Yacht Chef in Miami: a Private Chef Aboard Your Charter
A yacht chef in Miami is a private chef who cooks aboard your charter, in the galley, the morning you set out. With Chef Marina Staver, the chef's fee is $200 per guest and groceries are billed separately — most charters land around $250 per guest all-in, with a $2,000 minimum per charter. The fee covers menu design, dockside sourcing, cooking from scratch, plating, and galley cleanup, and your custom quote arrives within 24 hours.
- A private chef who cooks aboard — in the galley, not delivered in trays
- $200 per guest — the chef's fee; groceries billed separately
- Most charters land around $250 per guest all-in · $2,000 minimum
- Included: menu design, dockside sourcing, cooking from scratch, plating, galley cleanup
- Bartender or server staffing available as an add-on
- Provisioning planned around the galley and the route before you leave the dock
- Custom quote within 24 hours
Most "yacht chef" results in Miami are charter aggregators with auto-generated pages, not a chef you can name. This is a real chef: Marina cooks aboard your charter herself, plans the provisioning around your galley and your route, and sends one transparent quote before you commit. You see the numbers first.
What does yacht chef Marina Staver do on board?
A yacht chef cooks the entire event aboard your charter — the same complete production as a dinner at home, adapted to a galley and a route. The chef's fee is $200 per guest plus groceries billed separately — most charters land around $250 per guest all-in, with a $2,000 minimum per charter — and it covers the full evening: a menu designed for your guests, ingredients sourced dockside that morning, every course cooked from scratch in the galley, plating as the coastline moves past, and the galley left in order before you return to the marina.
Chef Marina Staver is a European-trained private chef with more than two decades of private kitchen experience for clients across Europe and now South Florida. She is the chef aboard — not a name on a charter directory. Here is what the price includes:
- Menu design for the water — written for your guests and the conditions: courses that hold and plate well underway, lighter at the bow, no surprises in a swell.
- Dockside sourcing — ingredients selected the morning you leave, for one charter, not bulk-loaded days ahead.
- Cooking from scratch in the galley — on board, in the space you have. Nothing pre-made, nothing reheated.
- Plating and pacing — courses arrive as the day unfolds, warm from the galley to the deck.
- Galley cleanup — the space returned to order before the charter ends.
And what's billed separately, so there are no surprises later: groceries at cost, rare-by-request ingredients — sushi-grade fish, caviar — at market price, and bartender or server staffing at $50–55 per hour per staff member with a five-hour minimum (about $260 per staff member for the day).
How does cooking in a yacht galley work?
Cooking in a yacht galley is a question of planning, not improvisation. A galley is smaller than a home kitchen, the power and refrigeration are finite, and the floor moves — so the work that makes an onboard dinner effortless happens before you cast off.
- The galley walk-through. Before the charter, Marina confirms the galley's stove, oven, refrigeration, and counter space — from a compact day-boat galley to a full crewed-yacht setup — and builds the menu to fit what's actually on board.
- Prep timed to the dock. Components that need a full kitchen are prepped dockside or at the commissary; what's finished underway is chosen to plate cleanly in a galley.
- Cold storage and the route. Provisioning is planned around how long you're out and how much chilled space you have — sushi-grade and raw-bar items only when cold storage supports them safely.
- Service that fits the deck. Courses are paced to the day on the water — anchored for lunch, underway between stops, plated at sunset.
If the galley can't support a dish safely, Marina says so before the charter and proposes the version that will — the menu is built around the boat, not forced onto it.
What does a yacht chef cost in Miami?
A yacht chef in Miami costs $200 per guest — the chef's fee — plus groceries, with a $2,000 minimum per charter; most charters land around $250 per guest all-in. It is the same transparent math as a private chef dinner ashore. The boat doesn't change the per-guest price; the headcount, the course count, and the route do.
| The charter | Guests | Starting price | The math |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunset dinner for two | 2 | $2,000 | Event minimum applies |
| Day charter, small party | 6 | $2,000 | 6 × $200 = $1,200 → minimum applies |
| Day charter | 10 | from $2,000 | 10 × $200 |
| Full-day, larger group | 12 | from $2,400 | 12 × $200 |
- Sunset dinner for two. The full private-chef treatment, scaled to one table on the water: a menu written for two, sourced that morning, cooked in the galley while the light drops over the bay. Priced at the $2,000 event minimum.
- Day charter for six. The most common booking. Six guests, three to five courses paced across the day, the host on deck instead of in the galley.
