Chef, 115-foot motoryacht Wheels

Date interviewed: December 2006

How did you realize you wanted to become a chef?
My parents had a restaurant in England. They bought it when I was 7. I started earning pocket money by washing dishes in the kitchen. I actually wanted to be a furniture designer, but I kept working in the kitchen on weekends, and I discovered I liked it. I realized I didn't want to sit behind a desk for a living.

What training did you undergo to become a chef?
I attended Lancaster & Morecambe College, their culinary program. I learned theory, cooking, general basics.
After college I worked at a restaurant called The Punch Bowl with Stephen Dougherty, a well-known chef in London. I worked on the grill section for 13 months. If you made a mess of it, he let you know it.
Then I followed him to The Foliage in London, where I worked up the ladder, 18- to 20-hour days. It was hard, but I wouldn't be where I am today without it. I also did some time at The Mandarin.
By the time I was 24 or 25, I was the head chef at a restaurant in Knightsbridge, near Harrod's. The Swag and Tails was its name. I stayed for four years, and I learned how to deal with people, ordering, sacking people. And then I got sick of London, and I had a few friends cheffing on a boat...

How did you decide to work onboard yachts?
I took a day job working onboard a 154-foot motoryacht called Commitment at the 2005 Grand Prix in Monaco. On the final day, I sat on the bow and thought, "I reckon I can do this."
I quit London and went to Antibes to sign up with crew agencies. I was bascially homeless and jobless. I ended up going back to England. I thought, "I have no home. I have no job." A week later, a captain called me from Cannes. He offered me a one-month tryout at the end of September 2005. That was Wheels, the 115-foot motoryacht where I work now.
I did a month and got offered the full-time job, but it didn't start until March 2006. So I went back to London and worked in an Asian section of The Mandarin. The Thai curries, the Indian stuff. What I learned in that five months was great.
Then, in the summer of 2006, I joined Wheels in the Mediterranean. We did 14 weeks of charter. It was my first season.

How did working onboard yachts compare to working in London restaurants?
The pressure is completely different. It's quite intense because you never stop cooking. When it's not the guests, it's the crew. There were days when I just wanted a day off, as much as I love to cook. But you bite your lip, get on with it, find your strength again.
The first charter, I was writing out menus before the charter guests arrived. But then along the way I realized the menus weren't working out. So I learned to take each day as it comes. Now, we print the menus on a daily basis so the guests can decide what they like.
On boats, you have to be more flexible. We had one charter, some Russians, and they wanted seafood. So I'm in the galley making oysters, and they come in with a 5-kilo bag of mussels. I smiled and said, "Yes, of course, sir. I can do that for lunch." That's the way it's got to be handled.

How do you determine what meals you will prepare for charter guests?
I ask their preferences on the preference sheets they get before the charter, and I take those answers with a pinch of salt. You have to know the allergies and these sorts of things, but some will say "we like chicken" and nothing more. Now, you know they want to eat more than chicken during the week. So i make a point of having a chat as soon as they come onboard.

What are some of your specialty dishes, or often-requested favorites?
I like doing desserts. Even back in my parents' restaurant, I dabbled with sugar. The dessert is the last thing on your mind when you walk away from the table. You can do hot, cold, soft, crisp... That's where my art and design skills come in.
I just won best overall chef in my yacht's size category at the 2006 Antigua charter yacht show. I served a rum chocolate fondant with mango sorbet and coconut pannacotta, which is like an Italian ice cream. I followed it with an espresso shot mixed with vanilla and pineapple syrups, Tia Maria, and Malibu rum, all topped with homemade rum raisin ice cream and toasted coconut. It won the show's award for best use of coffee.

What cruising areas do you like best for incorporating local ingredients into your menus?
I'm liking the Caribbean cooking, actually. The spice of the jerk, the freshness of the fruits. No matter where you go in the world, there are different ingredients, different cuisines. I'm always learning.

What kind of charter guests are your favorites?
I like people who are honest, open and eager to try new stuff. We can do a Thai night, a Caribbean night, a Michelin-star night (I worked in a few Michelin restaurants in London, so I can meet that top-quality standard).

What, if any, awards have you won?
These awards at the 2006 Antigua charter show are my first, after just nine months in the yachting business.
Two years ago, if you'd asked, I'd have told you there's no way on earth I'd be sitting in a crew mess reading Boat International magazine and saying, "Wow, look at that new Feadship." But it's been a hard 12 years. Cheffing is a hard profession. It's a bloody great feeling to get some recognition.

What else should CharterWave readers know about you and your yacht?
We're the whole package, really. We've gone through a lot of crew, and the one we've got now, at the end of 2006, is the best. We all gel together as a team, and we all want what's best for Wheels. It's a team effort.

To charter Wheels and meet Geoffrey Fisher, contact any reputable charter broker.