Host Requirements
Inside Quarterdeck
DESIRED SKILLS
Pre-Academy Training Access
Once accepted into the Host Academy, you’ll receive a link to our pre-academy training video. This exclusive preview gives you valuable insight into life onboard and what it’s like to cook at sea.
Basic Knife Skills
How to properly hold a chef’s knife and techniques on how to cut various foods
Desserts
No bake desserts, basic cake skills
Food Safety and Handling
This is one of the most important lessons
Menu and Meal Planning
Implementing a meal plan for the week based on different dietary restrictions and needs
Food Presentation
People are said to eat with their eyes first, meaning that they notice how a dish is presented and garnished and have an opinion on the meal before they even have their first bite
Breakfast
How to properly fry, poach and scramble eggs; how to make french toast; how to cut fruit and make fruit platters; how to make pancakes/crepes
Starches
How to cook rice, quinoa, pasta/cous-cous, and potatoes (understanding the difference between starchy vs waxy). Discuss different potato recipes including mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, Jackson potatoes, etc
Meat
Show various ways to cook meat with dry heat cooking, and moist heat cooking. Learn techniques such as stuffed chicken breast, roast chicken, coq a vin, pulled pork, pork loin/chops, braised beef/pot roast
How to make sauces
White sauce (how to turn a basic white sauce into a cheesy Béchamel, a garlic and herb sauce for pasta, a spicy creamy jalapeño sauce to enhance the flavour of a stuffed chicken breast, etc.), hollandaise sauce & bearnaise sauce, tomato sauce, and wine sauce with herbs
Vegetables
Best ways to peel and cut vegetables; how to maintain bright pigment in vegetables; various ways to cook (simmer in salted water, braise, blanch, fry, etc); various vegetable main courses and side dishes.
Pre-Academy Pathways
Experienced Chef or love cooking for friends and family?
Whether you’re an experienced chef from a professional kitchen, a cooking enthusiast who loves hosting dinner parties, or have honed your skills through cooking classes, we want you! If you have a passion for creating delicious meals and are ready for an exciting new opportunity, you’re ready to apply now!
To get started, simply upload your Hospitality CV , Cover Letter, Passport, and Food Hygiene Level 2 Certificate. We’d also love to see your culinary creations, so feel free to include photos of your dishes in your application. For inspiration, check out our Instagram: @quarterdeck.co.
Not enough kitchen confidence yet? Start with Culinary Academy.
Host Academy moves fast — you’ll be cooking daily in a yacht galley under real pressure. If you love the idea but want stronger fundamentals first, Quarterdeck Culinary Academy is the perfect step in.
A 7-day, hands-on culinary immersion at Fort George on Vis Island, Croatia, where you train in a real working kitchen with a professional chef and our most experienced host/chefs. You’ll build the skills Host Academy expects: knife work, speed, organisation, flavour, hygiene, menu planning, dietaries, and presentation — plus the systems that make yacht service run smoothly.
Outcome: a clear pathway into Host Academy and the confidence to execute meals people genuinely rave about.