Chef Nataliia Blyxniuk
Cooking has always been part of my life. First as a hobby and later my passion. When I was a girl growing up, my father worked aboard fishing trawlers in the Black Sea and somewhere along the line, he ended up as the galley cook. He would bring me back stories of adventure and travel, along with his recipes and enthusiasm for cooking. When I left school, cooking was still only a pastime and the wider world of yachting and cheffing abroad still a peripheral dream. So I pursued an education in languages in the hopes that a career as a translator would allow me to travel to far flung places and experience new cultures and ideas.
It was only in the summer after my studies that a friend exposed me to the idea of yachting, turning my home cooking into a full time profession. I started with restaurants, then a cruise liner and river cruises, first as a line cook, then a Commis Chef and then a Chef de Partie. Always learning and absorbing as much as I could. I value new perspectives and learning from others, opting to travel as a source of culinary inspiration and opportunity to use new ingredients. Different cultural styles and flavour combinations are fascinating and ultimately the world became my classroom. After 6 years, I took on my own galley aboard a charter yacht and haven’t looked back. I love waking up every morning, surrounded by natural beauty and space. Its inspiring, and this line of work offers up an endless opportunity to make delicious and healthy meals. To surprise guests with culinary treats and spend time in my galley cooking, creating and playing with local produce and flavors.