Performance Artist: Chef Sean Connolly

South African chef Sean Connolly, at age 32, says he has hit his stride aboard the 154-foot (47-meter) explorer charter yacht King Benji. “I feel I am coming out of the shadows,” Connolly says. “I have discovered my own sense of self and choose now to make all of my work purposeful, and not have it be just another job.”

It helps that King Benji has a galley layout that’s built for a star. Usually, a superyacht galley is separate from the guest area. Not so aboard King Benji, whose open galley has lots of natural light from windows to port and starboard; a service area and pantry on one side; and a dining area on the other side with a pass-through to the breakfast bar, where guests can watch the chef preparing meals.

“We have many cool places to eat aboard King Benji,” he says, adding that he enjoys telling jokes and performing for an audience. “One of the favorite areas is the teppanyaki bar on the bridge deck where participants enjoy an immersive eating experience. The other day, I served pizza on the swim platform.”

Connolly grew up in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. From age 13 to 18, he attended a boarding school in the rural countryside.

“Academics were not my strong suit,” he says, “but I gravitated to all types of social activities such as swimming, squash, rugby, cricket and chess club.” After high school, he was in no hurry to leave his hometown—in part because Port Elizabeth is a good place to hang out. It’s known as the “Friendly City” and has seemingly endless long beaches. Connolly picked up odd jobs from time to time, and one gap year turned into two.

Then, a friend who was working in Dubai encouraged Connolly to join him. Waiting tables gave him a taste for the culinary world’s potential. His mother suggested culinary school, and the South African Academy of Culinary Arts caught his attention. After a year of classwork, he had two years of internships. Chef Jonathan Hodder took Connolly under his wing at a well-known restaurant in Port Elizabeth.

From there, he took jobs doing room service, garnishes, kitchen chores and arugula picking. Bit by bit, he became a sous chef, learning about fine dining and wine parings.

One of his mentors from South Africa, Paul Bain, became head chef at The George Hotel on the Isle of Wight in the U.K. and invited Connolly to join him there—doing full lunch and dinner service for hundreds of guests. Connolly then worked at a restaurant called Salty’s until one summer day, when he went to the beach with some buddies and beers. They saw smoke billowing behind them. The restaurant had caught fire, leaving his plans in ashes.

That’s when a friend from Palma de Mallorca, in Spain’s Balearic Isles, told Connolly about the idea of cooking on boats.

“As I was never able to sit still, cooking on board a yacht sounded great,” he says. “You are always moving.”

He has since cruised while working from the Seychelles to the Arctic. Aboard King Benji, several charters in Croatia taught Connolly that he enjoys the flow of different guests, a changing seascape and the chance to create new menus.

“I want to give back by putting my passion into the yachting industry through palate, positivity, creativity and laughter,” he says. 

Q&A WITH CHEF SEAN CONNOLLY

What ingredients do you always have on hand in the galley?

Sesame oil, soy and kaffir lime leaves, I guess because I love creating Asian tasting menus.

What is the strangest food a guest has requested?

When I was in the Arctic, I was asked to cook whale, but I simply said no, I could not do that. Besides that, I had one high-profile celebrity guest who arrived from a different time zone and asked for a very specialized breakfast twice in a 24-hour period, first at 2 p.m. and again at 3 a.m. He wanted 10 eggs, sourdough toast, no butter, a bowl of berries,
sweet potato and turkey bacon.

What is your favorite food?

I am passionate about fresh seafood. I believe in simple preparations. I don’t like to apply too much makeup. Some people really overdo it, adding too many varied flavors. I like fish barely adorned and cooked to perfection.

What music do you listen to in the galley?

I love afro tech. And when I want to get pumped, I listen to power liquid drum and bass.

If you were not a chef, what would you be?

I would be a teacher. I have had so many amazing mentors, it would be my wish to be able to, in turn, offer some inspiration to students. 

For more information: iyc.com or any charter broker.

Spring 2025