Bio - ChefJoni.com - Beaufort, NC

The King and I

Nirvana was decommissioned in November, as well as the other boats, so I worked at the Clarke Cook House as pastry chef, until it was so cold, I didn’t have clothes for the weather.

I headed back to Ft. Lauderdale, got a 1-bedroom apartment, and joined The King and I, an 80 ft. Burger. A couple owned her from Richmond, Virginia. They lived aboard 10 months a year. The Captain, Joe was in Wisconsin while the boat was being built, and she stayed as Bristol as she was the day she was launched.

We were in the Abacos during the winter, in the Bahamas, and Ft. Lauderdale, Virginia Beach, via Intracoastal Waterway, for the spring, and then on to the Chesapeake, the land of Blue Crabs, and then to Newport, Rhode Island and Nantucket.

We did a lot of fishing, so I cooked a lot of fresh fish, which tickled me to death. I came up with my best fish recipes on The King and I.

I can say that I became a good pool player on this boat, since the Capt. taught me the ropes. Thanks Joe!

You know life is good, when you could eat off the engine room’s floor.

I spent almost a year on The King and I, and Joe’s girlfriend joined the boat, and I headed back to Beaufort for a visit. It was always great to come back to my homeport.

My mom lives right across the street from the marina, so I didn’t have to go far to be plugged in to the happenings of the yachting scene.

Mom always had dinner parties while I was home, inviting my lifetime friends and family, and the food didn’t suck. She can fry shrimp and soft-shell crabs like nobody’s business. And her baked beans are famous, all the way down to the Exumas, and the cole slaw was the best…. and last but not least. her pineapple upside-down cake.

Besides the food and company, there was one thing that I always looked forward to, and that was having a hot bubble bath, in her bear claw bathtub. Thanks mom!

Bridlewood

I got a call from my agent to fly up to Newport to meet Bridlewood, a 140 ft. Feadship, so off I flew.

This was the shortest stint I ever spent on a yacht.

The captain’s wife flew in the next morning, just before we leaving port, to join us for the trip, and I helped her with her bags, being I was the only one up, it was really bad weather, so she took her raingear off, handed it to me, looked me up and down, and said that I was too young and too cute to be onboard, and to pack my bags and be off before we pulled off the dock, which gave me all of 20 minutes.

When I went down below to pack, and gave my farewell hugs to my new found mates, the engineer, and head stewardess packed their bags to and jumped ship too.

It was so foggy that morning; you couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you. I felt like I was in a movie.

Never work on a yacht, that the captains wife in aboard, but doesn’t work on it.

Papparazzi

I’d had it for the mega yacht drama scene, went back to Beaufort, ate some more shrimp, crabs and clams, and drove to my little conch cottage in Ft. Lauderdale, and man it felt good to be in my own space.

I felt a career change coming on, but wasn’t sure what it was going to be, so I nested for a few weeks, visited friends, had dinner parties, rode my bike, played tennis, went to the beach, and had a life of my own.

When you’re on boats like I’d been for so many years, having your own space is priceless. I was really digging it big time.

I decided to go back to school for photo journalism, and thought a bartending job at night would be good at a dinner place, so I set out to get a job, and had one before the day was over. That’s one thing I was good at …getting a job quick.

The first night, they put me on the floor to cocktail, which pissed me off, and some old man grabbed my butt, and I quit.

The owner had overheard me tell a customer, that I was a chef, and he asked me to follow him to the next building, so I did, and he unlocked the door of a really cute Italian Tratatoria, and said it was mine. I looked at him like he was crazy, and told him I had no restaurant experience. He then proceeded to tell me that he had been a yacht chef for several years, saved his money, and here he was with a piece of Ft. Lauderdale. Well I was impressed! Being that the Cajun House had always been one of my favorite restaurants, which made his story come to life. He told me to think about it for the weekend, and let him know.

The name of the restaurant was Paparazzi. I took the job, didn’t go to school, and the first night I had 2 tables, in three weeks we had a full house with one seating, in 6 weeks I was slammed for lunch and dinner, turning the tables over and doing at least 120 for dinner, with me in the kitchen and two waiters. It was a trip. Since I’d never been in a restaurant kitchen, I didn’t know that there were usually 2 people back there.

