Meet the Winners of the 2025 Antigua Concours de Chef Competition

A charterer’s dining experience is never short of luxurious. The 25th Concours de Chef and tablescaping competition’s theme of “A Journey of Wellness” reflects the growing demand of guests for cuisine that is also nourishing and health conscious.

Twenty-five chefs crafted a 30-minute three-course, wellness-focused menu that included at least one dish with a restricted dietary focus — such as vegan, gluten-free or plant-based — plus the mystery ingredient of vanilla bean from SNAP Provisions. The winning chefs chose their ingredients and dishes with intention and nutritional benefits in mind.

“The level of competition was very high, with many gifted chefs and interior crew members collaborating to impress our discerning judges,” says chef Elizabeth Lee, event coordinator and judge. “Interpreting the theme and incorporating the secret ingredient while balancing taste and presentation is a significant creative challenge. All chefs and crew demonstrated wonderful abilities, regardless of final placement.”

Yachts 180 Feet and Over

Chef Thean Labuschagne of Starfire

• Smoked beetroot and white truffle mille-feuille, pistachio crumble, green-juice sorbet and finished with a grapefruit  dressing
• Tender-braised and barbecued leeks rolled with nori, served in a coffee broth with a wild garlic flan, tarragon vinaigrette and vegan buttermilk sauce. Finished with fresh coastal greens, crisp vegetables, enoki mushrooms and floral accents
• Dark chocolate crémeux, matcha cake, raw cacao tuille, salted peanut ice cream paired with a warm raw cacao drink

Competing against some of the best in the industry is a challenge already, but chef Thean Labuschagne only joined Starfire three weeks before the competition — having to find his way around a new galley and figure out the menu he wanted. But the most difficult part came from getting everything to Antigua in time. The night before the competition, much of his equipment finally arrived; he worked until 6am and woke at 8am and got ready for the competition. “It seems, in retrospect, it all paid off,” he says.

Creating his menu, he wanted to push the limits and let one ingredient known for its nutritional value be the star of each dish, while keeping it vegan throughout much of the menu.

Kale was the star in the canapé with a vegan kale meringue made by dehydrating aquafaba and incorporating kale puree, topped with ponzu jelly, radish, shisho tartare, kale flan, cashew nut cream and crispy kale shards. The bread course of gluten-free sourdough and focaccia featured a beef tallow candle and a smoked, grass-fed butter infused with reishi, lion’s mane and truffle.

2nd: Chef Daniel Stoma Baldo of RoMa
3rd: Chef Alessandro Cargiolli of Amor a Vida

The starter consisted of a smoked beetroot mille-feuille layered with white alba truffle, smoked with apple wood, caramelized pecan  and grapefruit vinaigrette, pistachio crumble, green-juice sorbet and beetroot tuile, finished with a rose geranium scented bubble that was popped at the table to release its smoke and smell.

Showcasing how hot and cold worked together on a plate, his main featured leeks wrapped in nori and rolled into a mosaic then infused with a coffee broth, accompanied by a set wild garlic flan with a split cashew nut beurré blanc and florals, like marigold and chive flower petals, and finished with a green leek powder and burnt leek tuile.

Inspired by a raw cacao ceremony he experienced in Mexico, Labuschagne learned of its health benefits and created a dessert of raw cacao crémeux, raw cacao crumble, a salted peanut ice cream and a raw cacao tuile garnished with flower petals — served with a vanilla and cinnamon raw cacao drink.

“I know some of the incredibly talented chefs that participated and personally feel that it couldn’t have been easy for the judges,” he says. “The Antigua yacht show holds an enormous regard in terms of the talent it showcases each year, so I am incredibly honored to  hold the best chef award.”

Labuschagne went to culinary school in South Africa before joining Terroir restaurant, and later landing a sous-chef role on 203-foot New Hampshire. His previous vessels include Flying Fox, Sealion and Ahpo.

Yachts 126 to 179 Feet

Chef Jonny Sims of Asani

• Hen of the Woods, wheatgrass, vegan ricotta and sprouted grains
• Crustacean, fermented vegetables, Jerusalem artichoke and charcoal
• Dates, cacao, avocado, miso, Mikan Kombucha and vanilla

With the wellness ethos on Asani — organic, grass fed, no seed oils — for the owner and guests alike, chef Jonny Sims had a solid foundation for this year’s theme. The crew worked together to focus on the four elements, so he implemented each into the menu, along with selecting ingredients for their health benefits.

