Host Requirements: What You Need to Apply to Host Academy
This page covers what Quarterdeck looks for in host applicants: the cooking background required, the personal qualities that matter, what documents you need to apply, and what happens if you are not quite ready yet.
What Quarterdeck Looks For in a Host
Quarterdeck requires all hosts to have a passion for cooking and a genuine enjoyment of hosting groups of 6 to 12 people. The ideal applicant has previous experience in a professional kitchen and/or regularly cooks for friends and family at home and can demonstrate a solid foundation in the skills below.
You do not need formal culinary qualifications. What matters is that you can cook competently and independently, manage a kitchen under time pressure, and deliver a good guest experience across a full charter week.
Cooking Skills Required
Host Academy moves fast. You will be cooking three meals a day in a working yacht galley from the first day. Applicants should be able to demonstrate a working knowledge of the following before they arrive:
Knife Skills
How to properly hold a chef’s knife and use correct cutting technique across a range of foods. Consistent, controlled cuts across all basic preparations.
Breakfast
How to fry, poach and scramble eggs; how to make French toast; how to cut fruit and make fruit platters; how to make pancakes and crepes.
Starches
How to cook rice, quinoa, pasta and couscous reliably. Understanding the difference between starchy and waxy potatoes and a working knowledge of potato preparations including mashed, roasted, scalloped and boiled.
Meat
How to cook meat using both dry heat and moist heat methods. Techniques including stuffed chicken breast, roast chicken, coq au vin, pulled pork, pork loin and chops, and braised beef or pot roast.
Sauces
How to make a white sauce and turn it into variations (béchamel, cheesy sauce, garlic and herb); hollandaise and béarnaise sauce; tomato sauce; wine sauce with herbs. An understanding of how sauces are built and adjusted.
Vegetables
How to peel and cut vegetables correctly; how to maintain bright pigment during cooking; various cooking methods (simmering in salted water, braising, blanching, frying); vegetable main courses and side dishes.
Desserts
No-bake desserts and basic cake skills.
Food Presentation
Understanding that presentation is part of the guest experience. How to plate, garnish and finish a dish before it leaves the kitchen.
Food Safety and Handling
Temperature control, allergen awareness, cross-contamination and basic kitchen hygiene. This is one of the most important areas and is assessed throughout the week.
Menu and Meal Planning
How to plan a week’s meals for a group, taking into account dietary requirements, variety, provisioning constraints, and prep time across each day.
Personal Requirements
Cooking skills are the foundation. However, these personal qualities are equally important.
Age: Minimum 18
Language: Fluent spoken and written English. Additional languages are an advantage.
Availability: You must be available for at least one charter week during the season you are applying for. Most first-season hosts work a minimum of 5 to 6 weeks.
Physical fitness: Host work is physically demanding. Long days on your feet, carrying provisions, working in summer heat in a compact galley. You should be in reasonable physical health and comfortable standing and working for extended periods.
Attitude: Calm under pressure, warm with guests, organised, and genuinely motivated to deliver a high standard of hospitality. Charter weeks are demanding environments. The hosts who perform consistently are the ones who stay composed when things go wrong.
Sailing experience: Not required. The skipper is responsible for the yacht. Your job is hospitality.
What to Include in Your Application
To apply for Host Academy, you will need to submit:
- A hospitality CV outlining your cooking and guest service background
- A cover letter explaining your motivation and relevant experience
- A valid passport (must be valid for the duration of the course and any work placements)
- A Food Hygiene Level 2 Certificate (or equivalent)
- Photos of your dishes (optional but strongly recommended, this is the fastest way to demonstrate your cooking standard)
For inspiration on the standard we are looking for, see the Quarterdeck Yacht Chef Cookbook or check our Instagram at @quarterdeck.co.
Not Quite Ready? Start with Galley Academy
Host Academy moves fast. You will be cooking three meals a day in a working yacht galley under real-time pressure. If that sounds like the right challenge but you do not yet have the kitchen background to apply directly, Galley Academy is the structured way in.
Galley Academy is a 7-day, hand-on entry level cooking course at Fort George on Vis Island, Croatia, with a parallel programme onboard a working yacht in the British Virgin Islands. You will train in a real kitchen with a professional chef, cooking three full crew services a day, every day, until the rhythm is in your hands. By Friday you will have the fundamentals Host Academy expects: knife skills, mise en place, stocks and sauces, food safety, menu planning, dietary awareness and clean plating.
Galley Academy is the official feeder into Host Academy. Students who complete Galley Academy move straight into Host Academy the following week, with schedules aligned and a handover from your Galley instructor to your Host Academy instructor. You arrive at Host Academy already known to the team.
Ready to Apply?
Whether you’re an experienced cook, from a professional kitchen, a confident home cook who hosts regularly, or someone who has built their skills through cooking classes and practice, if you can demonstrate the skills above and you are ready for a real challenge, you are ready to apply.
FAQ
No. Quarterdeck does not require a culinary degree or professional chef qualification. What matters is that you can cook competently and independently to the standard described on this page. A Food Hygiene Level 2 Certificate is required as part of the application.
No. The skipper is responsible for navigating and operating the yacht. Your role as a host is entirely hospitality-focused: cooking, guest service, provisioning and galley management.
Galley Academy is specifically designed for this situation. It is a one-week entry-level cooking course that teaches the foundations Host Academy expects, and students who complete it move directly into Host Academy the following week.
A hospitality CV, a cover letter, a valid passport, and a Food Hygiene Level 2 Certificate. Photos of your dishes are optional but strongly recommended.
Most first-season hosts work a minimum of 5 to 6 weeks, based on availability, performance, and demand. Work is paid per charter week.