It was a great experience, one that I’d never trade for anything, and I know now, if I did that, I can do anything.

I did that for almost a year, then one day I came to work, and there was a padlock on the door. The owner didn’t pay the lease, so back to the cottage I went, and gave my agent a call.

Reality

It was late spring, and there were lots of crews changing jobs, to get to where they wanted to be for that season, so it was just a matter of where I wanted to go. My granddaddy Harry wasn’t well, so I decided to stay on the east coast, New England. I joined Reality, a 97 ft. Broward for the charter season, based out of Newport, Rhode Island, took my bike with me, and cooked, cooked, cooked. I had a great stewardess, Jodi, and we got along great. We became sisters, and helped each other get thoughout the madness.

We had some really great people charter the boat, made great tips, and on our time off, I was checking out the best restaurants in New York City, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Cape Cod, Block Island, and Atlantic City.

My favorite charter was 3 days long. We met Mark in New York City, at the marina by the World Trade Center. Mark was a furrier, and had chartered the boat to have a cocktail party for the American Express Executives, in hope to getting his brochure of his furs in each cardholder’s monthly bill. There were 41 people, and it lasted for 3 hours.

The party went great, he didn’t even stay on the boat that night, which was weird, but the next morning when I went up to get the coffee going, he’d already been on board, and left 2 dozen red roses, and a very large box with my name on it…”I couldn’t have done it without you”!

I opened the box and in it was a black mink and fox coat! Ta! Da!

It was raining really hard, so I waited for it to slack off a little, put my coat on and an umbrella up, and walked over to see Dennis Conner on Stars and Striped, topsiders and all. What a trip!!

Always do your best, your best will be different if you’re sick or sad, but as long as you know you’ve done your best, you can be proud of yourself.

We headed south offshore, stopping in Beaufort, for one of my moms Seafood Feasts, and rum fest, and I got to show the crew my home port, and Blackbeard’s house, which was a hoot, and we were back at sea in 2 days, on our way to Ft. Lauderdale to the Broward Boat Yard.

Boatyards are not the ultimate place you want to be. It can be pretty toxic. Usually the boat is hauled out of the water, and it’s just a big hassle to get on and off with groceries. But you do it, because it has to be done, warranty work, and I had my apartment to go back to, which was my saving grace.

We all left the boat shortly after that.

My view from the galley

Cistern Cay

I got a call from a friend of a friend telling me there was a gig going on in the Exumas on a private island called Cistern Cay, and to give this girl in Nassau a call, so I did. It sounded really interesting. It would be a 4-day weekend party, 14 couples, and every night there would be a theme.

I provisioned in Ft. Lauderdale for the stuff I couldn’t get in Nassau, and flew on a private jet into Nassau to finish provisioning, and then took a boat with all the stuff down to the Cay. My Aunt Donna went with me to help, thank the Goddess.

I had to anticipate every ounce I’d need of every ingredient, because there are no stores anywhere near the island, and felt very organized.

We had a Mexican Fiesta one night, a Junkanoo another, a real traditional Hawaiian Luau on the beach one evening, and then the Roaring 20’s Classic French cuisine the last night. For each setting there were 4 plates, Bakarac Crystal, Red Wine, White Wine, Champagne, and water glasses, and no dishwater and very limited cistern water. That was a trip. It chartered for $40,000.00 a week.

I stayed after they left the island, and had Phillip, one of the two brothers that owned the island come for a week. He and his friends were a blast to be around, and they were always coming in the kitchen, hanging out with me, wanting to learn and talk.

I spent a lot of time on Cistern Cay. It is one of the most special places in my memories of my life. There were 6 beaches on the island, and no footprints. It was like a treasure hunt. We were self-contained, with generators, gas, and cistern water, and at 9:00 every night, the generator was turned off, so it was completely silent. Just the birds, bugs, and laughter.

