Sandy Nelson is a qualified Chartered Accountant and director at Walker Wayland Auckland. Sandy has broad experience in advising a wide variety of businesses and their differing needs from over 25 years in public practice. Walker Wayland Auckland Limited is a member of the Walker Wayland Australasia network and BKR International. wwauckland.co.nz
Nicolas Petit, yacht chef of 43-meter M/Y Latitude, has been crowned the victor of Yacht Club de Monaco’s Superyacht Chef competition.
A jury led by Chef Nicolas Sale, head of two Michelin star restaurants, gave Petit a collective vote after sampling his duck breast, mousseline of peas and black garlic accompanied by baby carrots and duck jus followed by a tuile with pineapple roasted in rosemary.
Nine contestants battled it out to create the winning dish. Each chef was presented with a basket of mystery ingredients and penalised for every product that went unused under the competition’s new anti-waste criteria.
The event was held on April 8 by the Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM) under the aegis of its La Belle Classe Academy training centre in partnership with Bluewater.
“It’s a special event that is all about sharing values that we hold dear at Yacht Club de Monaco,” said YCM General Secretary Bernard d’Alessandri.
“It is very much in line with Monaco, Capital of Advanced Yachting, an approach that aims to position the Principality as a destination synonymous with excellence in the Luxury Yachting sector.”
Other yacht chefs taking part in the competition included Joshua Kent of 65-meter White Rose of Drachs, Simon Cuel of 78-meter Hampshire II, Palmire Leblanc of 33-meter Dayboat, Marco Crispino of 50-meter Sibelle, Daniel Harding of 33-meter S, Alexandra Perez of 39.9-meter Ava II, Micail Swindells of 77-meter Go and Ivan Holmes of 38-meter Kjos.
After making it through the first three qualifying rounds of forty minutes, Petit was up against Swindells and Holmes in the final.
Speaking about his victory, Petit said: “It’s such a surprise and great recognition, I’m really overwhelmed. The most difficult part was managing the wait when you can see all the others cooking and you just want to get going.”
Nicholas Sale headed up the Jury alongside esteemed colleagues including Benoît Nicolas, Didier Anies, Wendy Van Den Schrick and Jean-Claude Brugel. Between them, the judges have multiple prestigious ‘Meilleur Ouvrier de France’ titles and were well-placed to judge the contest.
“Forty minutes to produce a dish is not long,” said Sale, “but participants showed lots of positive energy”
“Cooking at sea is something very special, It’s another vision of the profession. They are like us as they have to produce excellence to order but in a restricted space”
The new anti-waste criteria, devised by Chef Gilles Brunner, was also met with a positive response. “Anti-waste is essential in our profession and needs to be instilled in the new generation,” commented Brunner.
YCM’s last Superyacht Chef contest was held in 2019, and it was Stéphanie Gravier of 73-meter Planet Nine who was named the winner. The next edition will be held in April 2023.