Aiden Farah, chef of Seawolf X and MYBA 2026 Superyacht Chefs' Competition winner (36-49 meter category) explains the thinking behind his winning menu and where he gets his inspiration.
Aiden Farah is letting Dockwalk in on his secret for the perfect mashed potatoes, honed from his 16-year career in the kitchen. “I gently simmer the potatoes until tender and then hand-mash them quickly,” he says, his passion clear to see. “Then I bring some milk and butter to boil with thyme, herbs and salt, pour that over the potato, give it a little stir, then pass it through a sieve to get it really smooth. After that, I put it back in a pan on the stove over the lowest heat, then add cold butter bit by bit. As the butter melts, it emulsifies the mash and turns it into something closer to a potato purée — really light and fluffy…”
Farah has been on board Seawolf X for two years since her launch, having graduated from sous chef on Moon Sand. “I wanted to learn how to do the job properly before I got my own solo gig,” he explains.
On yachts, he says, there’s the logistical hurdle of provisioning to master. “You might go a week or even ten days without fresh produce, so everything has to be organized in advance,” he says. Instead of a slow intro into the world, Farah ended up getting a crash course. “The head chef at Moon Sand wasn’t there all the time, so I ended up running the galley a lot of the time and had to figure things out as I went along.”
It’s now his fourth year working on superyachts. “You’re producing a huge amount of food every day — in my case, nine crew and up to 12 guests, and I love it.”
Inspiration comes from scrolling, chancing upon ingredients he hasn’t used in a while or being reminded of dishes that he can put his own stamp on. He also gets ideas when stopping off to get provisions. “On the yacht, I’m in a new place every day, so I’ll go to town and see what the restaurants are doing. If one of them has done something I haven’t seen before, like lobster popcorn, it’ll inspire me to go into the kitchen and try making my own.”
Summer 2026 is looking to be the first proper charter season for Seawolf X and Farah is looking forward to a busy schedule. “Of course, there are always challenges with charter — dietary requirements, last-minute preferences, and you don’t always know who you’re cooking for until the final hour. But that’s part of the fun. Sometimes our guests are really into food and open to anything, and sometimes they just want something simple like a bolognese every night. Either way, it keeps it interesting.”
The MYBA Superyacht Chefs’ competition was his first foray into competition cooking and he impressed the panel of Michelin-starred judges including Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, Colin McGurran and Antonio Mellino with his elevated comfort food.
His first course set a high note: a moreish sweetcorn fritter topped with smashed avocado, crumbled frozen feta and a fresh Mexican-style pico de gallo salsa.
The second course was another twist on a breakfast classic — a delightful potato rosti with smoked salmon and scrambled egg, horseradish crème fraiche and pickled shallots.
The third course was sweet — a deliciously light French toast made from Japanese milk bread served with steeped peaches and nectarines, citrus and vanilla mascarpone. “Milk bread is similar to brioche which I also like to make,” he says. “Plus it makes really good French toast, and the judges obviously liked it!”
The floral theme in the competition brief was an unexpected curveball. “There are a lot of edible flowers people use which are purely for aesthetics," he says. “But some of them can taste awful, or leave a really unpleasant aftertaste.”
Rather than go down the easy route of simply carving food into floral sculptures, he decided to integrate them into his cooking. He took his time choosing. “I picked about 15 different types ahead of time because I wanted to try them all before I actually started pairing them with the food,” he recalls.
For the savory course, he chose salty fingers and borage to complement the rösti and syrha leaves, with their bright zesty flavor, to balance the sweetcorn fritters. For dessert, he used apple blossoms. “They’re sweet and slightly sour at the same time, with a really nice zing, which cuts through the richness of the French toast and mascarpone cream,” he explains.
He was “bowled over” by the win. “It still hasn’t really sunk in, to be honest. I mean, I joke to the crew now, I'm an award-winning chef and they roll their eyes!’ He laughs. “Seriously, though, it's a lovely feeling — and being recognized while I was walking round the MYBA show was really nice too.”