The competition scenario was to have a guest onboard request a local, seasonal meal that the chef would source from local producers with short notice and make substitutions based on what was available.  The competition was not meant to stress the chefs by having odd, creepy ingredients.  The one challenge was having both shellfish and ground beef together.

The preparation for contest started on Tuesday.  The Farm to Yacht™ ingredients were at their freshest as most had been picked Tuesday morning and were delivered to The Captain’s Concierge office that afternoon. The chef competitors met at noon to review the rules:  They were preparing four servings of any meal, any cuisine.  The entry must fit on one of your yacht’s standard dinner plates.  They had a 15 minute window in the judging area for final touch-ups,plating, table setting, presentation, tasting and scoring.  The chefs also received the list of ingredients provided and what they could and could not use from their pantry.  In choosing spoons, they found out their presentation order with much debate as to which is better - to go first or last.

The Grande class for yachts 100ft/30.5m+ had five entries:

  • Chef Daniel Fourdain from m/v Kipany who enjoys Provencale French cuisine.  He likes the variety of cooking onboard and one of his favorite cruising grounds is Alaska.
  • Chef Bradley David is onboard m/v Nice ‘n Easy.  This is his second year as a charter chef and he enjoys both travel and experiencing new cuisine.
  • Chef Mary Sarah Vernon is on s/v Galileo.  She is a yacht chef because she loves to cook with 16 years as a restaurant/catering chef and six years onboard yachts.
  • Chef Christopher Wear is in charge of the galley on Heritage III.  He is passionate about fresh, local, sustainable ingredients.
  • Chef Peter Ziegelmeier is master of the galley onboard m/v Rena.  An experienced competitor whose favorite cuisine is Mediterranean and Asian.

At 8:00 am Wednesday, the Grande class chefs gathered in the tent and picked up their ingredients.  While it was a bit chilly and foggy, everyone was in good spirits and ready to get their galleys humming along. The chefs joked back and forth and commented on the quality, quantity and freshness of the ingredients. Most of these chefs also participated in the chowder contest that was also happening on Wednesday - so they had double the fun.  The clock was ticking all morning as the chefs pushed to make their timelines.  They were also visited by show media, The Captain’s Concierge staff and the judges.


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