{"id":71996,"date":"2020-02-19T02:29:02","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T07:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thatdope.com\/rides\/superyacht-chef-thess-hookway-lives-culinary-dream-in-europe\/"},"modified":"2020-02-19T02:29:04","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T07:29:04","slug":"superyacht-chef-thess-hookway-lives-culinary-dream-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thatdope.com\/rides\/superyacht-chef-thess-hookway-lives-culinary-dream-in-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Superyacht Chef: Thess Hookway Lives Culinary Dream in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From being a housewife with two beautiful children, I decided a few years ago to go \u2018back to school\u2019 and study to be a chef. Today, I\u2019m proud to call myself a superyacht chef and am spending much of my time in the south of France, starting to learn French.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

I was born and raised in Manila to parents of Spanish and Chinese descent. As a young kid,\u2028I was always a dreamer. My mum remains one of my inspirations, as she was the one always telling me to dream big \u2013 after all, it\u2019s free!<\/p>\n

I was married at 21, then supported my husband\u2019s career and didn\u2019t work myself. We are blessed with two beautiful girls \u2013 both now teenagers \u2013 and I was a hands-on mum. Like me, they enjoy sports. We moved to Thailand about 13 years ago because of my husband\u2019s work and I still do Muay Thai and go to the gym.<\/p>\n

\"ThessI was 34 when I decided to go to Luzern in Switzerland for culinary school. Everybody around me said I was too old to study again and be a chef. None of these comments stopped me believing in my new journey, although it wasn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n

I went there in the winter, in January 2014, and completed my Diploma in International Culinary Arts at IMI by the summer. I was happy to return to Thailand to see my family. From a comfortable life, I had changed my passion to my profession and my children were proud of me.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In 2015, I completed my internship at five-star hotels in Hong Kong and Thailand. It was a new environment for me. A chef works long hours and it\u2019s a very tiring job, but I believed my new path and never thought of giving up. I kept telling myself, \u2018if not now, it will never happen\u2019. Time is gold and we have to use it wisely.<\/p>\n

I wanted to become a pastry chef and specialise in patisserie. I had thought of going to London to study designing cakes, but instead I found online classes and by the end of the year, I finished almost 50 classes, a combination of pastry, bakery and general cuisine.<\/p>\n

I learned a lot of my bakery skills during my time at JW Marriott Bangkok, as my Executive Pastry Chef also sent me to local seminars, trainings and demos. I had a good connection with our suppliers and later worked with a few of them. I was very pleased with my progress, practised a lot in my own kitchen and tested recipes by myself. I kept learning and challenging myself.<\/p>\n

\"Thess<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always loved backpacking. I\u2019ve travelled a lot across Asia and Europe, as well as Australia. I update my culinary skills each time as I always visit local markets and try the famous dishes of every city I visit.<\/p>\n

We moved to the UK in 2018, and in May 2019 I decided to try to work on yachts. I even went to Palma de Mallorca to complete an STCW safety training course to be able to work on boats.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t sure I could make it as a superyacht chef. After all, I\u2019m Asian and was in France, where there are so many great chefs. I just tried my luck and applied for any vacancies I could see online.<\/p>\n

\"ThessIt took me less than a week to find work on my first boat. It was a 19m catamaran owned by a Brit, with a French Captain and South African stewardess. I joined the boat in Perpignan.<\/p>\n

Within a week of leaving that boat, I applied for a job as a superyacht chef on a 25m Princess motor yacht. The owner and the Captain were both from Israel and I had to do a \u2018demo\u2019 because of the diet restrictions. The owners were Jewish, so no pork, the Captain was 100 per cent vegan and one of the children was a vegan, so it was mostly vegetarian dishes. The owner was very happy with my food and I got the job.<\/p>\n

I was actually both Stewardess and Chef, and performing both roles was a bit of a challenge. However, I was pleased with my cooking as they would often come into the galley and tell me how good the food was, which made me happy after all the effort I was putting in. He asked me to cook salt-crusted sea bass at least twice a week.<\/p>\n

\"Thess<\/p>\n

My Captain jokingly told me not to cook too much good food because the owners didn\u2019t want to eat out any more! It was great to hear that. It was a short-term contract, nearly two months.<\/p>\n

I later moved to a 55m sailing yacht and was Executive Chef for one month while the owner from Saudi Arabia was on board. It was a big family of eight. I only cooked for the guests as we had a separate crew cook on board. My meal plan was mainly Halal, with a lot of tagine and Arabic stew.<\/p>\n

I also had a few days working as a superyacht chef on a 40m motoryacht for a German family, with mainly French crew. Today, I mix my work as a superyacht chef with private chef jobs. It\u2019s still just the start of my new career, but I hope it shows it\u2019s never too late to follow your dream.<\/p>\n

\"Thess<\/p>\n

Thess Hookway cooks many cuisines including Mediterranean, Italian, French, Arabic, Asian and Asian fusion. She specialises in baking and pastry, and can prepare meal plans for gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian and healthy diets.<\/em>\u2028<\/em><\/p>\n

www.instagram.com\/cuisineandmoi<\/strong>\u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n

[email\u00a0protected]<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n

The original article appears in Yacht Style Issue 51. Email [email\u00a0protected] for print subscription enquiries or subscribe to the Magzter version at:<\/em> www.magzter.com\/SG\/Lux-Inc-Media\/Yacht-Style\/Fashion\/<\/em><\/p>\n

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Yacht Style Issue 51: \u2018The Personalities Issue\u2019 Is Out Now!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n