May Newsletter Vol. 2
10% Discount For All Charters Except Ocean Vibes & A3
We are discounting all charters except Ocean Vibes & A3 by 10% for their remaining availability this season! All charters must be booked & completed by August 15th 2022. Inquire for details.
Chef of the Month | Julia Ray | SHANGRI LA
We want to showcase one of our veteran all-star chefs in our fleet who is aboard S/Y 'Shangri La'. Her exposé below describes her culinary history and how she chooses to incorporate local ingredients whenever she has the opportunity with her charter meals. We're happy to announce Captain TC and Chef Julia will be staying aboard 'Shangri-La' and are taking reservations for the 2022/2023 season.
"I have spent the past decade in the Virgin Islands working as a chef on charter boats. I have always enjoyed cooking regardless of what I am preparing. For me, cooking is the easy part. It is the creating, planning, sourcing and shopping part of cooking that is the most effort.
Most visitors to the islands do not realize that our tropical islands are not the producers of an abundance of fresh produce. The island certainly supports the growth of many tropical fruits and vegetables, such as papaya, bananas, mangos, avocados, and starfruit, but these are only available at certain times of the year and not year-round. For the remainder of the year, we chefs rely on imported produce and there are times the pickings are very slim, and sourcing enough produce to provide a variety for a week-long charter can be an enormous task.
As a gardener myself, I grow many of the herbs I use on the boat as well as tomatoes, green onions, ginger and hot peppers in the amounts necessary for week-long charters. I love to cook with ingredients when in season and do so whenever possible. And when not possible, I spend the days leading up to charter visiting every grocery store and market to find the freshest and most appealing items available and incorporate those things into my menu.
One of my favorite produce laden meals to make is tuna poke. I love the variety of colors in the dish and how the flavors all come together. Anytime I get to “play” with my knives, chopping and slicing, is a fun day in the galley for me. I like to make a special marinade for the tuna using ginger and green onions from my garden and make sure to reserve some of the marinade to serve with the dish. Tuna is one of the fish that can be sourced locally in the islands and this is a great dish to showcase its flavor."
Weekly Rates From $25,200
