Gastronomy Yacht Charter — A Week of the Mediterranean's Best Tables
Two-star kitchens ashore. A tasting menu on board. Six markets in seven days.
For serious food and wine clients — collectors, restaurateurs, sommelier-led groups — who want the week to be built around what's on the table.
A gastronomy charter is a different brief from a family week. The yacht is chosen for its galley and its chef; the itinerary is plotted around the restaurants you want to eat at; the on-board cellar is built with you before you board. We've run gastronomy-led weeks in Sardinia, Sicily, the Amalfi coast, the Cyclades, Croatia and Mallorca, and the formula is consistent: alternate a tasting menu on board one night with a serious table ashore the next, and use the day in between to provision from the morning market.
Our gastronomy charters typically go on yachts in the 30–45m range — large enough to carry a proper chef brigade and a wine fridge that holds a week's drinking, small enough that the on-board kitchen feels like a chef's table. We work with chefs who have done time in Michelin kitchens and who treat the week as a residency, not a holiday.
How we run a gastronomy charter
- Chef-led on-board residency
Each charter's chef is briefed on the week's tasting nights, dietaries and preferred regional produce. Menus locked 10 days out.
- Restaurant access
Tables at Da Vittorio (Lake Como), Cappuccio (Capri), Selene (Santorini), Le Calandre (Padova), Casa Jondal, Konoba Mate (Korčula) — pre-held before you arrive.
- Winery & cellar visits
Provenza in Franciacorta, Antinori in Bolgheri, Tenuta delle Terre Nere on Etna, Pelješac wineries in Croatia. Private tastings arranged with the proprietors.
- Market mornings
Provisioning runs at Ortigia, Catania, Palermo, Athens Central, Bocairent, Mercat Olivar — with the chef, before lunch service.
- Sommelier on request
A dedicated sommelier joinable for the week or for individual evenings. Cellar built collaboratively before the charter.
Routes we run for this
Pick a trip length to see the regions we charter most often for gastronomy charters.
Three days for serious food clients on the east coast of Sicily. Etna wineries, Ortigia market, dinner at the best Sicilian kitchens.
- →Catania — fish market at dawn with the chef
- →Etna — Tenuta delle Terre Nere tasting and lunch
- →Ortigia — dinner at Cortile Verga
Yachts suited to this
Examples from our current fleet. Final yacht is matched to your group, dates and route at proposal stage.
Our team will hand-pick yachts for your dates and group size. Send us a brief and we'll come back with a shortlist within 24 hours.
Crew, chef & everything else
- Chef brigade
Lead chef plus sous on 35m+ yachts. Menus pre-agreed and provisioned.
- Cellar built with you
We share the on-board cellar list before the charter; you add anything missing and we provision it before you board.
- Restaurant bookings ashore
Tables held for the entire week at the names that matter; we work with the maître d'hôtel directly.
- Winery visits
Private tastings with the proprietor — Franciacorta, Bolgheri, Etna, Pelješac, Naoussa, Santorini, depending on the route.
- Sommelier (optional)
Sommelier joinable for the week or for individual evenings. Pre-agreed at booking.
- Market mornings
Pre-arranged early-morning market runs with the chef — Ortigia, Catania, Athens, Palma, Korčula.
- Tender shuttles
For shore dinners, the tender is on call until you finish the last digestif.
What they said after
“We have eaten in most of the rooms that mattered this decade. Doing it from a yacht — with the same chef cooking for us on the off nights — is genuinely a different format. The Mammà dinner and the on-board pasta night the night after, side by side, was a holiday I would have flown a long way for.”
Private client, Amalfi gastronomy week, June 2025 · Italy“I told them I wanted Pelješac wines on the boat and Konoba Mate's kid for one night. They delivered both, and the kid stayed for two.”
Wine-trade client, Dalmatia, September 2024 · Croatia
Common questions
- Can the yacht's chef cook to a Michelin standard?
On the 35m+ yachts we use for gastronomy charters, the lead chefs have done meaningful time in Michelin kitchens. We brief them on your taste 10 days out and lock menus before you board.
- Can we bring our own wine?
Yes — and most clients do. We provision your cellar shipments before you board, store them aboard at the right temperature, and the chief stewardess opens what you ask for at dinner.
- Can a sommelier join us?
Yes. We have a small network of sommeliers (English / Italian / French / Spanish-speaking) who join for the week or for specific evenings.
- Where is best for a gastronomy charter?
Amalfi / Capri and the Cyclades for sit-down restaurants; Sicily and Sardinia for produce-driven, market-led weeks; Dalmatia and Pelješac for wine; Mallorca and Menorca for the new generation of Spanish chefs.
- How much does a gastronomy yacht charter cost?
A 35–40m crewed motor yacht is typically €120,000–€220,000 per week + APA. APA on a gastronomy week runs higher (35–45%) because the food and wine spend is real.
Send us the dates and the tables you'd like booked. We'll build the rest of the week — yacht, chef, route, cellar and the morning markets — around them.