Bespoke Caviar Is the Latest Thing in Superyacht Customization

The caviar inside the tin is Royal Imperial, which is known for its large pearls and rich, buttery, nutty flavor. Courtesy Patrick Knowles

More than 35 years in the yacht industry have taught designer Patrick Knowles that when it comes to interior elements, just about anything that can be customized is already being made in bespoke fashion.

“When a yacht designer designs for a yacht owner or client, we speak about the proverbial stuff: custom carpet, custom furniture, custom light fixtures,” he says. “It’s stuff that is basically taken for granted that it will be designed. They’ve become like the monogrammed towels and uniforms.”

What hasn’t yet been fully explored from a design perspective, he says, is curated lifestyle. About three years ago, he quietly launched a company, The Quintessential Yachtsman, and has been working with about a half dozen yacht owners to create vodkas and caviars that are personalized for each yacht.

“We create a visual and a physical environment for them to enjoy. Now they can taste that environment,” he says. “The inspiration of putting the caviar together is all part and parcel of my thought process about the project. It culminates now in an extension of the brand. You can put it on your palate and take the experience to a whole new bespoke level that nobody else in the industry is doing.”

Caviar, he says, is a lot like wine. Some people will taste a sauvignon blanc, a chardonnay and a pinot grigio and think, white wine. Other people can taste not only the different varietals, but also the hints of flavors and even the terroir. With caviar, there are different levels of texture, firmness, colors, variations in the colors of the pearls, salinity, density. “All of these different things, and of course the flavor, are different from species to species,” he says.

So it is that Knowles has become a sort of sommelier of species. He is already getting to know yacht owners on a deep level as he designs the interiors of their boats; for the caviar curation, he extends the owners’ tastes quite literally to the palate.

As part of his company The Quintessential Yachtsman, Patrick Knowles created Yacht Life Vodka and Yacht Life Caviar. Courtesy Ayubi Photography

One example is the caviar he curated for the 163-foot Westport Maison Blanche. He had already worked with the owner on a refit that included commissioning the de Gourney piece shown above in the dining area—artwork that looks as if it’s entirely hand-painted, but that actually has an octopus crafted from thousands of silk threads that are embroidered. It’s special to the yacht’s owner, and it’s memorable for the guests, which is why it became the image on the custom caviar tin shown at right in the photo above.

“I took a core element from the interior of the boat, and I translated that into a design for the label, the tin, of the caviar,” Knowles says. “That’s what I’ve done with my other yachts as well. I’ve taken bespoke elements that I’ve designed, and incorporated it into the label. There’s no question that this caviar belongs to this boat.”

The caviar inside the tin is Royal Imperial, which is known for its large pearls and rich, buttery, nutty flavor. Historically, the term imperial designated the rarest, lightest-colored roe that was reserved for royalty.

Knowles says he enjoys eating a bump of this or pretty much any other caviar straight off his hand, between the thumb and the index finger. “You basically kiss it off your hand,” he says. “That’s the original way of consuming caviar. It was done by merchants as they traveled around the Caspian Sea, tasting different kinds of caviar. That’s my favorite way of eating caviar. And when I tell that story, most people try it au naturale, and they keep coming back.”

It’s an experience that most people haven’t had, and that makes being aboard any given yacht even more memorable.

Yacht Life

As part of his company The Quintessential Yachtsman, Patrick Knowles created Yacht Life Vodka and Yacht Life Caviar. He oversaw the limited-edition, custom-blended vodka that’s served aboard the 144-foot Palmer Johnson Alta. On board is the only place people can taste it, either as guests of the owner or as charter clients.  “We want to be the pace-setter for this level of bespoke customization,” he says.

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