When Neil Snowball handed in his notice at Gordon Ramsay’s Pétrus in early 2016, he was giving up a coveted head chef role at the Michelin -starred restaurant in London’s exclusive Belgravia neighborhood. Snowball wasn’t leaving to jump ship to a similar position at another starred establishment, however. He had in his sights his own restaurant — and knew that the best way to accelerate his ambition was to swap the familiarity of fine dining kitchens for superyacht galleys.
Soon, he was on the 273-foot Feadship yacht Savannah , earning almost four times what he had on land. Snowball’s path was uncharted territory; yachting has long been a niche in the restaurant industry. “There’s some stigma that yacht chefs aren’t real chefs, so the crossover isn’t easy,” he tells Robb Report.
Yet the signs are there that this stigma is starting to fade. In the past year alone, speciality placement agency Mymuybueno Private Chefs has seen a 55 percent increase in chefs with extensive Michelin-starred restaurant experience signing up to its books. As with Snowball, money is the primary motivation, explains Mymuybueno founder Justine Murphy.
The average head chef on a yacht has the potential to earn a tax-free monthly salary of between $8,000 to $13,000 per month. The premium for Michelin experience can see an extra $2,000 to $4,000 added to that. “These chefs largely want to come and earn the money that the luxury industry will provide them for a year or two and then .