THE CHEFS COMPETITION at the Newport Charter Yacht Show was a week of hugs and reunions among the crowds.
The brokers, agents, captains and other professionals in the charter yacht industry who came from all over the world had a common focus: facilitating exquisite vacations aboard crewed luxury yachts – yachts, both motor and sail, that range in length from 66 to 164 feet.
Of course, the issues of the real world were at the forefront, with staffing and supply chain problems near the top of the list for both vendors and those seeking to invest in such an experience.
The traditional friendly competitions were held over the course of the weeklong event from June 20-23 in the newly named Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard. There were five contests pitting crews against each other for prizes and bragging rights. The crew sizes depended on the yacht size. The “smallest” vessels would sail with a crew of as few as five, while the larger yachts have numbers of specialized personnel rivaling the highest levels of service at the most luxurious landlocked resort.
The seven chefs who competed cooked from a “mystery basket” with 15 ingredients provided by specialty purveyor Shoreside Support, a Florida-based service business seeking to expand to Newport. The charter yacht niche appears to have a pipeline between Rhode Island and Florida, with many yachts, crew and vendors dividing their time between luxury destinations in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where they spend the winter, and in Newport during the summer.
Mystery basket ingredients – revealed to the judges, which included myself, as the competition was getting underway – included waygu beef cheeks, halibut cheeks, razor clams and Petrossian caviar.
The osetra caviar is a good example of how the contest pivoted on a fine point, keeping in mind the object was to create an adult and a child’s version of a dinner entree.
There are no “kids’ menus” with chicken fingers, etc., on board these luxury yachts. The chefs are expected to be at the top of their game no matter the age or sophistication of their guests.
The plates served during the competition ranged in theme and elements from an elevated fish and chips; a “pizza” that was based on a cornmeal dough, somewhat like a tortilla; and an actual taco. Some chefs gave the kids more beef with a larger portion of wagyu and left off the caviar or other adult touches such as a port reduction. Other memorable adornments included a corn salsa and rhubarb jam that one judge described as the “best thing ever.” Judging criteria was based 40% on taste, 30% on presentation and 10% on originality. That was not difficult to do with exotic ingredients such as spruce tips, as in a Christmas tree. One chef smoked hers and added it as an aroma. The remaining percentages were accounted for through attention to dietary restrictions and using all ingredients in the mystery basket.
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EXOTIC INGREDIENTS: Chef Brittany Garcia prepares her Bolivian tamales during the Chefs Competition at the Newport Charter Yacht Show in June. COURTESY ADAM HIMBER PHOTOGRAPHY[/caption]
All three of the winners created gluten-free dishes.
In third place was chef Brittany Garcia from yacht QTR with her Bolivian tamales and Alfredo tacos for the kids. She was the one who did a tableside presentation of smoking her dish with the spruce tips.
In second place was chef Stephanie Sykora from yacht Freedom with a Southern low country take on fish and grits. Sykora created the rhubarb jam on her “kids’ plate” with a yacht-made tartar sauce with sophisticated fish and chips.
The first-place winner was chef Alex Flannery from yacht TCB. He created a Taco Tuesday entree – an elevated version with a ceviche of razor clams and roasted corn artichoke chipotle, and a kids’ quesadilla starring the waygu beef. The judges agreed in their appreciation of his concept and the way he tied together the adult and child’s version.
Prizes included sponsor gift certificates and merchandise.
Dining Out With Bruce Newbury is broadcast locally on WADK 101.1 FM and 1540 AM and on radio throughout New England. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
