Yacht Chef Career Course

Course Overview

The Superyacht Chef Career Course commences with a 10-day culinary course to kick off your career in one of the best positions onboard a superyacht. The course focuses on preparing students to increase their culinary repertoire in the galley and trains them to look at food and food preparation from a completely different perspective. This intense course covers everything you need to know about yachting, operating in the galley, food management and culinary skills and covers virtually all the practical applications for cooking in a galley, with emphasis on the modern Superyacht Industry and its typical demands in the varying roles. The course includes menu planning, budgeting, provisioning, charter planning, stock taking, recipe costing and recipe planning.

85% of the course is practical and prepares students for a career at sea, including CV and culinary portfolio planning, interview processes and general preparation for a yachting lifestyle. Students are encouraged to challenge themselves to meet the standards of trained chefs in preparing and planning food for guests. The course is a highly practical course and students are required to have a reasonable level of culinary experience, although need not be formally trained.

The course is structured into specific modules to provide yacht chefs with practical knowledge and experience, ranging from basic preparation skills to how to prepare and present a 3-course meal for guests on sailing vessels. The course includes the following

Provisioning, passage and port stop planning
Foreign ingredients
Menu and recipe planning
Budgeting
CV and portfolio planning
Interview practical
Dietary requirements, cultural and allergies
5 days of practical training in a professional kitchen
1 day of theory and practical evaluation
1 day of practical guest service
1 day service stress test – operating in high-pressure environments

Venue:
V&A Waterfront, Cape Town

Experience Requirement:
A reasonable level of kitchen proficiency

Duration:
31 days

Includes:

IAMI G.U.E.S.T Introduction to Yachting for Chefs – 3 Days, or 5-Day Chef Foundation

IAMI G.U.E.S.T Superyacht Galley Chef – 10 Days

SAMSA SRC/VHF Radio – 1 day

STCW 10 (Mandatory) – 11 days

Food Safety and Catering Level 2 – 1 day

Jacket and apron

All course training materials

Qualification:
IAMI G.U.E.S.T INTRODUCTION TO YACHTING
IAMI G.U.E.S.T GALLEY OPERATIONS FOR CHEFS
SYCA Yacht Chef Certification

Highfield Food Safety Level 2 Certification

STCW10 Certification

SAMSA VHF Radio License

Syllabus

Week 1 - IAMI GUEST Introduction to Yachting for Chefs

Who is it for: Qualified chefs enrolling for certification.

Focus: Land-to-Sea conversion.

Day 1: Theory (Wednesday)

General discussion on industry theory to provide personal insights and in-depth understanding of the yacht industry. This is a self-learning programme (online) which they will be assessed against using theory exams and discussions.

Students will be required to complete a theory exam covering all course material at the end of day 1.

Day 2-3: Practical

Practical assessments for Land-to-Sea conversion students. Separately evaluating cooking skills for qualified chefs and those without chef qualifications.

Afternoon/Evening: Practical assessment in the form of a cook-off.

Week 1 - 5-Day Chef Foundation

Who is it for: This course is tailored for students without prior chef qualifications and aims to provide a comprehensive introduction to culinary skills in the context of yachting. This 5-day programme includes the IAMI GUEST introduction to yachting theory.

Days 1-2: Basic Cooking Skills

Includes instruction on mother sauces, preparation of chicken, meats, fish, etc., similar to the previous format.

Day 3: Theory

General discussion and in-depth insights into the theoretical aspects relevant to the industry. This is a self-learning programme (online) which they will be assessed against using theory exams and discussions.

Students will be required to complete a theory exam covering all course material at the end of day 1.

Day 4: Practical Training

Day 5: Practical Assessment (3-course dinner preparation)

Weeks 2 and 3 - Superyacht Culinary Academy Chef Course

The Superyacht Culinary Course focuses on preparing students to increase their culinary skills in the galley. This intense course covers everything you need to know about yachting, operating in the galley, food management and culinary skills.

Our Superyacht Culinary Course challenges students to think differently about how they work with food and what it represents. We teach students a completely new way of planning, preparing and presenting food and challenge the boundaries of standard food presentation, pushing them to raise the bar and achieve new personal goals in culinary art.

The course is highly practical and students are required to have a reasonable level of culinary experience, although need not be formally trained. The course covers everything from basic hygiene and cooking efficiency to 5-star food preparation under the guidance of a professional chef.

Weeks 4 and 5

This course is followed by the STCW course (Standards of Training for Crew and Watch), where students learn basic first aid, fire fighting and life-raft training and safety awareness. Thereafter, students spend a day in the classroom earning their VHF radio license.

You will learn the nautical terminology necessary to work on the yachts and get insights into the teamwork and co-ordination required aboard yachts.

Under the British Maritime Labour Convention (MLC 2006), all ships cooks, catering staff and others processing food in the galley are required to be suitably qualified in Food Hygiene or Food Safety in Catering. The Level II award in Food Safety in Catering (QCF) is aimed at chefs, stewardesses and all food handlers.