Baker

The work is bread and morning goods, done properly and done every day. Expect laminated doughs for croissants and pain au chocolat, sourdough with a starter you keep alive across oceans, brioche, burger buns, sandwich loaves, pizza and focaccia for beach picnics, plus all the crew bread. You plan production around the head chef's menus, keep specialist flours stocked when provisioning in places like the Seychelles is thin, and adjust recipes for Caribbean humidity, a small combi or deck oven and a galley that moves.

With guests aboard you start around 04:30 and finish after dinner service, with a break in the afternoon if the day allows. Breakfast can run in several sittings, and owners often have gluten-free, low-sugar or vegan requests that need their own production line. Between trips the pace drops. You build freezer stock, test new recipes, deep clean the galley and help on crew meals. On an 80-100m yacht the baker often covers some pastry work. On 120m+ yachts there is usually a separate pastry chef and you stay on bread.

Captains and chefs hire bakers for their bakery CV, not their yacht CV. Typical candidates come from artisan bakeries, five-star hotels or Michelin kitchens, often with a CAP Boulanger, City and Guilds or similar qualification. You still need STCW Basic Safety, an ENG1 and a food hygiene certificate before you can join. Expect a trial bake or a portfolio request. Allergen knowledge matters, as does temperament: you share a cabin, work long weeks and must fit into a tight galley team without friction.

Most bakers progress by broadening. Learning plated desserts takes you towards a pastry chef post, and picking up hot kitchen skills on crew meals and service leads to sous chef. From there the route runs to head chef and, on the largest yachts, executive chef. Getting the Ship's Cook Certificate early helps, as many flag states and MLC rules expect it of galley crew. Some bakers bank three or four seasons of tax-free pay and go ashore to open their own bakery.