The Mc Taggart family bought a lot of the islands in the Bahamian National Seashore Park, just to make sure it wasn’t developed. They are some of the neatest people I ever worked for. I think about them often.

Be open to the world, it is open to you

I’m officially a freelance chef anywhere and everywhere.

Jefferson Beach

We had the gear and compressor on board, so people got to dive. I got to as well, since there would be an odd number, and everyone needed a buddy. I loved doing the drift dives. My agent called and said they needed a massage therapist on a 166 ft. Feadship called Jefferson Beach, so I was off with my table to join the boat in Miami Beach. I would join the boat when one particular couple chartered it, and we’d go to the Bahamas.

There was a crew of 14, and since there was only 2 to 4 guest at the most, when I was on board, the crew wasn’t under much duress.

It was weird not cooking, but I definitely didn’t mind, it was a nice break. Even though I traveled with my massage table on all the boats, I only did maybe 3 a week. On Jefferson Beach I did usually 2 or 3 a day, which still wasn’t much.

Never get on a charter yacht, if the captain doesn’t split the tips.

Lady Swensen and Jewel of the Isle

Still freelancing..

I worked on 2 different yachts with Capt. Carl for 5 years, named Lady Swenson, a 86 ft. Cheoy Lee, and Jewel of the Isle, a 70 ft. Hatteras. They both chartered heavily, in New England and the Exumas. We were always busy. As soon as the charter guests left, the owners were flying in.

Capt. Carl was a Dive Master with the dingy; it was like being an angel in heaven.

I cooked a lot of Lobster, Grouper, Snapper, and Conch, and New England lots of Maine Lobster.

On my occasional night off in Nassau, while provisioning, I’d go to the Poop Deck, my favorite local’s restaurant, and have Cracked Conch, Peas and Rice, and Guava Duff. They have the best Guava Duff in the Bahamas.

If you’re ever in Hiborne Cay, Exuma, look for the Green Flash at sunset off the fish cleaning dock. It really happens.

Jewel of the Aisle

The Symonettes'

The 5.5 Meter Worlds were about to happen in Nassau, and the Symonettes’ were hosting the crews in their home for dinner parties every night, so I flew in to cook. They treated me like family, and invited me to all the events that were going on. On a per hour basis, I met more people than ever from all over the world.

They had beautiful home and great kids. Bobby Symonette was very into Yacht Racing since the 50‘s, all over the world. I had great respect for him. I still go and visit Dianne when in Nassau. I feel like she’s one of my moms….lucky me.

Sometimes you get to choose your family.

I had been making “Joni’s Sassy Caesar” for about a year, and selling it to local yacht chefs, restaurants, and gourmet stores. It was going well, and my business was growing, and I was getting excited about the fact that this might really happen, so I moved back to Beaufort, where rent is a lot cheaper to pursue the Salad Dressing Business.

I was flying all over the world still cooking, had a home base and the dressing was going great. All in all life was good.

Phantom

I got a call from Capt. Ian Kerr, the Capt. of Phantom, a 102 ft. Feadship, saying they were off shore, and heading to Beaufort, did I want to work? They were going to be in Beaufort for a month, then head to Palm Beach, then the Exumas. It sounded good; I met with the crew, it all seemed cool, the money good, so I said yes.

For the first month I just walked across the street to go home, and back in the morning to go to work. The boat was gorgeous, and I was proud to be on her, and to top it all off, the owners were from North Carolina.

We had great weather the whole winter, no guests Christmas, so we went to the beach and went snorkeling all day, and had a BBQ for dinner at Staniel Cay. After dinner we were at the Staniel Cay Yacht Club, and I ran into my best friend Mary’s dad. We laughed it up, walked to the only payphone on the island, and tried calling her, the phone was dead, and too much salt spray I guess.

In Georgetown, Exuma, every boat in the marina was from North Carolina, and it felt good. Even Jackie Onassis was on one of them. She told me she had been enjoying my Sassy Caesar for sometime, and to please ship them more, when I got back to Beaufort. She was just chatting away, meanwhile I must have been ghost white, then red, and thought I’d throw up…thank God I didn’t. She was so sweet to even say something to me….but we’re all human now aren’t we!

