It's always such a treat to see what the creative minds of professional yacht charter Chefs produce during the culinary competitions at the shows. When it's time for the awards to be handed out, my heart races like it used to when I competed as a Chef at the shows. The amount of work that goes into creating an award-winning dish could very well be months in the making. Being honored with recognition places each of these Chefs at the pinnacle of the industry. These are the winners from the recent shows we attended.
FOR THE 18th YEAR THE CHEFS CULINARY CONTEST Sponsored by: Laurent Perrier - Bacchus Wines - Le Gout du Vin - Boat International Media Group - Showboats - Dockwalk - Charterfleet.com Marina Casa De Campo - Yachting Matters
THE WINNERS OF THE ANTIGUA YACHT SHOW CULINARY CONTEST
For the chefs a "Caribbean Sunday Funday Brunch"
Tablescaping contest theme "The Caribbean Sea"
And the winners are:
Tuesday 5th December Yachts 164ft and over
TableScaping Winner: REBECCA KEARL - YACHT BROADWATER Chefs Competition: 1st place CAITLIN KENNEDY - YACHT ANDIAMO
2nd place KDN LYNE - YACHT ILLUSION V
3rd place TRAVIS FINCH - YACHT HANIKON
Wednesday 6th December Yachts 126ft to 163ft
Tablescaping Winner: THREE FORKS
Chefs Competition: 1st place HARRIET MANSELL - YACHT SARISSA
2nd place PATRICK WEEKS - YACHT ELEONORA
3rd place RENEE DREYER - YACHT GLADIUS
Thursday 7th December Yachts 125ft and under
Tablescaping Winner: NATHALIE HUET - YACHT VIGILANT 1
Chefs Competition: 1st place TAVA SCHIB - YACHT VIGILANT 1
2nd place MAX HERLACHE - YACHT WINDQUEST
3rd place DEBORAH ROBERTS - YACHT LEGENDARY
British Virgin Islands: The BVI Charter Yacht Society show awarded Best of Show to Catamaran Foxy Lady, operated by Jason Van Groen & Kate Fairfield. The Lagoon 620 Catamaran, launched in June 2011, was selected by a group of anonymous brokers who assessed each vessel on a whole spectrum of qualities that make a charter yacht and crew a winning combination. These qualities included tidiness, personal touches and crew attitude.
BEST DISH OVERALL - ANGELIQUE COETZER Aboard Catamaran Xenia 74
Best Lunch Entree: Tyler Dawson aboard Catamaran Zingara
Runner-up Rebecca Silva aboard Catamaran Anastasia
Best Dessert: Angelique Coetzer aboard Catamaran Xenia 74
Runner-up Rebecca Silva aboard Catamaran Anastasia
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands: The success of the USVI Charter Yacht Show proved St. Thomas is back on the map and open for business in terms of marine tourism in the wake of two major hurricanes in September. Sixty-six charter yacht brokers from the Caribbean, U.S. and Europe visited the three-dozen luxurious 40- to 93-foot sailing and power yachts that nearly filled the available docks at IGY’s Yacht Haven Grande Marina. The most recent show was hosted by the VI Professional Charter Association (VIPCA).
Winners of the various contests highlighted the caliber of the Virgin Island’s crewed yacht industry. 62-foot Privilege catamaran ANASTASIA won Best Crew and Best Boat over 50 feet
Best Crew in the under 50-foot category went to the 45-foot Leopard, FREE INGWE
Best Boat to the 47-foot Nautitech catamaran, NEMO
Chef, Rebecca Silva, aboard ANASTASIA earned first place in the Entrée and Dessert competition
Chef Missy Kay on the 47-foot Leopard catamaran, PISCES, took top honors in appetizers.
Chefs were tasked to create dishes incorporating coffee by VI Coffee Roasters.