- Day charter for ten. From $2,000 plus groceries, the per-guest math takes over. One galley, courses timed to your stops, plated as the coastline moves.
- Full-day for twelve. From $2,400 plus groceries — add a server or bartender if you want the day fully hands-off. Peak-season dates (October through April) fill earliest — the calendar, not the price, is the constraint.
Planning a charter? Tell us the date, the headcount, and the boat — your custom quote arrives within 24 hours.
Full pricing breakdown → private chef cost in Miami · Or see how a dinner ashore comes together → private chef for a dinner party
Do you bring everything, or does the boat provide it?
Marina brings the kit a galley doesn't reliably have and plans around what the boat does. Knives, core tools, and specialty equipment travel with the chef; the galley's stove, oven, and refrigeration are confirmed in advance and built into the menu.
Provisioning is handled end to end: ingredients are sourced dockside the morning of the charter, packed for the cold storage the boat carries, and timed to the length of your route. For larger parties or a fully attended service, a bartender or server can join — $50–55 per hour per staff member, five-hour minimum, billed as an add-on. If the charter company has its own crew or service rules, Marina coordinates with them before the day so the galley and the deck run as one.
When should you book a yacht chef in Miami?
Book as early as the date is set, and earliest for the October-through-April season. Miami's yacht season peaks from fall through spring, and that is exactly when charter weekends, Art Basel week, and holiday outings compete for the same dates. Summer is quieter on the water and easier to schedule.
Lead time also depends on the menu: a three- or four-course day charter needs less runway than a multi-course tasting that calls for special sourcing. Once you send the date, the headcount, and the boat, Marina confirms availability and menu fit before anything is promised — then the quote follows within 24 hours.
Yacht chef or food delivery — what's the difference?
A yacht chef cooks for you aboard; charter food delivery drops off trays. The difference is the galley. Platters loaded at the dock and held in foil are one thing; a chef cooking each course from scratch in the galley, plated as the day moves, is another evening entirely.
What delivery never includes: a menu adjusted to every allergy aboard, courses timed to your anchoring and your stops, sushi-grade fish handled to order, and a galley left clean before you return. For a milestone day on the water, Michelin-level cooking aboard your own charter is the version your guests will still be talking about next season.
Yacht chef in Miami — frequently asked questions
The chef's fee is $200 per guest, plus groceries billed separately — most charters land around $250 per guest all-in — with a $2,000 minimum per charter. The price covers the full event aboard: menu design, dockside sourcing, cooking from scratch in the galley, plating, and galley cleanup. A charter for ten guests starts at $2,000. You receive an exact quote within 24 hours.
Yes — on galleys from compact day-boats to full crewed yachts. Marina confirms the galley's stove, oven, refrigeration, and counter space before the charter and builds the menu to fit. Prep that needs a full kitchen is done dockside; what's finished aboard is chosen to plate cleanly in the space the galley has.
Yes. Knives, core tools, and specialty equipment travel with the chef. The galley's fixed equipment — stove, oven, refrigeration — is confirmed in advance and built into the menu, so nothing essential is missing the morning of the charter.
Yes, when the boat's cold storage supports it safely. Sushi-grade fish and raw-bar items are sourced the morning of the charter and handled to temperature; they're confirmed at quote stage against your route length and the chilled space on board. Premium items like caviar are quoted at market price.
Yes — Art Basel week is one of the busiest dates on the water, so the earlier you send the date the better. Pricing is the same as any charter: a $200-per-guest chef's fee plus groceries, with a $2,000 minimum. Marina confirms availability and menu fit before anything is promised, then sends the quote within 24 hours.
Headcount depends on the boat and its galley. Marina always cooks with a sous-chef, and for larger parties a bartender or server is added at $50–55 per hour per staff member, five-hour minimum — about $260 per staff member for the day. Send the boat and the guest count, and the quote reflects exactly what the day needs.
We bring a base set of plates and serving pieces sized to your guest count and planned around the galley's storage. For larger charters we recommend a rental service and coordinate delivery to the dock. We can also design the table setting for the deck — agreed with you in advance, with a preview.
Every charter is one complete production for one client: a menu written for your day on the water, a morning sourcing dockside, the cooking aboard, and the galley cleanup after. The minimum reflects a full day of work dedicated to a single charter — published here instead of hidden inside a quote.
What will your charter cost?
Tell us three things — the date, the headcount, and the boat. You'll have a menu direction and a custom quote within 24 hours. No deposit until you approve both.
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