United Kingdom

GN Espace Galley Solutions Ltd

If home is where the hearth is, then the galley is certainly a fundamental element of any superyacht. Whether enjoying a 10-course taster menu or a teppanyaki treat on deck, food is central to the onboard experience. We take a look at how to avoid second-rate cooking spaces and equipment.When people talk about superyachts, the highlights always seem to revolve around the same things: the beach club, the sundeck, the pool, the master stateroom. The galley barely gets a second thought, until you spend time on board –&nbsp;then the food and its service take centre stage and any issues to do with layout, design or installation become belatedly obvious.Naturally, safety is paramount. Galleys present a host of hazards from deep fryers and steamers to rotating equipment and sharp blades. Fire suppression, hygiene, ventilation, materials, and so on, are governed by classification society rules, but small details like having rounded internal radii instead of sharp corners in stainless steel cabinets help prevent dirt accumulation and make cleaning much easier for galley staff. Ergonomics and design are equally important.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/394386/image/large-95000aca9788e63f3727ba677f1045e1.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/394386">“The galley layout is defined according to the capacity of the yacht, considering both guests and crew,” says Costanza Pazzi, project architect at <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/12" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="CRN (Company)">CRN</a>. “It is usually designed with three clearly distinct areas: washing, cooking, and preparation.”Separate traffic flows for clean and dirty dishes help prevent cross-contamination and accidents. Adequate lighting is a sometimes overlooked consideration, especially for galleys on the lower deck with smaller windows where the artificial lighting should emulate daylight temperatures (4000K-5000K) to show the true colour of the food being prepared.“Each custom superyacht galley is different,” Pazzi continues. “The spaces dedicated to galley and pantries should be discussed as part of the technical specifications at contract completion, with guidelines coming directly from the owner’s team. A fundamental requirement is that ducting and systems need to be defined in the general plans from the outset.”<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/394417/image/large-7799ab22eb4f8b77c27d0e82de2c9dc0.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/394417">Experience counts“The galley is not just one room – it’s an entity,” says Brennan Dates, a chef with more than 25 years’ work experience on superyachts. Currently head chef aboard 87.6-metre <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/2354" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Project X87.6m (287'5&quot;)Golden Yachts Ltd.2022">Project X</a>, he also consults on galley design through his company <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/7686" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Superyacht Galley Designs (Company)">Superyacht Galley Designs</a>. His refit and new-build galley projects includes <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/234" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Ecstasea85.95m (281'12&quot;)Feadship2004">Ecstasea</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/1713" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Mogambo73.51m (241'2&quot;)Nobiskrug2012">Mogambo</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/9442" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Dragonfly142.0m (465'11&quot;)Lürssen Yachts2024">Dragonfly</a>, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/10316" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Obsidian84.2m (276'3&quot;)Feadship2023">Obsidian</a>, the first <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/6409" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Moonrise99.9m (327'9&quot;)Feadship2020">Moonrise</a> and second <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/11108" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Moonrise100.7m (330'5&quot;)Feadship2025">Moonrise</a> yachts, and a 100-metre-plus vessel currently under construction.&nbsp;“Where does the food come into the boat, especially on larger yachts when you’re &nbsp;talking about shell doors and pallets of produce?” he asks. “How does the food get stored, and where is the cold storage located? Which deck is the galley on? Where are the pantries and which decks are the guests eating on? Some food is stored in the galley, then it gets prepped, possibly stored again, then gets heated or reheated, plated and served, and now you’re talking about pantry flow.” <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/394418/image/large-c4c49eab3aaeeb1639265cfacfe9f9ee.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/394418">It’s also important to consider the operational profile of the yacht, because there’s a difference between a purely private yacht and one that’s going to be busy chartering. Is it going to be doing extended cruising to remote locations, which may require bigger dry stores and cold rooms?“I can walk into a galley and within five minutes know if there was a yacht chef involved in the build,” says Dates. “But no one’s really listening to chefs at this point, and I think that negatively impacts on the whole guest experience, but also the crew.”<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/394416/image/large-f89be51556d3eb7510c568074aeb1395.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/394416">One thing for sure is that dumb waiters are mostly a thing of the past, with crews preferring to use the space for additional storage or fridges. Dates further warns against the use of domestic kitchen appliances on board in what are essentially commercial kitchens, where stuff tends to break down much faster. “Rational is the number one in the world for ovens, and MKN is up there,” he advises. “There’s a precipitous drop after those two.”On-deck delightsThese days, the galley is only one centre of chef action on board. There will likely be outdoor cooking stations in the build plan, particularly on charter yachts. <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/23" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Lürssen Yachts (Company)">Lürssen</a>’s <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/6424" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Hadar136.0m (446'2&quot;)Lürssen Yachts2019">Hadar</a>, for example, features an extensive outdoor kitchen on the bridge deck aft, where guests can watch the chef working a wok station, a coal-powered Spanish Josper grill, a rotisserie, and pizza/teppanyaki/tandoori ovens.&nbsp;“At a bare minimum there needs to be a sink and refrigeration, just for basic sanitation,” Dates says. “If you can have a little trash compartment that’s sealed away that’s useful, and then it comes down to equipment – there’s a really good oven by MKN that fits under the counter and which takes care of its own exhaust and accepts standard 535x325 millimetre gastronomic trays.”