Chef, 164-foot motoryacht Hurricane Run

Date interviewed: December 2011

That six-course luncheon that you just served was absolutely beyond comparison. I’m not sure what I liked the most. I think maybe the lobster, beet root, and leek terrine, but I also could eat a pile of your homemade spinach gnocci with scallops and ricotta. What impresses me most about them both is not just how great they tasted, but also how different they are.

People often ask what my specialty is. I think my specialty is the fact that I can do your specialty. If you give me enough notice, I can do anything you want.

You are originally from London and have trained there with several Michelin-starred chefs. How did you move from that world into yachting?

When I was 27, I realized that I could cook and that I really couldn’t do anything else. I was never really driven to own a restaurant, but the idea of being a private chef always really appealed to me. I was working in the French Alps in the late 1990s for a family with friends who worked for Camper and Nicholsons International. They had my CV before I’d ever even seen a yacht, and in 2000, I got my first job aboard a 50-meter motoryacht called Louisiana.

I just absolutely loved it. I loved the international crew. I wasn’t at the mercy of restaurant critics. Budgets were a concern, but they were no longer the bottom line. I felt freedom cooking on boats, so I stayed.

Did your cooking style change when you came aboard yachts?

I did learn sushi because some clients requested it. The same is true for some other cuisines that I otherwise wouldn’t have learned. With yachting, I’ve seen that life isn’t all about contorted, Michelin-star cooking. People want good food.

I spend a lot of my time looking for top-quality fish and meat. I’m really particular about the way meat is sourced. A lot of effort goes into determining that it’s the right type of naturally raised meat before we even begin to think about how to cook it for our guests.

You make it sound so easy, but that lobster terrine that you served me looked like a piece of art on the plate.

Simple, good flavors and top-quality ingredients are just part of the picture. That terrine took eight hours of work, mostly to keep the lobster moist. I shocked it and braised it. I didn’t just cook it.

But with all my food, I make an effort not just to cook well, but also to be organic and ethical. All of our scallops, for instance, are hand caught. We don’t support dredging. We are, after all, a superyacht. We can afford to set these types of standards.

What else should charter clients know about you and the food aboard Hurricane Run?

I have a terrific sous chef, James Mustard, who cooks for the crew and helps me so that I can be completely focused on our guests. He is one reason that I’m able to put on a really great show at every meal.

Hurricane Run is part of the charter fleet at Camper and Nicholsons International. She takes 10 guests with 13 crew at a lowest weekly base rate of $295,000. Any reputable charter broker can tell you more or help you book a week onboard.