Galley Assistant
The galley assistant is the first rung in a yacht kitchen. You peel, chop, wash, scrub and put away stores so the chefs can concentrate on the food. The job is hard and mostly unglamorous. If you do it well for a season, the head chef will start handing you real cooking, and it is one of the few ways onto a big yacht galley without a culinary background.
The jobWhat fills the day
Most of the day is prep and cleaning. You wash and trim vegetables, portion proteins, make stocks the sous chef has started, and keep every surface, fridge and bin clean to the standard a port health inspector or flag state surveyor would expect. You take in provisioning deliveries on the dock, check them against the order, date-label everything and rotate stock in the cold rooms and dry stores. On many yachts you also help with crew meals, which is where you first get trusted to cook.
With guests aboard the hours stretch to 14 or more and the pace follows the meal service. You set up mise en place before breakfast, run the dish pit through lunch, then reset for a dinner that might be six courses for twelve. Between charters or in the yard the work slows down to deep cleans, defrosting, inventory and crew food. On a 60m yacht you may be the only assistant and cover everything. On 100m+ there is a proper brigade, so you report to a sous chef and stay in one area.
Captains and head chefs hire for attitude, stamina and hygiene habits. A catering college certificate or a year in a busy restaurant kitchen helps, but plenty of assistants come from hotel kitchen porter or prep cook jobs. You need STCW Basic Safety, an ENG1 and Food Hygiene Level 2. Show up to trial days on time, clean as you go, and ask before you touch anything. Chefs remember the assistant who never needed telling twice.
Progression depends on how much you cook in your spare time. After one or two seasons, a good assistant moves to commis or fourth chef, then chef de partie, then sous chef. Some step sideways into a crew chef job on a 50m yacht to build their own menus. Keep a photo log of dishes you have made, get the Ship's Cook Certificate once you have the sea time, and ask the head chef for a written reference before you leave.
Skills captains look for
- Knife skills and prep
- Galley hygiene and HACCP
- Stock rotation and storage
- Dishwashing at volume
- Crew meal cooking
- Taking instruction quickly
- Stamina on long services
A day aboardCharter day, 78m motor yacht, Costa Smeralda, Sardinia
Switch on ovens, check fridge and freezer temperatures and log them. Start bread proving for the head chef.
Prep fruit platters and juice for guest breakfast while the sous chef handles eggs to order.
Clear the breakfast dish pit, then meet the provisioning van on the tender and carry fish and produce down to the cold room.
Lunch mise en place: pick herbs, brunoise shallots, portion the sea bass. Plate the crew lunch the sous chef has cooked.
Two hours off while guests are ashore in Porto Cervo. Shower and sleep.
Dinner prep for twelve. Make the tuile batter and clean langoustines under the sous chef's eye.
Service. Run plates to the pass, keep the pans moving and the floor dry.
Full galley clean down, label leftovers, take the bins to the garbage store and set up for breakfast.
Off watch. Quick snack in the crew mess before bed.
Pay by yacht sizeMonthly, before tips. Estimates. Bars share one scale.
Charter tips are shared equally on most yachts and can add $1,000 to $3,000 a month in a busy Mediterranean season. Food and lodging are covered, so most of the salary is saved. See the Yacht Chef & Galley salary guide for figures from live adverts.
Tickets and visas
Must have
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical
- Food Hygiene Level 2
Gets you hired
- PDSD
- Food Safety Level 3
- Culinary diploma or NVQ in professional cookery
- Ship's Cook Certificate (once eligible)
Visas
- Schengen visa (non-EU nationals)
- B1/B2 or C1/D for US waters
Where it leadsA typical career path
Galley Assistant jobsOpen now on SuperyachtRoles.com
Questions crew ask
Do I need to be a trained chef?
No. Many head chefs prefer an assistant with a year of kitchen porter or prep work and good habits over someone with a diploma and an ego. Training helps you move up faster once you are aboard.
Where do I find galley assistant jobs?
Most come up on 70m+ yachts ahead of the Mediterranean season in Antibes and Palma, and before the Caribbean winter in Fort Lauderdale. Register with crew agents and do daywork in the galley if a yacht in the yard offers it.
Is it a good way into the yacht industry?
Yes, if you want to cook. If you are only after a way aboard, a deckhand or stewardess role will suit you better, because the galley hours are long and the progression is in cooking.
How long before I can move up?
One full season is the minimum most head chefs expect. If you have been cooking crew meals and the chef will vouch for you, a commis role on the same yacht or another one is realistic after 12 to 18 months.