A private chef aboard your yacht, or at your table ashore

A yacht with a chef in Tampa Bay turns a day on the water into a meal to remember. Well Played arranges private chefs and catering for your charter, so the food is as considered as the setting. The office quotes the chef separately from the yacht, in writing, so you see the cost before you decide, and the two bookings stay separate on paper.

A yacht with a chef aboard

Our chefs cook aboard, in a villa, or at an event, whichever suits your plans. Each one is vetted before they join a Well Played day, and each one has cooked in a galley before, which matters: a yacht kitchen is small, the boat moves, and a good chef plans a menu that comes together at anchor rather than one that needs a kitchen the size of a restaurant. Provisioning, serving and cleanup are handled. You eat, and the galley is tidy when you get home.

What can be arranged

• A private chef preparing a menu for your group, served at anchor or underway
• Catering delivered to the dock for a sandbar lunch or a longer afternoon
• Charcuterie and grazing boards, set out and refreshed through the day
• A mixologist making cocktails for a celebration, with the bar stocked to your list
• Provisioning of drinks, ice and snacks, if you want more than you bring yourself
• Boat bites: a simple order of sandwiches, salads and fruit for a swim-stop day

Guests may always bring their own drinks. A chef or mixologist is there for guests who want something more.

Menus that work on the water

Menu styles are starting points to discuss, not fixed offerings, and every one is shaped around your group. These are the shapes guests ask for most:

• Sandbar lunch. Cold and room-temperature food that waits for the swimmers: grilled chicken and shrimp, grain salads, cut fruit, cookies.
• Sunset dinner at anchor. Three courses as the light goes: a Gulf fish or a steak with the sides of the season, a salad, something sweet with coffee.
• Grazing all day. Boards refreshed through the charter: cheeses, cured meats, dips, crudités, bread and fruit, so nobody sits down to a meal and nobody goes hungry.
• Brunch underway. For a morning departure: pastries, a frittata, smoked salmon, fruit and a mimosa bar.
• Celebration. A cake or dessert table, a signature cocktail named for the occasion, and small plates passed by the crew.

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and children's menus can all be discussed. Please share allergies, intolerances and preferences when you enquire.

Quoted by the office

Chefs are quoted by the office on the details of your day: group size, menu, timing and where the food is served. The yacht is one line of your booking and the food is another, so if your plans change the two are handled separately. We confirm the chef's quote with you before anything is booked, and the balance follows the same schedule as the charter.

Pairs with a dinner cruise

A private chef is the natural partner for a private dinner cruise, where your group dines at anchor as the light goes down. Chefs also suit a private sunset cruise, a proposal or a larger event. You can see how the yacht side works on our yacht charters page.

Ask for a chef

Tell us your date, your group and the kind of table you would like. Send an enquiry and the office will come back with a plan and a quote.