Chef Robert Hedge
m/y Perfect Persuasion

Date interviewed: May 2007

How did you realize you wanted to become a chef?
When I was really young at home in Brisbane, Australia, I was always in my mum’s kitchen. I must’ve been 10 or 11. I just had the touch.
     By grade 10, when I was 15, I had the choice of going on for two more years or getting a job. I found an apprenticeship at an Italian restaurant in Brisbane called Franco’s. Then I went on to learn dietary food by working in hospitals, and I worked at resorts and some Hilton resorts.

What training did you undergo to become a chef?
I learned on the job. I just kept picking up ideas and learning my way.

Why did you decide to work onboard yachts?
When I was 23, I’d always wanted to go traveling. I went to Thailand and India, and it was the experience of a lifetime. Then I went to London and traveled to all of Europe. I worked at The Clifton, a well-known restaurant in the United Kingdom, and at Fleur, a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Switzerland. I wasn’t even earning money with that last job. I did it as an experience.
     I was at The Clifton when my visa was up, so I was going to return home to Brisbane to work at a beautiful hotel. But at the same time, I saw a job advertised for a chef onboard a 35-foot catamaran in the British Virgin Islands. It was 2001, and I figured I’d take the opportunity to go traveling again.

What yachts did you work on before joining your current crew?
There was that catamaran, called Lone Star. It was a charter boat. Then I did two private yachts that did not charter at all, a 115-foot motoryacht called United Spirit, which I was on for three years, and a 115-foot motoryacht called Big Change that cruised in the Caribbean and the United States.

When did you join your current yacht’s crew?
I came onboard Perfect Persuasion in 2004, a good three years ago. And I hope to be here for a good deal of time to come. I love the yacht’s owners. They appreciate me. And most of the time we have lovely charter customers to entertain, too.

What do you think makes your yacht’s crew unique or special?
Our crew makes the holiday for the guests. We’re good with kids, we’re good with adults. We show them a good time and blow them away.

How do you determine what meals you will prepare for charter guests?
I look at their preference sheets and take all the requirements, and at their arrival lunch or dinner I always make something that goes exactly by what they want, so they love it.
     But then I talk to them, I get to know them, find out a little who they are and what they want. I always have a bit of everything and anything onboard to try to make the guests happy, even if they change their minds about what they wrote on their preference sheets. I don’t ever think you can say no to a paying client.

What are some of your specialty dishes, or often-requested guest favorites?
I like to serve a whole fish, usually a whole red snapper, for lunches. I come out to the table on deck in my chef’s uniform and serve everyone right from the platter. It’s really quite nice. I also think my lobster platters are a favorite.
     I’m good at desserts, but I like the entrees. I can do anything, or at least give it a try. I do Indian, Asian, Italian, sushi, American…

What cruising areas do you like best for incorporating
local ingredients?
I have to say France, the Côte d’Azur. It has choices of anything and everything. I’d rather go out to get the fresh products, whatever fresh products the guests want.

What is a typical day’s menu that a guest might experience onboard your yacht?
Breakfasts are continental, plus plates of whatever the guests want cooked to order. If eight guests want eight different kinds of eggs, I’ll do it.
      Lunches are usually buffets, something served family-style, which the guests usually request. And then dinner is a proper three courses.

What kind of charter guests are your favorites?
Our owners, they’re English. They like pretty plain food. But when we’re on charter, I get to try new things. That’s what I really love to do, to have guests who like to try new things.

What awards have you won?
I took first place in the three-course category of the 1998 Gold Coast competition in Queensland, Australia. I also won third-place in the three-course category of the Brisbane Culinary Competition in 1999.

What else should CharterWave.com readers know about you and your yacht?
Our service is really good. And good service makes the food come out even better. 

The 150-foot motoryacht Perfect Persuasion is part of the fleet at Camper & Nicholsons International. She takes 10 guests with nine crew at a weekly base rate of 120,000 euros, or about $20,000 per person with 25-percent expenses included.