The welcome canapé refreshed the palate with a spoonful tasting of the sea with blue spirulina (an algae that’s good for your immune system) foam, fresh coconut and local pineapple half dehydrated and rehydrated in fresh ginger juice, chili and leche de tigre.

2nd: Chef Molly McMullin of White Star
3rd: Chef Sean Connolly of King Benji

Sims based the starter on his favorite mushroom, maitake or hen of the woods, which is full of vitamins, minerals and nutrients. The maitake mushroom parfait in a quenelle shape dipped into a wheatgrass gel with kappa carrageenan gave the illusion of a green stone on top of a reduced burnt onion consommé. Vegan ricotta made from tofu, nutritional yeast and sprouted seeds dotted the plate with a mushroom tapioca tuile. “So the idea really was to have the earthiness of the dish in a forest-y woodland kind of vibe,” he says.

Through fire, smoke and fermentation, the main featured langoustine cooked on a Binchotan Japanese grill, smoked with almond beechwood and served on a volcanic stone to be dipped into a celeriac puree with an activated charcoal emulsion and Moringa leaf.

Alongside Jerusalem artichoke puree and local fermented chilies, Sims made thinly sliced cured pumpkin into a tight cannelloni with dehydrated kale. Fresh coconut meat and charcoal emulsified with lobster and chicken stock dotted the plate.

The dessert struck a balance of umami with layers of healthy sweetness and depth, creating a light, airy harmony. He made a macadamia milk infused with popcorn, miso, vanilla, maple and other bits to create a caramel cappuccino taste to go along with a mousse of marinated medjool dates, mandarin, vanilla and ginger mixed with avocado, raw cacao, cacao nibs and local cinnamon. He also created a Mikan kombucha jelly, adding hibiscus flowers and chiffonade shiro kombu for texture.

“All these boats here have super talented teams and crews, and we felt grateful and happy to have won,” he says.

After culinary school in the UK, he joined his first boat at 19 and had his own fine-dining restaurant for more than six years. Sims has been a yacht chef on and off for the last 16 years.

Yachts 125 feet and Under

Chef Thomas Carmeille of S/Y Kajikia

• Avocado, mille-feuille, Caribbean tuna vinaigrette, lemon confit, puffed rice, caviar, toasted sesame and yuzu
• Roasted butternut steak, sautéed forest mushrooms, truffled plant-based cream, piedmont hazelnut shortcrust and fresh alba white truffle
• Vanilla plant-based cream, mango-lemon compote, coconut oil granola, almonds and hazelnuts and velvet of the sun

In choosing a plant-based menu, chef Thomas Carmeille wanted both to challenge himself creatively and show that plant-based cuisine could still be refined, expressive and luxurious — especially in a yachting context where guests often expect bold and memorable dishes. While he’s worked with plant-based dishes, he pushed the concept to a higher gastronomic level by building his entire menu around it.

To awaken the senses, and inspired by the marine world, his starter acted as a plunge into the ocean and its visual structure evoked fish scales with avocado, mille-feuille, lemon confit and yuzu. The flavors focused on balance, texture and freshness; for Carmeille, it was important it felt both artistic and approachable with a strong identity but no unnecessary complexity.

2nd: Chef Alexis Charrett of Reve Blue
3rd: Chef Luke Brooks of Haze II

Honoring the earth with noble ingredients such as the white alba truffle, his "Sun and Forest" main also gave pride of place to humble yet powerful elements like forest mushrooms and a butternut squash steak, on top of a buckwheat-flour tartlet base paired with a cashew and soy cream emulsion.

The dessert of a sweet vanilla plant-based cream was balanced with a subtle iodized note of caviar and the acidity of a mango-lemon compote. Finished off with the Shavasana Elixir, the drink acted as a culinary reset after the  meal with its refreshing and soothing hibiscus-flower infusion, lime, ginger, agave and vanilla — designed as a moment of calm and a nod to mindfulness and well-being.

“The competition day was an incredible experience, filled with spiritual and gastronomic value, sharing and emotion,” he says.  “I’m very grateful and proud, but also deeply motivated. It feels like a validation of my vision and my work ethic, and it pushes me to keep evolving, learning and refining my craft.”

Passionate about cooking since the age of 15, Carmeille began his career working in luxury seasonal establishments and then settled in St Barths as a private chef in villas. He joined Kajikia two years ago as his first yacht, cooking on numerous charters between the Caribbean and the Med.