I work as a private chef on board a luxury yacht in the British Virgin Islands. Here's what I make for my guests in a day.
- Hannah Staddon works as a private chef on Mucho Gusto, a luxury yacht in the British Virgin Islands.
- With her husband, Dominic Baldzuhn, the yacht's captain, they take guests on weeklong trips.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Hannah Staddon, a 31-year-old private chef who works onboard the Mucho Gusto, a luxury charter in the British Virgin Islands. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I've been in the industry for around 13 years. I started as a yacht stewardess in the Mediterranean. I worked as a stew for about three years before gravitating toward the kitchen.
At one point, a chef I was working with didn't enjoy baking — but I was pretty good at it. That jumpstarted my interest in cooking, and I saved up through another season to put myself through chef's school back in South Africa, where I'm from.
I worked as a crew chef for a 160-foot yacht for a bit, but I realized I didn't even really like crew cooking because they just made food in big batches.
I cooked for 10 to 14 people daily for about four or five months. But I was getting burned out, and I wanted to be creative and make small, beautiful things.
So, my partner and I started looking for a boat together, and we ended up working together on board Mucho Gusto.
It's been seven years, and we haven't looked back.
My day in a nutshell
I get up at about 6 a.m. As soon as I wake up, I start prepping pastries, laying out the tables, and getting our guests coffee.
I usually make a continental spread for breakfast with homemade granola yogurt, fruit plates, and pastries. Then, I'll have a hot option for the day, like eggs benedict or waffles.
I like cooking light and healthy food. So I do spreads, sometimes with homemade focaccia, and then a protein, depending on the guests' preferences.
I also try to source most of my produce from local farmers and fishermen.
Lunches vary between plated salads and buffet-style courses. I whip up homemade ice cream, so there's always a selection available for dessert at lunch.
I start prepping dinner at about 5 p.m. and usually serve it at around 7 p.m.
Depending on how active the guests have been, I may serve a little snack plate before dinner, like some fresh fruits or a charcuterie board.
By about 7 p.m., once all the guests have showered and are ready for dinner, I'll have set the table. Dominic, meanwhile, serves sundown cocktails.
Unless guests request a lighter meal, we usually do three courses — starters, mains, and desserts. I've gotten good reviews for my sushi spreads, in particular.
My homemade pasta is also generally a winner.
Sometimes, I make black pepper and truffle pasta with sauteed mushrooms and a big wagyu steak. People go nuts for that, so I must be doing something right.
We have an age limit of 12 on board the yacht. But at that age, many kids still have a limited palate, so food looks like chicken nuggets and chips or pizza all week. They generally only eat maybe two or three different meals.
Generally, mums communicate their preferences to me. So, I ensure that chicken nuggets and chips are stocked on board and heat them 20 minutes before meals.
After dessert, we clean up, stack the dishwasher, and prep for the next day. If I need to make focaccia dough or I'm doing cinnamon buns the next morning, I've got to make all the dough that evening.
After that, I can typically go to bed, which could be any time between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Better than other restaurant jobs
Something I've enjoyed about the job is that I get to be a lot more involved with what's happening outside the kitchen,
If you're confined to working in a kitchen all day, you can feel detached from what happens outside it. And in a restaurant kitchen, you're often making the meal you've been told to make, as opposed to getting to be creative.
That's different on a yacht. I get to understand the guests and build relationships with them. And that's my favorite part of the job.