All roles/Galley/Crew Chef / Crew Cook
Galley
Crew Chef / Crew Cook
The Crew Chef feeds the whole crew, three meals a day plus snacks, on large yachts. Good crew food keeps morale, health and retention up on a long season.
- Department
- Galley
- Reports to
- Head Chef
- Yacht size
- 60m to 150m+
- Contract
- Seasonal, permanent or rotation
- Starting pay
- €4,000 per month
What the job is
On a large yacht the guest galley is busy enough that a separate chef cooks for the crew. You are that chef. On a 70m yacht you might feed 25 to 35 people, and on a 120m yacht more than 60. You plan menus, order provisions, cook breakfast, lunch and dinner, and keep the crew mess stocked with fruit, snacks and late food for the night watch. Meals run to fixed times around watches and guest service.
The crew eat your food every day for months, so variety matters more than flair. A crew from fifteen countries means halal, vegetarian, gluten free and plenty of personal preferences. You budget carefully, because the crew provisioning allowance is set by the captain or management company. You also keep allergen records, temperature logs and cleaning schedules to MLC and flag state standards, and your galley may be inspected in port.
When guests are aboard you often support the Head Chef as an extra pair of hands, prepping vegetables, baking bread or covering canapés during a busy charter. Some yachts run the crew galley in a separate space; others share one galley and you work around the guest service. The role suits a chef who likes cooking in volume, runs a tidy section and wants a steady route into the guest galley.
What makes a good one
- Cooking in volume to fixed times
- Menu planning on a set budget
- Catering for allergies and diets
- Food safety and HACCP records
- Stock control and provisioning
A day in the life
- 06:00Switch on ovens, check fridge and freezer temperatures and log them. Bake bread and set up the breakfast counter in the crew mess.
- 07:00Crew breakfast opens. Eggs to order for the deck team before they start washing down, with porridge, fruit and yoghurt on the side.
- 09:00Clear breakfast, deep clean the station and check stock. Send the provisioning order to the chief stewardess and the local supplier for tomorrow's delivery.
- 10:30Help the Head Chef prep for the guest lunch, picking herbs and portioning fish while your crew lunch braises.
- 11:45Crew lunch runs in two sittings so the deck and interior teams can rotate around guest service. Label every dish for allergens.
- 14:00Clean down and take a two hour break in your cabin while the mess runs on salads and snacks.
- 16:30Prep crew dinner, a curry night with a vegetarian and a gluten free option, and refill the snack fridge.
- 18:30Serve crew dinner, staggered again for those on guest dinner service. Plate up meals for the engineers on watch.
- 21:00Leave sandwiches and soup out for the night watch, close the galley, log temperatures and plan tomorrow's menu.
Pay by country
Monthly salary for a Crew Chef on a 60m to 150m yacht. Crew pay is usually set in EUR or USD whatever the region. Charter tips are shared with the whole crew and can add one to two months' pay per season on busy charter yachts.
- France and Monaco
- €4,000 – 5,500
- Spain
- €4,000 – 5,500
- Italy
- €4,000 – 5,500
- United Kingdom
- £3,400 – 4,700
- USA (Florida)
- US$4,300 – 6,000
- Caribbean
- US$4,300 – 6,000
- UAE
- AED 16,000 – 22,000
- Australia
- A$6,800 – 9,300
- New Zealand
- NZ$7,500 – 10,200
Required
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical
- Ship's Cook Certificate (MCA)
- Food Safety Level 2
- PDSD
Recommended
- Professional cookery qualification (NVQ or City & Guilds Level 2 or 3)
- Food Safety Level 3
- Allergen awareness training
- Medical First Aid
- Proficiency in Survival Craft
Visas
- Schengen visa
- US C1/D
- US B1/B2
- Australian MCV
Where it leads
Crew Chef / Crew Cook jobs open now
Questions crew ask
Do I need the MCA Ship's Cook Certificate?
On most large commercial yachts, yes. MLC rules require a certified ship's cook on vessels with ten or more crew, and captains will usually ask for it before offering the job.
Will I ever cook for guests?
Often. Most Crew Chefs help the Head Chef during busy charters, and showing you can handle guest standard plates is the usual route to Sous Chef.
Can I get the job without yacht experience?
Yes, if you have solid shoreside experience in volume kitchens, such as hotels, contract catering or busy restaurants, plus your STCW, ENG1 and Ship's Cook Certificate.