Winners of the Antigua Charter Yacht Show Chefs' Competition 2024

The 2024 Antigua Charter Yacht Show Concours de Chef served up some deserving winners

The 24th annual Concours de Chef and tablescaping competition let crew get creative and showcase what makes a charter dining experience unforgettable. Thirty charter crew embraced the theme, “The Art of Charter: An Immersive Culinary and Sensory Voyage.” 

Chefs had to create a three-course dining experience — first course, main course and dessert — showcasing their theme and using the mystery ingredients of Petrossian caviar and tamarind, provided by sponsor Shoreside Support. They had 30 minutes from when the judges sat for service, and extra points were given for additional culinary offerings such as canapés and welcome cocktails, themed ambiance and crew entertainment.

From ventures under the sea and space to wonderland and decades past, these top charter crews expertly curated themed experiences to impress the judges — and the competition level was high.

YACHTS 180 FEET AND OVER

Chef Lény Belin of Wheels

• Spinach, truffle and ricotta candy pasta, grilled leek, confit yolk,umami sauce, onion tuile and dill powder
• Steamed turbot with asparagus   ribbons; zucchini tart and Parmesan crisp; smoked mashed potato, carrot and vanilla, corn puree; and miso caviar beurre blanc
• Fairy wheels with strawberry and tamarind sauce

Lény Belin won the big boat category for his whimsical culinary tour with support from sous-chefs Ben Stitt and Scott Farquharson, and the Wheels team. The judges marveled at the visually appealing and well-executed dishes that also mirrored the theme.

2nd: Chef Hamish Dean of Holdin’ My Own
3rd: Chef Thean Labuschagne of SeaLion

Lény developed the menu from his childhood memories of funfairs and focused on textures, shapes and flavors — starting with a foie gras and white chocolate lollipop canapé and mini candy apple palate cleanser made of gin, apple, ginger and celery with thin tamarind straw “stems.”

For the starter, he continued the theme with a candy-shaped pasta with confit egg yolk, sous vide leeks, ricotta, spinach, lemon and truffle in a umami-blend sauce made from leek and soy — topped with a balloon-shaped onion tuile.

Turbot earned its place on the menu not only for its delicate flavor but also for its name evoking speed, like a roller coaster. Alongside a zucchini tart and Parmesan tuile, the fish was wrapped in asparagus and cooked sous vide at 50°C for 20 minutes, served with smoked potato mash and vanilla carrot mash that was piped to look like candy.

“The dessert was the most challenging element for me,” he says. “It took several weeks of testing to perfect the meringue case as I envisioned it. Thanks to Brad, our second engineer, and his ingenuity with the 3D printer, we designed custom molds and templates.”

The crispy meringue case featuring a Wheels logo housed a vanilla meringue vaporeuse, popcorn ice cream, cotton candy, liquid caramel, and clear caramel and strawberry. To balance the sweetness, Lény dehydrated tamarind and blitzed it into a fine powder to sprinkle on top for a subtle sour kick.

“The most difficult part of the competition was managing stress and staying focused. As a French chef, I might not have a big ego, but I hate the idea of disappointing others,” Lény says. “Even placing on the podium would have made me proud, but taking the crown was the ultimate reward. Competitions push me to improve; every one has taught me something new.”

His career began with a two-year apprenticeship in Normandy, followed by two years at a Michelin-starred restaurant, where he was part of the team that earned the star. Before joining yachting, Lény worked at hotels and restaurants around the world.

YACHTS 126 to 179 FEET

Chef Mykhailo Chekan of Nuri

• Red snapper, fermented beets, creamy beetroot, tamarind sauce, ginger tuile and avocado cream
• Mahi mahi cooked over charcoal, mushroom fermented risotto, beurre blanc, hazelnut crunch, lemon verbena leaves, broccolini and black caviar
• Mascarpone tamarind mousse, sous-vide pineapple, almond streusel, tonka coconut ice cream, cardamom meringue, butterfly pea kombucha and rum lime gel

Before last year, Mykhailo Chekan had never competed, but on his first go, he took home the win in the 36- to 55-meter category at the 2024 MYBA Superyacht Chefs’ Competition. So he went into this competition with a determination to win and challenged himself to create a completely new menu, avoiding dishes he’d cooked before. His weeks of planning and preparation (he revamped the menu five times) paid off as the judges commended his execution of techniques and flavor profiles. He chose lacto-fermentation as the central philosophy for his menu and paired it with fresh seafood to complement Nuri’s under-the-sea tablescape.

