MOVEABLE FEASTS

MODERN DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGIES ARE BEING EMBRACED INSIDE GALLEYS JUST AS QUICKLY AS ON THE BRIDGE OR INSIDE THE ENGINE ROOM.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel
MODERN DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGIES ARE BEING EMBRACED INSIDE GALLEYS JUST AS QUICKLY AS ON THE BRIDGE OR INSIDE THE ENGINE ROOM.
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THE VERY HEART OF EVERY SUPERYACHT is not, as some would think, the bridge or engine room. Nor is the epicentre of superyacht life in the ironing room or crew mess. The fact is, the galley is key to it all.  

Food sourcing, preparation, cooking and serving is perhaps the very raison d’etre behind the operating of a superyacht and once that is acknowledged, then the galley really does come out as the very soul of the superyacht. 

Millions can be spent outfitting the navigation bridge and often more is spent creating the engine room and no one will argue that is wrong, but so often the galley is where the designer can fit it in, rather than where it should go.  Space and shape is of little consequence to the yacht designers who simply know they must allow for one. How it works and what it creates in the way of gastronomic delights is left down to the operator.  

Lucky yachts have a build Captain who has listened to Chefs in the past and can bring what they have taught him/her to the design. Luckier still is the yacht whose Chef is consulted at the earlier stages of design and construction. In such cases, that Chef is likely to be consulted on what equipment is fitted and almost certainly this will result in a better galley.

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It is important that galley equipment is designed and supplied for marine use and complies with SOLAS commercial specifications where necessary. As well as being durable and good looking, furniture must also meet the most stringent international food hygiene standards. 

Specialist designers working exclusively in galley design are more rare than hen’s teeth and there are pitifully few specialist manufacturers that build equipment for the marine-based kitchen. 

The French company Azur Tech Hôtel based in Villeneuve Loubet is one supplier that seems to know port from starboard and the subtle differences between the need for a single galley to prepare crew food every day and stunning gourmet feasts on those occasion when the yacht is fully operational. Knowledgeable, yes, but not always welcoming or indeed helpful. The French- only website does little to encourage initial contact and once made it has been our experience that they seldom follow up.

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For the perfect mix of professional know-how with a desire to get a good job done first time, GN Espace Galley Solutions a company set up specifically to cater (sorry about the pun) to those in need of the perfectly designed galley. The company’s key objective is to create a galley space and on board hospitality system that allows the chef to provide the highest quality food hygienically, safely and efficiently. 

The company understands on-board catering needs. It then develops the food-flow process and defines the equipment required to meet the culinary and budgetary objectives. The in-house team works with professional chefs, restaurateurs and leading catering equipment manufacturers to design and supply a galley and hospitality systems that work. 

Before founding the company Ralph Olingschlaeger worked in the domestic appliance industry, spending 18 years with the Electrolux group as Product Marketing and New Product Development Manager.  

“The perfect galley is one where Chefs can work unhindered,” Olingschlaeger says. “It is a well lit, well ventilated and easy-to-clean workspace. Its size and layout should allow the Chef, Sous Chef and galley personal to work as a team without getting in each other’s way while storing, preparing, cooking and plating food.” 

Access for the Stewards should allow them to collect plates and return them to the washing up area without getting in the way. “The galley is a key part of the food-flow on board and its location needs to be convenient for the upstream task of provisioning/bulk storing and the downstream activity of serving the guests at the table,” Olingschlaeger says. “In summary, ‘form’ must follow ‘function’ so get the layout and appliances right before turning your attention to the aesthetics.” 

Modern technology is being embraced inside galleys just as quickly as it is adopted on the bridge or inside the engine room. Top of the list is a steam combi cooker. This appliance is capable of either pure steam cooking or pure convection cooking – and everything in between.  This makes it very versatile. 

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One key benefit of steam cooking is that it keeps far more of the taste and nutrition in the food. Also meat does not shrink as much and keeps its weight. Induction rather than radiant heat is also finding favour even if every Chef in the world seems to want to cook with gas rather than electricity. At sea, that simply is not an option. 

Chef Julian Kimberley trained as a chef with Trusthouse-Forte before establishing and managing his chain restaurants in London. In 2007, he joined with Olingschlaeger to create the company they jointly own and operate.  

“The nightmare galley would be a poorly planned space with ill- defined work sections,” Kimberley says. “Essential equipment installed in the wrong places hindering efficient food service. Insufficient knowledge or thought given to the type of menu/food style that will mainly be required, often giving rise to insufficient cooking facilities, refrigeration, work surfaces and storage.” 

Poorly manufactured furniture and equipment that create dirt traps and are hard to keep clean are other features that make Chefs shudder when they see them. 

