Yacht chef to restaurateur
Meet Edd Atkinson, yacht chef to the rich and glamorous! He’s cooked for football legend Jürgen Klinsmann, a Brazilian Miss World, and a handful of Russian billionaires. Talk about a dinner guest list! From the galley of superyachts to starting his own land-based business, Edd shares his exciting journey from Superyacht chef to starting from Scratch all over again!
All will become clear…
Born in Derbyshire, Edd moved to Buckinghamshire at the tender age of 10. By 16, he was already diving into professional kitchens. “I’ve wanted to be a chef for as long as I can remember. I used to follow my mother around the kitchen and loved baking cakes with her.” He got a job in his early teens as a pot-washer but quickly transitioned into food prep. The chef noticed Edd had something special, possibly the way he cut those carrots…and soon began training him. “I’ll never forget the chef saying, Edd, you’ve got the passion to be a great chef!” That’s all Edd needed to hear, and from that moment on, his culinary career took off.
Edd went to college to study for his NVQ qualifications. This included a one-day release programme that allowed him to work in various hotel kitchens to gain on-the-job experience. Day release also meant that the young and up-and-coming master chef got paid whilst studying.
Edd then moved to Guernsey after qualifying, working at La Belle Luce as Chef de Partie. “Guernsey was a bustling and busy place during the summer season but as soon as winter hit”, he remembers, “it’s like a ghost town! During the colder months there was not a lot going on that’s for sure! Tumbleweeds could often be seen rolling across the roads!” He laughs. Not quite the high-energy environment Edd was craving so he packed his bags and returned to England and started to cater for private events, often enlisting friends to help out. From hog-roasts, to lavish wedding celebrations…you name it, Edd could do it!
Then came yachting. “My dad, Bob, worked in finance for Superyachts, so I got a lucky break,” Edd recalls. After getting some insider tips from a head chef on one of my Dad’s clients boats, he passed his STCW certification and was promptly thrown in at the deep end…quite literally! “One week after I landed my first gig and was flown all expenses paid to St. Maarten to start work on MY Go!” Aged 27, this truly was a baptism of fire for Edd! “18th April 2011, is a date I will never forget because it’s the day I left everything I knew behind to start my new yachting adventure!”
And what an adventure it turned out to be, as he regales all the fabulous destinations he’s been lucky enough to find himself in, including the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico, Columbia, Belize, through to the San Blas Islands, Costa Rica, the Panama canal and many more. Always returning back to Europe for the beginning of each Med Season.
“I spent a total of 12 years working on 14 different motor and sail yachts specialising in fine dining. I have worked for some of the wealthiest yacht owners in the world, where seven bodyguards accompanying me on my shopping trips became the daily norm and driving to the markets in a fleet of armoured vehicles certainly got the attention of the locals!”
Cooking for the uber-rich meant no expense was spared. “I had free reign with the budget, so I bought the best of everything,” Edd grins. “One owner didn’t trust restaurants, so I had to whip up ten dish choices every day for just two people. No complaints from the bodyguards, though. They ate like kings!”
Edd’s specialty? Fish and seafood as fresh as can be, straight from the ocean to the plate with no time for the freezer!
The thrill of cooking Miss World’s dinner in 2023 ranks high on his list of highlights, “She was so kind and loved my food! But cooking for Jürgen Klinsmann the football legend is right up there too!”
Of course, life at sea wasn’t all sunsets and seared tuna. Edd worked 18-hour days for three straight months at a time, and always being at everyone’s beck and call 24/7 started to take its toll. “At my last gig, I was literally feeding 30 race crew, 18 guests and 13 crew. I decided that if I was going to continue to work at this pace, then I would do it for myself.”
Edd finally decided enough was enough and swapped the waves for dry land, moving to Mallorca. “2024 was a very busy year for me…I opened my own restaurant Scratch in February (on Valentine’s Day). I married my beautiful wife Grace in March and I hit the big 4-0 in June. Well, they do say things come in 3’s!”
Scratch is located in Cala Major, Palma and with its mouth-watering gourmet tapas and ever-changing menu, it’s the kind of place foodies dream of. “I wanted to serve small plates for diners with a refined palate. We print our own menus so I can change the dishes whenever I want. However, I always keep a few favourites! I want our customers to appreciate the textures, flavours and the passion that goes into every mouthful they eat.”
Edd sources everything himself, using seasonal ingredients and infusing his dishes with flavours inspired by his global adventures. “Our customers never want to leave,” he beams, a sign of a job well done.
Edd’s small team includes Sous Chef Anaïs from Normandy and his wife Grace, who runs the front of house. The restaurant’s terrace is decked out with wooden tables and chairs, and the bright pink bougainvillea adds a romantic touch, while the interior is contemporary yet still cosy and intimate.
And the name? “We literally started from scratch,” Edd explains. “After tearing the place apart and rebuilding it with architect Pedro Scattarella, Scratch was born. Blood, sweat, tears and a lot of hammering. But it was totally worth it! Pedro’s company DA2ARQ in Barcelona also designed the restaurants Vandal and Ombu in Palma so Scratch was his third restaurant project in Mallorca! We are very proud of it!”
He says that he would also like to take this opportunity to thank Erika and Chris Heule because without them, it wouldn’t have been possible to open Scratch without borrowing money. “I was very lucky that my last gig and pay check in yachting allowed my dream of opening my own restaurant to come true! I will forever be grateful to them and I’m looking forward to seeing them again when I fly out to their boat in the Bahamas for a New Year’s Eve party! It will be an amazing way to end this crazy year!”
So how difficult was the jump from ship to shore for him? “I am sure most people say this but not having a regular yacht salary in the bank every month was very difficult at first. Most restaurants don’t make money in the first three years so not knowing if it would fail or succeed used to keep me awake at night! However, I saved the money I needed and stuck to my budget and I’m delighted to say that Scratch has been successful in year one, so I’m glad I took that leap of faith! If I had to choose one thing I miss about yachting, it would have to be the travel. I do miss the feeling you get when you look out of the window and think “where are we now?””
As for the future, Edd’s got big plans. “We’re thinking of opening Scratch Beach, a more laid-back venue with beachy vibes and Street Scratch for take-away food.” He also plans to extend the kitchen and add more outdoor seating.
Edd’s advice for fellow yachties? “Save your money! Yachting lets you save every penny, with little outgoings, so take advantage of that. It’ll help you when you finally make the jump ashore.”
With Scratch thriving, Edd’s leap of faith seems to have paid off and we couldn’t be happier for him! I’ve already booked my table in December for my Christmas get-together and I’m very much looking forward to sampling his Christmas inspired tapas delights!
