It was an action-packed, flavor-filled second day of the MYBA Superyacht Chefs’ Competition, with nine yachts in the 36- to 49-meter size category competing for the crown: Noroader, Seawolf X, Fleur, Emocean, Hana, Latiko, Penelope, Aurelia and Areysa.
“It’s about the details,” Noroader’s Captain Yasin Buweden told Dockwalk. “For me, boats are just boats… It’s the details that make the difference.”
Attention to detail was unmistakable in all of today’s dishes, with flowers once again at the heart of the presentation. They appeared in delicate beetroot tartelettes, in elegant roses crafted from strawberry and apple purée and flecked with gold leaf, and in pretty carrot and ricotta filo pastries, almost too perfect to eat.
Chefs played, deconstructed and reimagined — staple breakfast fare such as granola, avocado toast and chia puddings were elevated and classics such as the Spanish café bombón — a drink made from espresso and sweetened condensed milk — were given an elegant twist. Pansies were set into parmesan flowers, and sunflower seeds were transformed into silky tahini.
Personal touches were also very much in evidence. Chef Giovanni Rocca from Penelope presented his homemade panettone, a technically demanding bake using three different doughs to create a lighter texture and greater depth of flavor, while chef Durmas Özmedir of Aresya added pistachios sourced from his Turkish grandfather to his homemade granola.
Fun was another defining theme — seen in dishes served in tiny flower pots, finished with edible flowers and hazelnut “soil,” and in the brightly colored plates aboard Areysa, hand-decorated by the owner’s wife and the pink and orange paper lanterns suspended above the table on Emocean. Hana’s chief stew, Molly Slater, carried the idea through to the table design, centering it on butterflies: yellow ones arranged in vases (artificial, not real!) and playful menu cards that surprised the judges when they opened them with pop-up butterflies. “The theme was inspired by my parents, who ran a butterfly farm,” she explained.
The day concluded with the Michelin-starred judges remarking how impressed they were by the overall standard. “What I’m enjoying is seeing the different calibers of chefs across the fleet,” judge Colin McGurran told Dockwalk. “You might expect the larger yachts to deliver more, but in reality, the smaller ones are proving just as strong.”
Antonio Mellino echoed that sentiment, noting how the standard continues to improve year on year, while Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen noted how innovation is the key to success as a chef. “The yachting industry is a very different space to what it was a few years ago and chefs need to stay on trend," he said. "Don’t just stay in the galley looking at Instagram — you need to be out there!”
Stay tuned for day three when the judges turn their attention to the 35-meter and under yachts.