The Challenges Below Deck: Mediterranean's Dave White Faced Cooking On A Yacht - Exclusive

Life on a yacht is not all fun and adventure, especially for the crew. While guests are enjoying the good life on deck, the staff works tirelessly behind-the-scenes to keep all the on-land comforts — including sumptuous food — available on the boat. The hit Bravo series "Below Deck" follows the cast of crew members as they sail the seas and take whatever yacht life has to throw at them.

But things aren't always smooth sailing. The spin-off series "Below Deck Mediterranean" follows the crew of motor yacht Home, a 50-meter long charter boat that travels the picturesque Mediterranean Sea. There can be 12 guests and up to 10 crew members at any given time on the yacht. We got the chance to catch up with Chef Dave White, the on-board chef for Season 7 of "Below Deck Mediterranean," for an exclusive interview, where he discussed the unique challenges he faced cooking at sea.

When it comes to the cooking on the yacht, food is expected to be of the highest quality. To achieve this, Chef Dave White told us, "There's unlimited budgets. You can get some of the best produce in the world." Still, all the money and produce in the world means nothing without the skilled hands to transform it — and that transformation takes time.

To produce a top-quality breakfast, Chef Dave got up every day to make three different types of bread. Bread-making is, at its best, a long process, but the sea adds some additional complications. "I was up early because I was trying to do my different sourdough breads, to get them started every morning. The proof always takes a lot longer on a yacht because of the air con — because of the temperature, it's so cold," he explained. "You have to always get up a good three, four hours before breakfast service."

It wasn't all bad, though. Waking up early allowed Chef Dave to enjoy one of his favorite things: a cup of coffee while watching the sunrise. "You get great sunrise [and] sunset most of the time. It's the best place to have a coffee in the morning."

The other big issue Dave White faced on board comes from working in a small space — too small, in fact. Cooking on a yacht means space is at a premium, and the kitchen area is not afforded much of it. "​​A lot of the time, [the tough thing about] being on the yacht is the space ... Nine times out of the ten, the galley isn't massive." 

Having a small kitchen also means that it frequently comes understocked with equipment. Chef Dave described coming onto the motor yacht Home: "There was literally no equipment. It was a nightmare, and we had to get it in. It was really tough for the first charter. There was very little equipment. I actually brought a lot with me — I brought my own sous vide machine with me. I brought a lot of baking stuff in my big bag."

The space issues were made even more complicated by the addition of the film crew. "It's definitely quite difficult with the cameras," Chef Dave admitted. Despite a lack of space and some growing pains in the kitchen, he and the crew of Home keep serving up quality cuisine.

New episodes of Bravo Network's "Below Deck Mediterranean" premiere on Bravo Mondays at 8/7 p.m. CT and are streaming on Peacock.