Full of eccentrics and sashimi.
Yes, cooking for rich people aboard a glamorous watercraft pays handsomely. Many "superyacht chefs" make $13,000 per month. They also get to travel the world with high-profile passengers. But, shockingly, sailing the high seas with Tara Reid or Diddy just can't compensate for tiny kitchens, endless hours, and bizarre requests.
CNN paints a troubling portrait of these seafaring chefs — afflicted by wanderlust and seduced by high salaries — who are expected to whip up gourmet meals in galleys that are "just four meters wide, with no staff or a supermarket in sight." Exhibit A is Jeremy Kelly, who gave up a plum gig cooking Thai food for Jon Bon Jovi (his favorite — who knew?) to make sashimi on command for a wealthy diver who likes to catch his own crustaceans. "He loved going diving and when he would come back up with lobsters he would shout my name ... I would quickly come over, take the live lobster, break it open, take out the meat, slice it thin and platter it up sashimi style." Sounds like the most humiliating Top Chef challenge ever (but, to be fair, it also sounds delicious).
Kelly begins work at 6 a.m. and has to prepare menus to satisfy every passenger, whether they're vegetarian, gluten-intolerant, drunk, or just plain demanding (sometimes he's up at 3 a.m. making late-night snacks). And the worst part: If things go poorly one night, he can't just go home.
Life of a Superyacht Chef: Dream Job or Nautical Nightmare? [CNN]
Earlier: Tara Reid Couldn't Find Her Shoes After Diddy's Yacht Party
