MONACO, April 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Aaron Thomas is the winner of the 7th Superyacht Chef Competition. Organized by the Yacht Club de Monaco’s training center, La Belle Classe Academy, in partnership with Bluewater, the event featured a top-level jury chaired by two-Michelin-star French chef Philippe Etchebest.

He was joined by chef Carlo Cracco, an icon of Italian cuisine; three-Michelin-star chef Marcel Ravin; Jeeny Maltese, a presenter promoting Latin American cuisine; and restaurateur and TV presenter Tim Malzer.

With the aim of showcasing a relatively little-known profession to the public, the culinary contest once again attracted a full house.

With a dish of grilled lobster with bisque and asparagus-morel fricassee, followed by a dessert of mille-feuille with chocolate mousse and caramelized pineapple, Aaron Thomas of M/Y Canvas (33m), who grew up in London and has Indian heritage, won the competition. He competed in the final round against Ilija Gojkovic of M/Y Emocean (38m) and Alex Salimbene of M/Y Moka (50m).

“I trained classically in college and then tried to travel the world. A few years ago, I decided to move into yachting and it has been great so far. I am incredibly happy. I can’t thank everyone enough. It’s incredible,” said the chef.

The format of the Superyacht Chef Competition is short but intense, reflecting the realities of the profession. Just minutes before the start, a mystery ingredient is revealed to the chefs, who then have five minutes to come up with a recipe before the clock starts ticking. Every ingredient must be used or competitors are penalized for waste.

“When you run a restaurant, it is important not to waste products because it means losing money. On a boat it is the same - and even more important. When you go away for two or three weeks, you must organize your provisions very carefully and make sure nothing is wasted,” said chef Philippe Etchebest, who is also a Meilleur Ouvrier de France.

“The level of competition is very high, but the time available is extremely short. Forty-five minutes are incredibly challenging for chefs to express their personal touch in a dish. It’s very complicated,” added Cracco. “However, I also saw some very nice ideas from the contestants. Some of them approached the challenge in very different ways and created playful dishes with interesting twists.”

The competition was tight, with nine competitors in total, including two representing the Yacht Club de Monaco flag - demonstrating the YCM community’s strong involvement in this event celebrating fine cuisine onboard.

“The motto of the Yacht Club de Monaco is ‘L’art de vivre la mer’ (the art of living the sea). Within that idea is also ‘l’art de vivre à la table’ - the art of dining well. When you are on board, meals are very important. We want to share this spirit and bring renowned chefs into contact with younger generations,” said YCM Director and General Secretary Bernard d’Alessandri. “Some of the chefs here today run restaurants with two or three Michelin stars around the world - in Germany, England and Italy, just to name a few. Our aim is to facilitate connections between generations and also among chefs who work onboard, because ultimately we are all part of the same family.”

Behind the scenes, the contest was orchestrated by Chef Philippe Joannes, Meilleur Ouvrier de France and YCM’s culinary consultant alongside YCM’s Events Chef Simon Ganache, supported by Frederic Ramos, President of the Monaco Gout & Saveurs association.

Since opening in 2015, La Belle Classe Academy has been playing a key role in training future yachting professionals, offering a range of courses dedicated to the art of service onboard. With this in mind, and to promote gastronomy at sea, the Yacht Club de Monaco’s training center fully supports the Superyacht Chef Competition.

This year, students from Monaco’s hotel and catering school were invited to take part and observe firsthand how these chefs work, discovering what happens behind the scenes of a profession where passion, rigor and creativity are required every day.

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