“Poor quality flooring that is slippery when wet and difficult to keep clean is a nightmare,” Kimberley says. “As is poor light and ventilation. Stewards and other galley personal crossing over during food service and getting in each other’s way creates accident areas. Poor sightlines between sections hinder effective communication, while being too remote a location from the dining/entertaining areas gives rise to long food journeys and difficulty in keeping food hot.” 

Ventilation can be key. Everyone loves to enjoy a good smelling galley on board a superyacht where aromas precede the meals to come. No one, however, wants a yacht to be filled with the fragrance of cooking yet many yachts do not have space for cooker vents 

For yachts such as these, Dutch manufacturer AdTIM has created cooker hoods for yachts that don’t need outlet ducting. This saves a considerable amount of space that would be used for piping, as well as the cost for installing and engineering the piping. So there is no smell on deck as with the exhaust on deck or at the waterline and no noise from the extractor fan, which is the case with the exhaust of the cooker hood in the top of the mast. 

Capable of removing 100% of all cooking odours, bacteria and germs from the air, plasma filter cooker hoods are proven technology and have been in everyday use since 2006. They are environmentally friendly, power-saving and have a very low noise level: 49 dbA at the highest level and can also be equipped with HiFog nozzles.  Cooker hoods and other highly innovative galley ventilation systems are also supplied by Berbel Ablufttechnik. 

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Rieber is a German manufacturer of professional catering systems finding favour with many yacht Chefs. It offers an extensive range of sinks and serving solutions based around Gastronorm container dimensions, and a wide choice of the containers. Marine catering equipment specialist Metos Marine is another offering a full range of high-quality galley and hospitality equipment. 

Miele Marine appliances offer unparalleled quality and are well- known in the housing industry. The impeccable craftsmanship and robust build means Miele products are regarded as global benchmarks. A specialist marine supply division within the company offers a full range of domestic appliances, as well as specialist commercial dishwashing equipment for large superyachts. 

Sub-Zero refrigerators and Wolf cooking appliances offer the pinnacle of luxury for the superyacht market. Their high-quality finish and stunning design make them ideal for open-plan or guest-facing installations. MKN cooking equipment is synonymous with the ultimate in professional galleys. The bespoke construction and use of the latest cooking technology make the MKN cook suite the centrepiece of any large galley. 

Equipment eats up the major part of any galley fit-out budget, but there should always be some left over for toys.  Chefs like to keep their own personal playthings close at hand in much the same way as the Captain has a preference when it comes to binoculars. They are very much a personal choice and chances are, if you asked five Chefs to list their preference for five kitchen gadgets, you would get a list of 25 items. 

Chef Kieran Inglis works aboard the 73.3-metre Pichiotti superyacht Grace E. Ashore he worked in restaurants as famous as The Square and with Chefs that included Jamie Oliver, Philip Howard and the Roux family. Since joining the yachting fraternity he has worked on The Maltese Falcon, Callisto, and Princess Olga. 

Asked to list his top five essential bits of kit he includes: Kitchen Aid food processor, vacuum packing machine, PacoJet, Bamix and a mortar and pestle. 

Chef Kimberley lists a good set of chefs knives as being the most essential, recommending either Sabatier or Kasumi as brand names. Next up he would like a good set of professional pans suggesting Fissler as his chosen brand. Knives need a sharpener and here Kimberly plums for the F. Dick Rapid Steel. Robot Coupe is his food processor of choice, and finally he would want a Bialetti Mukka two- cup cappuccino maker. “Just for me to enjoy a good cup of coffee while I prepare and cook,” he says.

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New technology is influencing the choice of equipment.  There is an increased interest in the supplying things to use the sous vide a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a warm water bath or in a temperature-controlled steam environment. 

Ironically another trend is for an old-fashioned technology that has been given a new lease of life – the Wonderbag is catching on with the slow food community that is building on the old hay box cooking way of bringing out the best in flavours. 

There is no doubt that the needs of the Chef are being heard more now than they were 10 or so years ago. Back then food was less of a superyacht feature, now we would venture to suggest it is the deciding factor when it comes to charter yacht choice.  

Superyacht galleys are no longer the afterthought of yesteryear and we are happy to be at the forefront of galley design – at long last, yacht designers are beginning to listen to the Chef and galley consultants.

http://www.adtim.eu

http://www.azurtechotel.fr

http://www.berbel.de

http://www.bialettishop.com

http://www.carpigiani.com

http://www.dornbracht.com

http://www.dick.de

http://www.fissler.com

http://www.gn-espace.com

http://www.gifuproduct.jp

http://www.miele.com

http://www.mkmbs.co.uk

http://www.pacojetus.com

http://www.quooker.co.uk

http://www.bglrieber.co.uk

http://www.robot-coupe.com

http://www.sabatier.com

http://www.subzero-wolf.com

http://www.nb-wonderbag.com