Chef of charter yacht KIPANY wins Best Yacht Chef Award at FLIBS 2018

By Katia Damborsky 2 November 2018

Eric Davis, head chef on board the 35m/116ft superyacht KIPANY, has taken home first prize at Fort Lauderdale Boat Show’s first ever Yacht Chef Competition.

As the sun set over Florida yesterday, four yacht chefs began slicing and dicing in a head-to-head, Iron-Chef style competition to be crowned with the Wine Enthusiast Award for Best Yacht Chef.

Located at Pier Sixty-Six Hotel and Marina, the contest followed an elegant beach-barbecue theme, and attracted show-attendees eager to sample mouthwatering food and flavour-packed cocktails while watching the action unfold.

At the end of the evening, a panel of experienced judges decreed the Best Yacht Chef was Eric Davis, and honoured the assistance of Amelia Rachlin, both of superyacht KIPANY. Davis brings over 25 years of experience to his dishes, and has won numerous awards for his cooking around the world.

Winners of Best Yacht Chef Award at FLIBS 2018

Yacht Chefs planning their meals at FLIBS 2018

Yacht chefs cooks while show-attendees look on

TV host and cookbook author Ingrid Hoffman hosted this year’s Yacht Chef Awards, with dining critics and food journalists including Nils Bernstein and Mike Mayo in the judging panel.

This is the first event of its kind to be hosted at FLIBS, but the buzzing atmosphere and divine dishes will no doubt ensure the contest will be on the show’s line-up again next year.

Yacht Chef awards at FLIBS 2018 as chefs begin cooking

Fort Lauderdale Boat Show chefs slicing and dicing

Among the competitors were Joel Collado of the 59m/193ft luxury yacht MINDERELLA and Chris Parthemore of the 40m/130ft motor yacht ‘Angel Wings’. Two superb superyachts in the FLIBS line-up, their chefs have a wealth of experience creating tantalising culinary infusions.

The yacht chef of the 98m/323ft megayacht AVIVA, Freddy Money, was also competing in the contest. A seasoned pro, Money had spent several years working in Paris and Madrid before stepping on board the award-winning AVIVA, which is one of the largest yachts currently berthed in Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale.

For the past two days, the superyacht has been wowing show-goers with her sheer size coupled with an eye-catching sky-blue hull.

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Thursday thought. "The entrance strategy is actually more important than the exit strategy." - Edward Lampert 📷 by @sublime.imagery #flibs2018 #abekingrasmussen #aviva #luxuryonwater #megayacht #entrance #fortlauderdale #myba_worldwideyachting #photooftheday

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