Food for Thought: How this chef saves up to £2500 a year in banking fees

Adam loves his job. As the executive chef on-board an exclusive yacht, he delights his guests with the finest dining experiences while cruising through some of the world’s most beautiful islands. We wanted to find out his story and learn how Revolut saves him over £200 each month.

Adam, can you start by telling us a bit about yourself and your line of work?

Culinary arts have always been a lifelong passion of mine. I started working as a chef in Birmingham as soon as I finished school at 16. I moved to London when I was 18 and worked for over seven years in some of the most well-known and respected venues, including The Ritz and The Sloane Club, before being offered the opportunity to work on-board a cruise ship.

After six years at sea, I am now the Executive Chef on-board the Crystal Esprit, an exclusive yacht catering up to 60 passengers. The Esprit has a crew of 80 people, 18 of which work in the kitchen, myself included. We take great pride in what we do and adhere to the highest culinary standards for our guests.

What does your daily work routine look like?

My day starts in the early hours of the morning, long before our guests wake up. The first thing on my to-do list is to check the quality of the produce before we start to prepare any of our dishes.

On a daily basis, the team and I prepare Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, using only the finest ingredients. These regularly include white truffles, lobster, caviar and wagyu beef, just to name a few. One of my favourite dishes at the moment is poached lobster tail with pickled carrot and ginger puree, finished with lobster essence and fresh white truffles.

And what is your favourite part of working on-board the Crystal Esprit?

As a chef, one thing I enjoy about working here is the open kitchen, which allows our guests to see how the dishes are being prepared each day. Cooking is an art-form more than anything else, so giving passengers a glimpse into how the produce is transformed into world-class dishes is an integral part of the culinary experience.

The open kitchen allows us to interact with our guests, which makes my job all the more enjoyable. Most of our passengers are fascinated by our craft, and preparing the meals in front of their eyes makes for a more holistic dining experience.

In addition, I consider myself very fortunate to have visited so many beautiful places around the world, ranging from the most amazing remote islands to historic port cities. This is, by a long shot, one of the best perks of the job.

Given your global lifestyle, how do you find a bank that suits your needs?

Travelling from one exotic destination to another can be fulfilling on a personal level, but as you can imagine, using my UK-issued bank card in the Seychelles or in any other part of the world isn’t very cost effective. The main issues are the high banking fees for using my card abroad and the poor exchange rates most traditional banks offer.

I had been looking into different types of multi-currency accounts for a while, when my friend introduced me to Revolut. Initially, I was excited by the fact that I was finally able to hold all the various currencies I needed for my travels, but then I found out about the Interbank Rate, which is the rate Revolut uses for all transfers and transactions.This is a great feature for me, as my monthly salary is paid in US dollars.

Before Revolut, I would make an international bank transfer from my US account to my main UK account which would incur serious fees. But now with Revolut, I simply top up my account in USD and transfer out GBP to my UK bank account. This way, I don’t get hit by outrageous fees and I also know that I’m always getting the best possible rate thanks to the Interbank Rate. What’s more, the process is hassle free and very fast.

On average, I save over £200 a month, which is why Revolut is now an integral tool to managing most of my personal finances.

Looking forward, what new feature would you like to see from Revolut?

I’m waiting for the launch of the cryptocurrency feature (as I’m sure many others are too) since its popularity has exploded in recent months. Personally, I would like to see a cryptocurrency wallet in the app.