How to hire a yacht chef in 2026 — what to screen for, certifications, the step-by-step process, costs, timelines, and why a chef-led agency finds better candidates faster.
Hiring the right chef is one of the highest-leverage decisions on any yacht. Guests remember the food long after they've forgotten the itinerary, and a mismatched galley can sour an entire season for the whole crew. It is also one of the hardest crew roles to fill well.
I have placed more than 50 chefs, on vessels up to 88 metres, while still working as a yacht chef myself. This guide is what I have learned about getting it right — written for captains, owners and management companies who need to hire in 2026.
Plenty of superb restaurant chefs fail at sea, and their CVs give you almost no warning. A yacht galley is compact and moving. Storage is a fraction of what a land kitchen has. Provisioning ports change weekly, sometimes daily in peak season. The chef is expected to produce fine dining underway, in a swell, for guests whose dietary requirements may only be disclosed the day before they board.
Then add the parts nobody interviews for: living aboard with the people you cook for, no separation between work and home, and a season where a bad week has nowhere to hide. A Michelin line on a CV tells you what someone can cook. It tells you nothing about whether they can do it in nine square metres, forty days in a row, sharing a cabin.
This is the core problem with conventional crew recruitment. Most agencies are staffed by recruiters who have never worked a galley, so they screen on the only things they can assess — pedigree, availability, presentation — and pass the real risk on to you.
In rough order of how strongly each predicts a placement lasting:
The quality of your shortlist is set here. Vessel size and type, private or charter, guest numbers, crew numbers, itinerary and cruising ground, cuisine style, known dietary requirements, rotation or permanent, start date, and the actual package. Vague briefs produce vague shortlists.
Be honest about the hard parts too. A chef who knows the owner is a strict vegan, or that the boat does 20 charter weeks, will either want the job or won't — and you want to find that out now rather than in August.
Open job boards will bury you in applications, most of them unqualified, and screening them is a job in itself. A specialist agency should return a pre-screened shortlist in days, not weeks. We work to a 48-hour shortlist, and every candidate on it has been assessed by a working yacht chef.
Interview for temperament and reality — ask about the worst charter they have worked and what they did about it. Then arrange a tasting or a paid trial. A menu tasting reveals in two hours what an interview cannot reveal in two weeks, and a trial period during a real charter is better still.
Check STCW and ENG1 are current, not expired. Call the references — actually call them. Confirm visa status for your itinerary. This is the step people skip when they are in a hurry, and it is the step that costs them.
Get the employment agreement in front of the chef before signing, as MLC 2006 requires. And make sure your placement carries a replacement guarantee — if the chef resigns in the first weeks, that should be the agency's problem to solve, not yours.
Placement fees in this industry vary widely and are not always transparent. Ours are published, and you choose which model suits the hire:
| Placement type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Fixed fee — permanent | €2,500 all-in. €500 deposit on instruction, credited in full against the balance. |
| Success fee — permanent | Nothing upfront. One month of the chef's salary + VAT, payable only when you hire. |
| Short-term / charter | 90 days or fewer: 33.3% of total salary paid, minimum €500. |
| Multiple placements | 100% of the highest salary + 75% for each additional chef. |
Under the fixed-fee option, if no hire results the €500 deposit stays valid as credit against any recruitment with us for 12 months. Invoices are issued when your chosen chef accepts and are payable within 14 days, before the start date.
Timeline runs from same-week for urgent temp cover through to 2–4 weeks for a considered permanent hire including trials and reference checks. Peak season compresses everything — if you need a chef for July, start in May.
Ask any agency for these in writing before you instruct them:
When I read a chef's CV I am looking at different things than a recruiter is. I know which boats run brutal programmes and which owners are a pleasure. I know that a chef who lasted two seasons on a busy charter 50m has proven more than one who did six months on a quiet private 70m. I know what questions expose someone who has been coasting.
I also know what makes chefs leave, which is why I screen the role as hard as I screen the candidate. Every position we list has been assessed — salary, conditions, crew culture. If it does not meet the standard, it does not go on the board. That is not altruism; a placement that collapses in six weeks costs everyone.
“As a fellow chef himself, Dean truly understands the intricacies of our profession — from the high-pressure kitchen environment to the specific needs of clients looking for top culinary talent.”
Chef Imre Erdelyi — 63m M/Y Suri
“Dean moved quickly, finding both a full-time crew chef and securing a temp head for a charter. I highly recommend Dean's services — they are the top in the industry in my experience.”
Captain Clinton Roos — 63m M/Y Suri
We recruit across the Mediterranean and Caribbean, with concentrations in Antibes and the French Riviera, Palma de Mallorca, Monaco and Fort Lauderdale. If your programme sits outside those hubs, we still place — those are simply where the density is.
A vetted shortlist within 48 hours, a chef placed within days for urgent charter cover, or 2–4 weeks for a considered permanent hire including trials and reference checks.
Either a fixed €2,500 placement fee, or a success fee of roughly one month's salary paid only on hire. Short-term and charter placements are charged at 33.3% of total salary, minimum €500.
STCW Basic Safety Training, a valid ENG1 medical, and Food Safety Level 2 — often Level 3 for head chef roles — plus MLC-compliant paperwork and a valid seaman's book or relevant visa for your cruising ground.
Rotation is increasingly standard on larger vessels and heavy charter programmes, typically 2:2. It costs more in total salary but dramatically reduces burnout and mid-season resignations. On smaller private boats with a lighter programme, a single permanent chef is usually the better fit.
Yes. The employer is responsible for work permits, visas, flag state endorsements, and employment costs including travel, accommodation and insurance. Budget for these alongside salary and the placement fee.
With us, a voluntary resignation inside 60 days triggers the replacement guarantee at no additional cost. If we cannot source a replacement, you receive a proportional credit note. Dismissals are treated case by case.
Send one brief and receive a shortlist of vetted, pre-screened yacht chefs within 48 hours. Choose the fixed €2,500 fee or pay nothing until you hire. Every placement is backed by the 60-day replacement guarantee, and under MLC 2006 we never charge chefs a fee.