Yacht Chef vs Stew: Which Crew Job Is Right for You?

Two of the most common ways into yachting, two very different daily lives. Having spent 14 years in the galley alongside some brilliant interior teams, here's the honest comparison.

Getting in

Stew is the more accessible entry: STCW, ENG1, a strong service attitude and ideally a silver-service or wine course, and you can realistically land a junior interior role your first season. Chef demands proven cooking ability — you're hired to run a department alone from day one, so the bar to entry is higher and the search can take longer.

The daily reality

A stew's day is service, housekeeping, laundry and guest care — often as part of a team, with a chief stew running the department. The chef's day is every meal for guests and crew, solo, 5am to midnight on charter. Interior has teammates to share the load and the laughs; the galley has autonomy and creative control, but nobody to cover you. Ask yourself honestly: do you want colleagues or a kingdom?

The pressure

Different flavours of it. Interior pressure is constant presence — being switched on, polished and invisible-yet-everywhere for sixteen hours. Galley pressure is concentrated — three deadlines a day where the guests' single biggest memory of the trip is on your pass. Guests remember the food above almost everything else; that cuts both ways.

The money

Chefs generally out-earn stews at equivalent boat sizes because it's a specialist head-of-department role. But a chief stew on a big boat earns seriously well, and charter tips are split across the whole crew regardless of department. Nobody in yachting goes hungry, financially speaking.

The crossover nobody talks about

Plenty of chefs started as stews or deckhands — helping in the galley on crossings, covering crew meals, and falling into the position when a chef left. It's one of the classic third routes in. If you want the galley eventually but can't get hired as a chef yet, joining as interior and proving yourself on board is a legitimate strategy — I've watched it work many times.

My take

If you love people, polish and teamwork — interior. If you'd rather express yourself on a plate and own your department — galley. Either way you get the same ocean.

Decided the galley's for you? Become a Yacht Chef shows you the whole path — Module 1 is free.