2nd: Chef Ryan Weymouth of Pisces
3rd: Chef Sam Dux of Serenity

The journey started off with a canapé of tuna, marinated in ponzu and ginger, layered with lacto-fermented fennel and a silky coconut pumpkin espuma in a delicate, thin crust cup. The starter of red snapper sashimi was highlighted by lacto-fermented beets for vibrancy and depth, a beet and an avocado purée for contrasting textures and a sweet walnut-studded tuile for added crunch and sweetness. The mystery ingredient tied the flavors together in a tamarind-cucumber sauce, resulting in a dish that spanned a full spectrum of sweet and tangy to earthy and creamy.

Staying true to the fermentation and underwater theme, the lightly smoked mahi-mahi main was paired with a rich fermented cep mushroom risotto, topped with a walnut crumble before being roasted. To elevate the dish, Mykhailo included a white wine beurre blanc, simmered for four hours, with a lightly cooked broccolini for balance and a refreshing crunch. He crowned it with black caviar.

“Dessert was the riskiest element of the menu and came together only on the judging day,” he says. “My original mousse recipe didn’t work as planned, so I pivoted to a mascarpone tamarind mousse, filled with 24-hour caramelized pineapple.” To add layers of texture and flavor, he added almond streusel, delicate cardamom meringue, a crisp honey tuile and a tangy lime rum gel. Served with a tonka bean coconut ice cream and finished with butterfly pea kombucha, the dessert combined many elements, but the flavors harmonized perfectly.

“The biggest challenge was creating a menu that would push boundaries while remaining cohesive, ensuring I didn’t confuse the judges with overly complex ideas,” he says. “In yachting, the competition features some of the industry’s most skilled chefs, and I had no way of knowing how long they had been preparing or what creative ideas they had brought to the table. The uncertainty weighed on me, but I knew I had given everything to craft a menu that represented my philosophy and approach to food.”

His culinary journey began in Ukraine at a well-regarded Italian restaurant, while his maritime career began on cruise ships before transitioning to yachting four years ago. The pivotal point in his career came when he joined a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris  as a chef de partie, which reshaped his understanding of culinary excellence.

YACHTS 125 FEET AND UNDER

Chef Tom Rider of Oculus

• Ceviche in a coconut half
• A5 Wagyu beef with potato pave, Petrossian Royal Ossetra caviar   and crème fraiche garnish, medley of mushrooms, finished with bordelaise sauce
• Dark chocolate mousse sphere, chocolate tamarind cake, chocolate mirror glaze, blackberry tamarind sorbet and gold leaf

Chef Tom Rider wanted his menu to reflect his culinary philosophy: showcasing exceptional ingredients, thoughtful techniques and creative presentation with a cohesive progression from start to finish. This didn’t go unnoticed by the judges who were impressed by his presentation, technique and execution.

2nd: Chef Casey Strickland of Aeolus 77
3rd: Chef Graham Dutton of Fifi

For the arrival canapé and cocktail, he paired a lobster and caviar tartlet with a French 75 cocktail. His ceviche starter delighted not only the taste buds with its balanced acidity and freshness of tropical flavors, but the eyes as well. Served in a coconut half, the starter looked as amazing as it tasted, featuring a smoky visual effect made with dry ice that added a sense of theater on its way to the table.

The main course featured A5 Wagyu beef accompanied by roasted mushrooms, truffle potato foam and Royal Ossetra caviar, which was thoughtfully incorporated to enhance the dish’s luxurious profile.

The meal finished with a chocolate mousse sphere with a tamarind-infused cake base and blackberry tamarind sorbet. The tamarind provided a tangy contrast to the sweetness of the chocolate and added depth to the dessert. The edible gold leaf atop the mousse offered a final touch of elegance.

“Competitions like this celebrate the innovation and artistry within the yachting culinary industry,” Tom says. “The greatest challenge was incorporating the mystery ingredients into the menu while maintaining balance and cohesion. The time pressure added a layer of complexity, but it also pushed me to think creatively and execute with precision.”

Attending the Culinary Institute of America and Le Cordon Bleu, Tom developed a strong foundation in classical techniques before starting his career in fine-dining restaurants. He later transitioned to yachting, drawn by the challenge of creating bespoke culinary experiences in dynamic, often remote environments.