PIPE DREAMS
Bradley Van Rooyen talks to Frances and Michael Howorth about his job as Chef on board The Wellesley
What made you want to join the industry? It was a pure fluke! I had never thought of it as a full time job but I got a phone call from a friend at 2am asking me if I wanted 7 days of work. I said yes and flew out a couple days later to join the first yacht named The Wellesley. When I joined, I had nothing with me but a change of clothes but after a day or two on board the owner asked management if I could become full time, I was offered a full time job and again I said yes.
What happened next?
Well the first thing was to gather my gear around me and then the next thing was to learn quickly how very different it is to run a galley on a yacht than a kitchen in a hotel. There are similarities of course but fundamentally on a yacht it is just you. There is no back up. If a deckie goes sick someone else in the crew steps up if the chef keels over the crew starve or they hire a new chef.
What are your must have luxury items in your galley and why?
I do not think I could cope with this job were it not for the Kitchen Aid and the Pacojet. They are the extra pairs of hands a chef so desperately needs in a superyacht galley but seldom gets. These two machines do everything I need them to do.
What do you most like about your current yachts galley?
I most like the size. My galley is huge and well laid out and I like where everything is. If I had a chance to change things I think I might opt for new ovens.
And least like?
It used to be the vast amounts of stainless steel that need constant cleaning but you know what after 2 yachts over 4 years I am beginning to like that too.
If you could recommend a Mediterranean catering service to another chef what would it be?
I work a lot with Lucille from BWA and while she is based in St Maarten in the Caribbean the agency is well represented around the Mediterranean. Luise are also very good and for a great deal of what I need on a day to day basis I use Carrefour in Antibes.
34 | SPRING 2019 | ONBOARD
What is your favourite restaurant or bar in the Mediterranean and why is it special? No contest! I love Quatro Passi on the Amalfi coast. Chef Antonio Mellino is so cool and calm. He was born in Argentina, but as a child at the age of 6 he came back to Nerano. His secret ingredient seems to be simplicity as he interprets the local cuisine creating great dishes using local produce.
If you were not a chef what you be doing to earn a living?
My family are all involved in engineering so it is likely that I would have followed that route. But then if you think about it being a chef means you are involved in engineering where the raw ingredient is food.
What is your favourite comfort food? Oh that’s easy I would always choose Spaghetti Bolognaise.
What are your three most favourite ingredients used for cooking? Good quality olive oil, well hung beef and fresh basil.
What was the last meal you cooked for yourself because you really wanted it? Beef Wellington using an all butter pastry served with a grainy Dijon mustard spinach and wild mushrooms.
What is the one ingredient everyone needs in their fridge?
My culinary training and French background is to blame for the fact that I would have to say butter.
Do you have any pet hates and if so what are they?
I hate it when crew forget to say thank you for cooking them something nice. So watch out if you serve in the same yacht as me! That is not to say I want praise because I always enjoy hearing constructive criticism of my food good or bad.
If we gave you a magic wand and money were no object what would you change in your job?
That is another easy one! I would choose either an extra pair of hands in the galley or some extra time off.
What’s the most curious request you have had made of you as a chef?
Once while on charter the guests wanted to eat McDonalds hamburgers. Yes I was upset and a teeny bit insulted but what the guest wants the guest must have so I got it for them and as an upside enjoyed a bit of a rest on that day.
What is your most memorable food moment to date?
Eating a blood orange Pavlova during my training at the Tante Marie Culinary School. Having been born and brought up in Africa I had never encountered a blood orange before and it was delicious.
QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS
Are you a morning or night time person? Night time
How do you like your steak? Medium rare
What was the last film you saw in a cinema? Guardians of the Galaxy
What did you eat for breakfast this morning? Nothing
What is your favourite style of cuisine? No boundaries I love pushing the envelope
What foods do you dislike most? Crustaceans
What would your last supper be? Spaghetti Bolognaise
Your 3 dream dinner party guests? Barrack Obama, HM The Queen & Elton John
Where would you most like to visit? Argentina
What sport do you most like to watch? F1, football, rugby, cricket, golf & shooting
What is your nickname? Braddels
What superpower would you like? To calm people down
Pet peeves? Judging people before you know them
Most treasured possession? My partner, she’s a rock
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