Besides that being the coolest thing that happened during that winter, we went to San Salvador, for New Years Eve and day. I needed eggs, for Chocolate Crème Brule, so the mate took me ashore, and I went to the local grocery shack to pick my eggs from the coop.

I met a 94 year old woman that still had the Arrowak Indian blood line so thick, it was like going back in time hundreds of years. Just imagining Columbus discovering the new world, meeting these people, and everything that went with that era, was so cool.

Always run out of eggs, when you know you’re going to a new port.

Christina

I got a phone call from my agent, one of the chefs on a 130 ft. Broward, Christina, had to have surgery, and they needed a chef stat. I was on board within 24 hours.

She was a private yacht, and the owner hardly ever had guests. We were a crew of 5, 3 girls, and 2 guys, unusual….but good!

We cruised from Ft. Lauderdale through the Abacos to Harbor Island, North Eluthra, and Nassau.

I cooked home-style food, which was way different for me, and he ate with the crew.

The crew was very diverse. The captain had bee an Alaskan King Crab Boat Capt. in Alaska, the stewardess had been a designer in New York City, the Engineer was into Sports Fishing big time, and the deckhand was the Capt. little sister, learning the ropes.

Since we only had, at the most 2 guests, we got to know each other real well in such a short time.

If you don’t have brothers and sisters, it doesn’t mean you can’t pick up a few along the way!

Westport 130

Back to Beaufort for the summer season, cooking in beach cottages, and the token yacht in port, and making lots of yummy dressing.

My friend Tilly had been doing the same thing as me for years, and had moved back to the Outer Banks as well. She had called the week before, and asked me what I was doing this winter…..well I wasn’t quite sure, but I didn’t want to be cold.

The phone rang, and it was my agent wanting to know if myself and somebody else wanted to go to the Caribbean for the winter. But I needed to bring a Stewardess with me, so I called Tilly.

We flew to Ft. Lauderdale, Yachting Mecca, it was 2 weeks before Christmas, and we were supposed to be in St. Marteen Christmas Eve. We did a 48-hour marathon provisioning stint, with two Christmas trees(they asked for two) and all the decorations to boot.

We left port, got into the Gulf Stream, and started taking on water, so we went back to Port, and got hauled out to fix the problem. With out doing a sea trial, we left again to head south, got out in the gulf stream again, and the same thing happened, and by the time we got to Pier 66, back in Lauderdale, the liaison, had bought a 130 Westport over the phone, and we were backing up to it, and taking all provisions off, as well as two Christmas trees. It was total madness. The kind of madness that makes you wonder if you are really supposed to be here now.

We headed out again, without the original Capt., which hired us, and beat our brains out all the way to Puerto Rico, refueled, and deadheaded it to St. Marteen. Meanwhile there’s a 41 ft. Bertram following us, which was the owner’s fishing boat.

Tilly and I decorated the trees from Puerto Rico to St. Marteen, and baked Christmas goodies, and was started dinner.

We made it to Simpson Bay, but not in time for the opening of the bridge, that would have let us in to a safe, calm harbor. So we are 300 yards off the beach with 17 people on the beach calling us on the satellite phone telling us to pick them up. But the thing was, there was a 4 ft. ground swell, and we couldn’t put the tender over to pick them up, in fear of it crashing through the plate glass main saloon window. We just couldn’t do it.

They were not happy campers, and it wasn’t out fault. but that didn’t matter. It was madness, on a boat with no name.

When they did get on Christmas morning, it wasn’t much better, and they found their own ride out. We started distributing seasick bands to everybody, but they stayed so drunk, I don’t think they felt the movement.

All in all there were 24 people on board. People were sleeping everywhere. There were only supposed to be 8 guests. Thank the Goddess I had tons of stuff in the deep freezer, and Tilly and I were friends…..I just hoped she would talk to me when this was all over.

When the ex-wife and girlfriend are both on board, you know it’s going to be a memorable cruise.

Miscellaneous

These are some of the pictures and images collected along the way.

The Maxi racing yacht Congere