For yacht chef Eleanor Jarvis, food has always been at the centre of life. Growing up in a small village in the English countryside, surrounded by fresh produce, locally sourced meat and a family who cared deeply about ingredients, cooking was woven into her childhood long before she considered making it a career.
“My Grandad was a proud farmer and my Mum a chef, so I’ve really grown up with good food being the highlight of everyone’s day,” she says.
Today, Jarvis works as a charter yacht chef aboard a 55-foot sailing yacht in Greece, creating vibrant dishes inspired by the Mediterranean and the islands around her.
Yet becoming a professional chef was never the original plan.
After completing a marketing degree, Jarvis believed culinary school was necessary to pursue cooking professionally. That changed during a post-university gap year, when an Instagram advert led her to an unpaid events role with a yacht flotilla company in Greece.
Sailing around the Saronic Islands, she watched the host-and-skipper teams cater for charter guests each week and discovered a career she hadn’t previously known existed.
“I knew this was my calling.”
Jarvis returned home determined to improve her cooking and come back the following year as a paid yacht chef. By summer 2025, she was working her first official chef season in Croatia.
From Croatia to Australia and Mallorca
After a demanding but rewarding first yacht season, Jarvis travelled to Australia, where industry connections led to a sole chef position aboard a 30-metre motor yacht in Sydney.
Working for the yacht’s owners gave her creative freedom and the opportunity to develop new skills. “BBQing on the top of a yacht in Australia was quite a big pinch-me moment,” she recalls.
Back in Europe, Jarvis attended the Anchor and Apron yacht chef retreat in Mallorca, refining her cooking while discovering the importance of community in an industry that can be demanding and isolating.
Those connections ultimately led to her current yacht chef position in Greece.
Life as a Charter Yacht Chef in Greece
Jarvis has completed eight charters and is briefly flying home to see her family for the first time in four months before returning for charter number nine.
Her season continues until late October, with everything from becoming a superyacht sous chef to cooking aboard Caribbean sailing yachts.
For now, the Greek islands provide both her workplace and inspiration. Her menus combine locally caught fish and seasonal produce with colourful presentation and increasingly ambitious techniques.
Here, Eleanor Jarvis shares her favourite yacht dishes — and the stories behind serving them at sea.
Saffron Sea Bass
Saffron-glazed sea bass with garlic butter mussels, champagne beurre blanc, charred leeks and lemon rice.
For Jarvis, one of the greatest privileges of cooking aboard a yacht is being able to connect a meal directly to the destination.
“I love serving my guests same-day caught fish from the island we’re anchored in,” she says. “It makes for such a memorable dining experience.”
Sea Bream Crudo
Sea bream crudo with yuzu and grapefruit sauce, passionfruit and homemade parsley oil.
As much about presentation as flavour, crudo is one of Jarvis’ favourite dishes to bring to the table.
“Crudo is a joy to plate and it’s my favourite thing to place down on the table — usually a few theatrical ‘Ooooh’s… which I live for.”
Roasted Salmon Platter
Roasted salmon with tahini and coconut yoghurt, finished with sesame, microgreens, cucumber ribbons and radish.
Colour is central to Jarvis’ cooking, and this is the dish that reliably makes guests reach for their phones.
“It’s super colourful and I think pretty Insta-worthy!”
Grilled Peach and Burrata Salad
Honey-glazed roasted peaches, torn burrata, pomegranate and prosciutto with a maple-lemon vinaigrette.
“There’s something about burrata that screams Euro-summer,” Jarvis says.
Paired with seasonal peaches and pomegranate, it is exactly the kind of bright, produce-led food that feels made for long lunches at sea.
Lemon and Poppyseed Crêpes
Lemon and poppyseed crêpes with blueberry compote and sweet ricotta, topped with edible calendula petals and presented family-style.
“A family-style breakfast is always a crowd pleaser on a sailing yacht,” Jarvis explains. The deep purple blueberry compote ensures the dish remains as beautiful on individual plates as it does when first presented at the table.
Peruvian Chicken with Aji Verde
Peruvian chicken served with aji verde, turmeric rice and lime salsa — finished with what Jarvis calls a “chic little lime cheek”.
Cooking outside is another pleasure of life aboard.
“I love using the BBQ on board and the smell it makes from sizzling the marinated chicken gets guests on other boats peeking over!”
The bold colours also make it particularly fun to plate.
Eleanor’s Signature Fruit Platter
Every morning begins the same way: with fruit.
Jarvis assembles a platter from the most colourful produce she can source that morning, turning a seemingly simple breakfast staple into a daily creative exercise.
“I make a fruit platter EVERY morning. It’s the first thing I make every day and probably one of my favourite things to make,” she says. “It tests your creativity and I think this is a great thing to do daily.”
The finished platter doubles as a vibrant centrepiece for the breakfast table.
Peppercorn-Crusted Fillet Steak
Peppercorn-crusted fillet steak with brandy peppercorn sauce, potato pavé and sautéed asparagus, finished with a delicate edible flower.
The significance of this dish is more personal.
“Steak was always something that intimidated me when I first started cooking for paying guests,” Jarvis explains. “Knowing how to nail it now is a proud full-circle moment.”
Lemon Posset with Italian Meringue
Lemon posset with torched Italian meringue and matcha tuile.
“To me this dessert feels really refined,” she says.
The combination of smooth posset, crisp meringue and crunchy tuile creates contrasting textures, while its preparation involves Jarvis’ favourite piece of kitchen equipment: “I’d say a blow torch is probably my favourite kitchen tool!”
Homemade Sourdough
Perhaps surprisingly, one of Jarvis’ proudest achievements isn’t an elaborate plated dinner but mastering homemade sourdough.
Temperature, humidity and even the unfamiliar ovens encountered while moving between yachts can influence the finished loaf.
“Making sourdough is no easy task,” she says. “I have so much respect for all the amazing bakers out there!”
What’s Next for Yacht Chef Eleanor Jarvis?
In little more than a year, she has progressed from a first paid chef season in Croatia to cooking aboard yachts in Australia and Greece, developing a style defined by colour, seasonal ingredients and the destinations around her.
Superyachts, the Caribbean and even a kitchen in the mountains are all calling. Wherever she lands, Jarvis will continue documenting the journey — and her delicious dishes along the way — through @eleanorsgalley.
