This is the first in a series of quarterly blogs by super yacht chef Paul Airey charting his experiences working on some of the world’s largest and most expensive private yachts.
It’s that moment in a person’s life when you suddenly realise that you no longer want to continue in your present employment. If you’re like me, it won’t be because you are overlooked, neglected, ignored, abused or even underpaid. It’s simply because you need a fresh challenge, a new spark of interest, to work with or for somebody else that brings out the best in you and your food or just new surroundings.
That sentence would read differently I am sure if I was in a regular job, but I’m not. I work onboard on a 55m motor yacht, well, I do for another week and a half. The current owner I work for is self made. The family and friends are some of the nicest people that I have ever met and an added bonus is that they made my life comfortable for three and a half years by enjoying the food I cooked for them.
I have been in the fortunate position to have worked with a fantastic crew and without whom could have made my life as solo chef a lot more difficult. Now, it’s with a heavy heart that I am leaving, but I know it is for the right reasons. So what next? Where am I going? Simply put, I don’t know yet. Until I do know, I have been asked to help find my own replacement. Cue the Devil and Angel on each shoulder.
“Get someone worse than you!”, “Find someone better!” The truth is, whoever is out there is out there and it’s not my final decision to make.
Saying that, the agencies here in France have sent through some great CVs and I have had telephone conversations with possible candidates to take over my job. The striking thing for me is that out of four conversations so far, only one has asked why I am leaving. I must sell the job really well! To be honest, it is a good one and leaving on good terms is always the best plan of action when moving on. So what does this all mean to you the reader?
Well, I kind of wanted to share a few stories that I have heard from the other chefs I interviewed, a sort of heads up in this “glamorous lifestyle”, and a bit of gossip!! Some of the stories I heard are enough to show that this job is not always as glamorous as it sounds! One chef told me about when he took a job on a new build boat and had three weeks to get it ready.
I guess if you’ve ever set up a restaurant or been involved in it, then you have an idea how much planning and organising that takes.
