The interior crew at the 2019 Palm Beach International Boat Show stepped up to the task at the Aqualuxe Top Notch Tabletop Competition and set absolutely stunning indoor and outdoor tables with menus, beverages, and artistic napkin folds. Each setting was judged by a panel of experts — Julie Perry, the author of The Insider’s Guide to Becoming a Yacht Stewardess; Sara Trelo, director of business development at Christofle; Jo Cooper, placement coordinator for bluewater; and Cris Clifford, designer and outfitter at Aqualuxe Outfitting. Sixteen yachts and 34 stews participated in the competition, with its “Spring is in the air” theme. While each of the participants could have easily claimed a title, the judges had to make a tough decision.
Stewardess Jessica Guinn of M/Y Tó-Kalón took home the win for most artistic napkin fold with a wonderful fold with texture that tied together the natural and floral decor of the exterior table featuring lots of greenery and flowers. The award for top creative centerpiece went to Stewardess Judy Le Riche-Dicks of M/Y Amitié, who created a garden complete with butterflies cascading from the light fixture and pastel-colored bouquets accented by little diamond rocks. Best beverage presentation went to Chief Stewardess Natasha Pretorius and Stewardesses Jenny Siao and Marilyn Romero of M/Y Angiamo for their Mai Tai and Cointreau with a sugar rim surrounded by flowers and garnished with an orange to enhance their Polynesian party experience.
For stylish menu design, Chief Stewardess CC Childers and Stewardess Anna Endler of M/Y Ocean Club wowed the judges by reusing pieces of glass from a shower door and writing their menus on it to accompany their beautifully decorated outdoor table (with a napkin decoration made out of 44 different pieces of fabric folded into a flower). For the interior table, the menu was even personalized with a wax seal. The award for tip of the day went to Chief Steward Nico Van Der Westhuizen, Chenelle Godfrey, and Kerry Langschmidt of M/Y MAG III: “Instead of buying flowers all the time, we source different materials along our travels. Handmade pieces such as a driftwood burned with a magnifying glass with the name of our boat and three holes for candles, made a long-lasting impression on our guests. Buy minimal, conserve nature.”
The two main categories — Luxe Interior and Chic Outdoors — will be voted on via likes on Facebook. Each yacht has three photos per setting and the sum of the likes from all the photos will be the total number of votes. Starting now until Sunday, April 14, at midnight, you can visit the Top Notch Tabletop Facebook to vote for the tabletops you think deserve the wins in each category. You can vote more than once and for as many participants as you want.
Stay tuned to the Top Notch Tabletop Facebook as the winners will be announced on Wednesday, April 17, and for future Top Notch Tabletop competitions at upcoming boat shows. We hope to see you there.
UPDATE: 4/18/2019
The results are in! Over two weeks, Facebook users liked, commented, and shared the stunning tables created by the interior crew for the Aqualuxe Top Notch Tabletop competition at the Palm Beach show.
First place in the Luxe Interior category goes to Chief Steward Nico Van Der Westhuizen, Chenelle Godfrey, and Kerry Langschmidt of M/Y MAG III with 767 votes. Their beautiful interior table was truly inspired by the greenery and florals of the spring season, featuring crowns of eucalyptus, bow-tied napkins rosebud folds, and a menu perfectly folded into a triangle. Stewardess Judy Le Riche-Dicks of M/Y Amitié took the second place win, and Chief Stewardess Janelle Nutting, Julia Cummings, and Madeline Smith of M/Y Chasseur placed third.
For Chic Outdoors, first place went to Chief Stewardess Paige Phillips of M/Y Mizu with 650 votes for her exquisite table with a Buddha centerpiece surrounded by greenery and gold. The geometric gold placemats, black square plates, and blades of grass under two rosebuds as napkins completed the table setting. Stewardess Jessica Guinn of M/Y Tó-Kalón was awarded second place, and Chief Stewardess CC Childers and Stewardess Anna Endler of M/Y Ocean Club took home third place. Congratulations to the winners of the competition and to all the participants who created extraordinary settings.