A veteran superyacht chef has offered an insight into what it takes to stock a boat for a season – with $100,000 worth of food on board and some very organized storage spaces.
Dean Harrison currently works aboard the $75 million motor yacht Loon, which measures 221 feet and can accommodate 12 guests.
Rent costs $580,000 per week, so no expense is spared when it comes to the culinary offerings.
In a YouTube video, Dean Cook – who has been in the superyacht industry for over 13 years – reveals how provisions are delivered to port before the tedious work of unloading begins.
While the motor yacht Loon is docked in Marseille, a truck full of goods arrives from the Netherlands one day before the charter guests arrive.
Dean Harrison currently works aboard the luxurious Motor Yacht Loon, which measures 221 feet and can accommodate up to 12 guests.
Motor Yacht Loon measures 221 feet and can accommodate up to 12 guests. Rent costs $580,000 per week, so no expense is spared when it comes to the culinary offerings.
Dean explains that the order includes provisions for guests for the upcoming 17-day voyage, along with supplies needed for the entire six-month season.
One of the most important jobs during supply deliveries, Dean reveals, is making sure each item goes into its proper box.
He explains: “(This) ensures that in the heat of the moment on the charter, things can be found and used as quickly as possible, which is very important.”
As they unload the truck, some of the ingredients that are caught on camera include packages of smoked salmon, pieces of meat and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.
It takes several hours to transport all the stock from the dock to the ship’s kitchen and it is a task in which the entire crew participates.
Detailing the loading process, he says: ‘The sorted boxes have been passed from crew member to crew member until they reach the crew door.
‘They are then taken up two flights of stairs through the crew mess to the cold storage room where (sous chef) Sean is waiting for them.
“(He is) sorting every box that arrives and storing it in its final location.”
While the Motor Yacht Loon is docked in Marseille, a truck loaded with goods from the Netherlands arrives one day before the arrival of the charter guests.
Dean says one of the most important jobs during supply delivery is making sure each item goes into its respective box.
While the amount of food may seem excessive, Dean says it is necessary.because we have guests on board who can request anything at any time.’
And he adds in this regard: ‘We need to be fully prepared for anything that comes our way. The idea is to have everything on board, or as much as you can.
‘The point is that you get the (guest) preferences, but preferences only tell you so much, so you need to have all kinds of things on board for the nights.
Dean reveals that the current “A-list” guests aboard the Loon were placing orders throughout the night and sous chef Dean was up until 3 a.m. “making burgers, pizzas, chicken strips and all kinds of things you wouldn’t even expect.”
Once everything is unloaded, Dean gives viewers a tour of the kitchen and refrigerated pantry area.
He reveals that there are refrigerators in the kitchen, but these are for ingredients that guests order “regularly,” so they can access them “quickly.”
In addition to the $100,000 in food supplies, Dean says the ship will pick up supplies every few days during voyages, as guests are “We are always asking for new things and we have a lot of American customers asking for things that don’t really exist in Europe.’
Once everything is unloaded, Dean gives viewers a tour of the kitchen and refrigerated pantry area.
While the amount of food may seem excessive, Dean says it is necessary “because we have guests on board who can request anything at any time.”
He reveals that there are refrigerators in the kitchen, but these are for ingredients that guests order “regularly,” so they can access them “quickly.”
When asked what his strangest requests have been, Dean says that he was once asked to take off his shirt by a group of women who had rented Loon for a bachelorette party.
But when it comes to food, he says guests generally don’t ask for anything crazy.
He explains: ‘You know they’re not that wild (when it comes to food requests).
‘You expect them to have crazy requests, but they’re really just simple requests like hamburgers and hot dogs and all that kind of stuff.’
When it comes to his work hours, Dean says he and his sous chef are basically on call 24/7 and take turns being on duty.
Summing up life on board a superyacht as a chef, he concludes: “I just want to say that this is basically the ultimate holiday and these guests pay over half a million dollars a week to stay on board.
“It’s up to us to give them exactly what they want, when they want it, 24 hours a day, and that’s the kind of service we need to offer here.”
