries and condiments
- korean style egg sandwiches (egg, mayo, mustard, soft white bread)
- charred tomatoes with cold yogurt (with spices, etc) served with lightly charred bread
- grilled burgers with mexican street corn on a cob (elote)
- pollo asado tacos (grilled marinated chicken tacos)
- salads and more

All of that was done with both - lots of flavor and restaurant quality presentation, which is difficult to pull off on a boat with everything constantly moving, stove and microwave not being as powerful as in a chef's kitchen, few pots and pans, and finally - VERY limited space for prep and serving.

If I did this as a job, I would charge you at least $350/day + cost of the food + any fees required by local ports. If this is a one way trip, the cost may be even higher due to the need to fly back. Costs will greatly depend on location and local talent, type of food you are interested in, length of the trip and other factors.

You do want to hire someone with experience cooking on the boat as even food selection becomes critical due to limited amount of space, very limited refrigeration space, no access to fresh produce for periods of time and need to make it all in a small kitchen with minimum of tools.


I don't see a difference between doing this with someone i knew for 10 years or someone I just met - everyone loves good food and fun company. Of course it depends on the person, but anyone who is doing this for a living and is worth their salt will have no trouble being entertaining, participate in fun conversations, be polite, friendly and make it not awkward. At the same time, a lot of will depend on people on the boat - if they want to have a good time and are friendly - it will be great. If they have a chip on their shoulder or don't do well in limited space with strangers - yes, it can be a bit awkward.

So if you like good food and want to enjoy new conversations and dynamics while being able to relax - get a chef, it will be worth it.

Just out of curiosity, do you have professional experience as a chef?

[George_SD]

Originally Posted by redneckrob

Just out of curiosity, do you have professional experience as a chef?

No "professional" experience. I have a successful and well paying job.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by jmc42

I am considering hiring a chef to do the provisioning, cooking, and galley clean up on our next family charter trip to the BVI. I wanted to hear the experience of others who have tried it. Was it worth it? Was it awkward? What did you pay? Did you hire through the charter company or own your own? Do you know a chef you'd recommend?

Any info you could share would be appreciated. This isn't something we'd normally do but considering it for the "vacation" aspect.

Hire a chef? Hahahahahahahaha