Cellar & Galley
A CHEF AND A MASTER SOMMELIER SERVE UP THE PERFECT PAIRINGS
One of the more particular brokers in the business, who is a discerning and critical food afcionado, was raving about his lunch aboard 130-foot (39.6-meter) Westport Far Niente at the Newport Charter Yacht Show. He was not alone in his commendations. Chef Benoit Mercier achieved the frst prize in the 2015 Best Charter Yacht Chef Competition at the show. Mercier’s dishes combine vibrant color, favor and fair, yet he is a soft-spoken, modest man who is not given to the bravado or theatrics that often come with his profession. Hailing from Montreal, Mercier’s culinary career began unceremoniously at best when, at age 18, he got a job as a dishwasher at a restaurant in the ski resort area of the Laurentian Mountains, north of Montreal. He worked his way up to salad preparation, then, at his head chef ’s suggestion, he enrolled in culinary classes at École Hôtelière des Laurentides.
Mercier has now been a chef aboard yachts or in private estates for more than 17 years. His dishes are partially infuenced by travel and cooking stints in far-fung places such as South America, Africa, India and Japan. “At the three-star restaurant where I worked in Japan, I learned how a kitchen could be run without a word spoken,” he reminisced. In fact, his cooking penchant does tend to lean toward a Zen/Buddhist/ Japanese sensibility. “For me, in cooking, less is defnitely more,” said Mercier—and he means it. He prepared a stunning rawfood appetizer plate for the chef ’s competition in Newport utilizing every vegetable from the given surprise basket, except potatoes—because they must be cooked—with which he created miniature sculptural works of art. No salt or pepper to taste; the favors of the raw ingredients spoke for themselves.
Mercier is a versatile chef and an enthusiastic advocate for healthy cooking. He studied “integrative nutrition” in New York City, exploring more than a hundred dietary theories, and he
changed his personal diet several years ago, cutting out red meat and processed food. Mercier embraces the art of cooking to meet special dietary needs, and he is well versed in vegan, low-carb, dairy-free, raw and sugar-free diets. He’s also certifed in dual healing techniques: “reconnection healing” and “quantum touch,” dealing with energy fow.
On board Far Niente, of course, you can ask for anything you want, but give Mercier free reign and you might discover an inventive new way of eating.