“There is an ever-increasing demand for the inclusion of pizza ovens, particularly for yachts over 60 metres,” adds Pazzi, “There is also a trend for a table in the main galley where guests have the chance to see the chef working and enjoy a food tasting, aimed at creating a sensory experience.”&nbsp;Open-plan, country kitchen-style layouts are increasingly popular on smaller yachts, and on “galley-up” catamarans where the cooking area become an integral part of family life on board. The <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/374" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Sanlorenzo (Company)">Sanlorenzo</a> 64Steel <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/6178" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Attila64.0m (209'12&quot;)Sanlorenzo2019">Attila</a> even has a custom-made barbecue pit inside the main deck dining area for preparing Argentinian-style steaks. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/394422/image/large-e484db9dd7caca3e714a505d18be3385.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/394422">Breathing easyAlongside cooking comes the risk of odours, which can quickly infiltrate indoor guest areas if ventilation and extraction aren’t properly designed. During the design of the second <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/11108" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Moonrise100.7m (330'5&quot;)Feadship2025">Moonrise</a>, for example, the owner requested a taller mast so galley fumes are not blown back onto the sundeck after being vented.&nbsp;&nbsp;The air extraction system in the pro-spec galley aboard the 76.6-metre explorer yacht <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/4734" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Albatross76.6m (251'4&quot;)Piriou2015">Albatross</a> highlights how smart design can maximise energy efficiency. Extractor fans typically suck the air out of a room, which has to be replaced anew with fresh, treated air. But when the outside temperature is -20°C that could mean firing up another generator just to reheat the air because the galley is in use. On <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/4734" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Albatross76.6m (251'4&quot;)Piriou2015">Albatross</a>, the cowling above the cooking hobs also creates a curtain of treated air that effectively isolates the cooking area, saving HVAC energy while containing cooking odours and maintaining a constant temperature in the galley. A similar system has been installed on the all-electric sailing yacht Project Zero.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/394426/image/large-b6d6a20d4c21394ec767a94b34324a08.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/394426">Galley design extends to the handling of waste produce, which includes both garbage and wastewater treatment. The latter is particularly pertinent, because food contaminants and grease can wreak havoc with onboard water treatment systems (this topic is specifically addressed in <a href="https://issuu.com/superyachttimes/docs/how_to_build_it_-_issue_9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">Issue 9&nbsp;</a>of How to Build It).&nbsp;“Fat, oil and grease (FOG) need to be separated – this is very important not only for the wastewater treatment process, where they can affect the biological process or clog filters, but also to prevent clogging of pipes,” confirms Georgios Kariofilis, Sales Manager at <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/8602" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Hamann AG (Company)">Hamann</a>. “Having a grease trap and a pre-filter system is the first step to avoiding such problems.”Organic trash handling, typically resolved by storing garbage in a refrigerated room or in a deck locker, is also making advances. Dehydration plants, such as those offered by Evac and Eco-Smart, remove water content from food waste by heating it to around 80ºC and evaporating it off as steam. The sterile and odourless residual food waste is roughly 15 to 20 percent of its former volume and can be stored more easily on board for later disposal or composting. Essentially, it means you don’t need as big a trash storage room.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/394420/image/large-a3eda501d5fdaf6da7497de827b67522.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/394420">Ask an expert&nbsp;The advice from designers and chefs is basically to bring in an expert at the layout stage of design, and to argue for more space rather than less, no matter the size of yacht. Speciality companies like UK-based <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/2137" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="GN Espace Galley Solutions Ltd (Company)">GN Espace</a> offer expert advice for superyacht galley layouts and equipment spec, including full commercial galleys and upgrades such as adding a robust powder coated finish to stainless steel doors to match the rest of the yacht.Large or small, yacht designer Guido de Groot argues that the galley is generally in full-time use – especially on charter vessels. He compares the 10 guests plus eight crew aboard the 35-metre <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/2948" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Van der Valk Shipyard (Company)">Van der Valk</a> yacht <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/13018" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Lalabe35.31m (115'10&quot;)Van der Valk Shipyard2025">Lalabe</a> with a 50- or 60-metre vessel that might have 12 guests and 14 crew.“It’s a similar number of guest and crew, so you can’t just halve the size of the galley on the smaller yacht,” he points out. “It requires a lot of smart thinking to get everything into a more compact space.”“Give the galley and associated areas the space they deserve,” insists Dates. “Is luxury jamming the galley in the bottom of the boat and having food travel up four decks, or is it spending resources to have the galley on the main deck nearer to where guests will eat? Because that’s what I would want.”<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/394419/image/large-c9630b9438c0f3772c24b74a369972a1.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/394419">Shipyards looking to streamline the planning process with standardised solutions sometimes argue against bringing in a consultant chef at the design stage. All chefs have their own routines, preferred equipment, likes and dislikes, but individual chefs do not stay with a yacht indefinitely. The galley, on the other hand, will remain for many years, or at least until a major refit. &nbsp;“Not including a superyacht chef in the build is like building a race car and not talking to the driver because they’ll want different buttons in different places,” counters Dates. “It doesn’t make any sense to have someone who’s never done the job be the one to put it all together.”

Why superyacht galley design matters to the onboard experience

How thoughtful superyacht galley design can improve safety, service, storage, ventilation and the wider onboard dining experience.