Galley Steward

Most of the day goes on the pot wash and hygiene. You run the dishwasher and hand-wash the copper pans, knives and fragile guest china that the interior will not put through the machine. You deep-clean ovens, extraction hoods, fridges and floors to a standard that would pass a port health inspection or a flag survey. You meet provisions at the passerelle, check them against the order, then date-label and rotate stock in the cold rooms and dry stores. When the chefs ask, you peel, chop and portion.

With guests aboard, the hours get longer. On a 90m yacht with 40 crew, three guest services plus crew meals can mean more than 70 covers a day, and the washing never stops. You will often set and clear the crew mess, refill the coffee station and leave plates out for the night watch. On 60-70m yachts the role is rare, and the commis or a junior stew covers the work. On 100m+ there may be two galley stewards on split shifts, with a dedicated crew chef above them.

Head chefs and captains hire for stamina, cleanliness and attitude. Experience in a busy restaurant or hotel kitchen counts, whether as a kitchen porter or a catering student. You need STCW Basic Safety, an ENG1 and Food Hygiene Level 2. Yachts will take people with no yacht history if they have solid kitchen experience and good references. Expect a shared cabin, long days in a hot space below the waterline and very little guest contact. You still need a tidy appearance, because you will pass through guest areas.

The usual next step is commis chef, typically within one to two years. That comes once the head chef trusts your knife work and you hold a culinary qualification or are working towards the Ship's Cook Certificate. Use the quiet afternoons to learn the crew menu, bake bread and shadow the sous chef. Some galley stewards move sideways into the interior as junior stews, or become crew chefs on mid-size yachts. People who stay in the galley can reach sous chef in four to six years.