From MasterChef to Megayacht

They say life is all about timing and for HBC’s head chef and MasterChef finalist Andrew Durham, this has certainly been the case. Stepping out of his beautiful galley during Antigua Charter Show, I met with Andrew to learn more about his extraordinary culinary journey

Andrew is no stranger to life at sea, but it hasn’t always been on board a superyacht. His first experience as a professional chef was in the Royal Navy, cooking for thousands of hungry Royal Marines. Recognised for his natural talent, he was selected for the Navy competition team and, in his own words, “I did well at that”.  As a result, Andrew was chosen to represent the service and was flown around the world to participate in prestigious competitions such as the Culinary Olympics and the World Cup. Just eight people from the Army, Navy, and RAF are chosen to form one team. “There are thousands of people at the Culinary Olympics in a huge stadium. There’s an opening ceremony where you all walk out with your flags. It’s very much like the sporting Olympics”, he recalls.

Following this, he became a chef lecturer for the Navy, teaching level two NVQ and professional cookery until he was chosen as the Admiral’s personal chef, cooking for royalty and foreign dignitaries in a stately home in Portsmouth.

So after 13 years, why did he leave? “Without sounding arrogant, I had achieved everything. I had every award available, and there was nowhere left to go – no progression for me other than a desk job, and that’s not me – I’m a chef. That’s what fills me with joy.”

During his 12-month notice period, Andrew applied for the UK TV show MasterChef: The Professionals and was not only accepted but became one of five finalists out of an initial 48 contestants. The show was aired in 2019 and riding high on a wave of success, Andrew was approached by the Gordon Ramsay Group, restaurants in Hong Kong and even a millionaire in the UK who wanted to build an eco-restaurant on his land just for him to run.

So how did he make the move into superyachts? “Actually, it was all part of the same story. After MasterChef, one of the phone calls I received was from a superyacht captain who had watched the show. He said, “With your experience in the Navy, and having seen you cook, I think you’d be a great fit for a head chef on a yacht.” And I said, ‘Oh, amazing. That’s great – but no, thank you. I’m off to work for Gordon Ramsay! I’m going to go and open my own restaurant.” However, with the culmination of Brexit, Covid, and the Cost-of-Living Crisis, Andrew had to close the restaurant. “I suddenly remembered the call from that Captain, and I found him on Linkedin.” He was on a flight to Barcelona five days later to resume life at sea.

A far cry from the industrial ‘steel box’ galleys of his Navy days, Andrew’s galley on HBC is on a whole different level – quite literally. Situated on the upper deck, not only does he benefit from an abundance of windows offering panoramic views, but the galley is situated right next to the main dining area. “It’s prime real estate”, he laughs. This means he can easily communicate with the stewards, and his food is off the pass and onto the table in seconds.

Despite the multitude of state-of-the-art gadgets and gismos at his disposal in HBC’s galley, Andrew’s desert island pick is the humble kitchen knife. “It’s an extension of your arm as a chef – a knife you use everything for”, he explains.  So, what about his favourite cuisine?  “Definitely, Thai food. My wife’s a chef, and she’s from Thailand, so she’s taught me so much, and I’ve been with her for 15 years. So my Thai food is really confident, and I love it as well. It’s what we eat at home every day.”

The demands on a superyacht chef are huge, and there is constant pressure to perform, but Andrew relishes the challenges. “I’ve learned so much in yachting that I wasn’t really expecting. Every chef has a few boxes they like to put themselves in, whether that’s Thai food, modern British or classic French, but every charter somebody asks for a dish I’ve never heard of. And then I’ll have to look it up. So now, I know everything about Lebanese food, I know everything about Mexican food. All these things I didn’t know much about before. I’m an expert now because of being in those positions where you’ve got to provide for people.”

“It will feel like you’re in a different restaurant every night when you’re in that dining area – I work closely with the chief stew to lay on a theme. Even if it’s not a specific theme, there’s always a way we can make it different. Different cuisine, different atmosphere, different music. So, it’s always a unique, memorable dining experience.”

Food is an integral part of every charter, and I want to know what the HBC dining experience offers – everything from buffet breakfasts to tasting menu dinners. “The best thing about HBC, is there’s so much adaptability”, says Andrew. “It will feel like you’re in a different restaurant every night when you’re in that dining area – I work closely with the chief stew to lay on a theme. Even if it’s not a specific theme, there’s always a way we can make it different. Different cuisine, different atmosphere, different music. So, it’s always a unique, memorable dining experience.” He continues with clear passion, “Obviously, the guests will have their preferences but you can be creative with anything. One of the things that I enjoy doing most is desserts. Typically, guests don’t have particular preferences for desserts, and then I can do something really interesting and flamboyant and that’s the way to show them, ‘this is what else I can do’. And they’re like, Ooh, cook something else!”.

So, after all these years, I’m curious to know if Andrew still enjoys the pressure? “A hundred percent. I treat every request and every meal at the same level. It’s all just as important to me as the last, so there’s loads of pressure, but that’s been my entire life. I live in that pocket of pressure. That’s when I do my best work. You know, I kind of enjoy it at the time. When it’s over I’m like, yeah, smashed it. It feels good.”

As we reach the petit fours stage of our chat, I have one last question. After all this time, how does it feel coming full circle and being back at sea? Without missing a beat, Andrew replies, “I absolutely love it – this is easily the best job I’ve ever had. It suits me really well, and that’s what I missed most about the Navy. I like being on the move all the time, travelling around and working in different environments. It’s always exciting, and the travel is the reason I joined the Navy, so I’m back doing that, but just to a much better standard on HBC. Every day I get up excited to go to work, and you can’t ask more than that!”.

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