The only agency run by a working yacht chef. Recruitment done by yacht chefs, for yacht chefs — because we know what it takes, having lived it.
I'm a Chef I'm HiringSuccessful placements
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Vetted positions
Most crew agencies place every role from deckhand to captain, and treat the chef like any other CV. We don't. Every placement decision at Yacht Chef Jobs is made by someone who has stood in a moving galley during a charter — so we vet for the things that actually make a placement last: temperament under pressure, provisioning discipline, and fit with the crew and the owner's palate.
Join a database of vetted yacht chefs and get put forward for roles that match your experience and ambitions. We only recommend positions we'd take ourselves, and — in line with MLC 2006 — you are never charged a fee. Browse current yacht chef jobs →
We pre-screen every candidate and send only chefs we'd personally vouch for — a vetted shortlist within 48 hours, backed by a 60-day replacement guarantee. See how hiring works →
Founded by Dean Harrison, an active working yacht chef — no recruiters who've never left dry land.
Salaries, conditions, crew culture — if it doesn't meet the standard, it doesn't make our board.
We work directly with captains and management — not through layers of agencies.
No surprise contracts, no overpromising. Honest placements that last.
A chef is not another CV in the crew pile. Plenty of superb restaurant chefs fail at sea, and their references give you almost no warning, because the job is different in ways that do not show up on paper. A land kitchen has deliveries every morning, a brigade, and a door you walk out of at midnight. A yacht galley has none of those.
Storage is a fraction of what a restaurant has. Provisioning ports change weekly, sometimes daily in peak season. The chef produces fine dining underway, in a swell, for guests whose dietary requirements may only surface the evening before they board. And then there is the part nobody interviews for: living aboard with the people you cook for, with no separation between work and home.
Most agencies screen on the only things a non-chef can assess — pedigree, availability, presentation — and pass the real risk on to the vessel. When Dean reads a chef's CV he is reading different things. Which boats run brutal programmes and which owners are a pleasure. That two seasons on a busy charter 50m proves more than six months on a quiet private 70m. Which questions expose someone who has been coasting, because he has been asked them himself.
Vessel size and type, private or charter, guest and crew numbers, itinerary, cuisine standard, known dietary requirements, rotation or permanent, start date and package. We fill in these fields whether or not they are in the original message, because a vague role cannot be screened properly. Our job description template covers what to include.
We work our vetted database and approach passive candidates who are not actively looking but would move for the right boat. Every candidate is assessed by a working superyacht chef before they reach a shortlist — never by a keyword match.
A curated shortlist rather than a CV dump, with the reasoning for each name and why they fit this vessel and this programme. Every search carries 7 days of dedicated, exclusive attention, and you will have the shortlist well inside that window.
We support interview logistics across time zones, and we recommend a tasting or paid trial before any commitment — it reveals in two hours what an interview cannot reveal in two weeks. We verify STCW, ENG1 and food safety certification are current, and complete reference calls with captains and chief stewardesses who lived aboard with the candidate.
We facilitate the offer, and under MLC 2006 the chef sees and understands the employment agreement before signing. Invoices are issued when your chosen chef accepts and are payable within 14 days, before the start date.
The 60-day replacement guarantee runs from the chef's first day aboard. We stay in contact with both sides through the first weeks, which is when most avoidable problems surface.
Ask any agency for these before you instruct them. Ours are published rather than discussed on a call.
"Dean kept my CV on hand and forwarded it directly to the captain when the position became available. Thanks to him, I secured my role on 60m M/Y Come Together and it has been the perfect fit."— Chef Ben Descoteau, 60m M/Y Come Together
It sources, screens and shortlists chefs for vessels, verifies certification and references, and supports the offer and onboarding. A specialist chef agency differs from a general crew agency in that the screening is done by someone who understands galley work, rather than assessed on CV pedigree alone.
General agencies place every role from deckhand to captain and assess a chef on the things a non-chef can judge. A chef-led agency screens for provisioning discipline, temperament under charter pressure and crew fit — the factors that actually determine whether a placement lasts the season.
With us, either a fixed €2,500 all-in fee or a success fee of one month's salary plus VAT payable only on hire, chosen per position. Short-term and charter placements of 90 days or fewer are charged at 33.3% of total salary paid, minimum €500. Most agencies do not publish their fees at all.
No. Under MLC 2006 Regulation 1.4 and Standard A1.4, seafarers must never be charged for placement. Registration is free for chefs and always will be.
A vetted shortlist within 48 hours of the brief. Urgent charter cover has been filled with days of notice; a considered permanent hire including trials and reference checks typically runs 2–4 weeks. Peak season compresses everything — if you need a chef for July, start in May.
Head chef, sole chef, sous chef, crew chef and temporary or charter chefs, plus full galley teams on larger vessels. Briefs have ranged from a sole chef on a 37m private motor yacht to five positions on a 150m-plus vessel, and we also place into private households and travelling positions.
We recruit yacht chefs wherever the fleet is, and know the crew market in each hub — who is available, what they actually earn there, and how fast a role realistically fills.
Hire a yacht chef — service, fees and FAQs →
The complete 2026 guide to hiring a yacht chef →