Meet Our Barge Chefs

Each of our luxury hotel barges feature a master chef with world-class training and a certain flare for creating mouth-watering taste sensations in particularly compact mobile kitchens! Playing a huge role in your luxury barge cruising experience – here’s an introduction to just a few of this season’s barge chefs…

Meet the European Waterways Barge Chefs of 2020

Dave Lawrence, Anjodi

Dave is from the Australian island state of Tasmania.  He worked briefly on Anjodi’s sister barge, L’Art de Vivre in the start of the 2012 barging season, before returning to his hometown of Hobart, Tasmania to work as a Head Chef. In 2019 Dave joined the crew of Spirit of Scotland with his partner and fellow crew member, Michelle; and this year he is looking forward to returning to the markets of France.

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European Waterways' master chefs prepare world-class cuisine. Meet Chef Dave from lxury hotel barge Anjodi
Dave Lawrence, Anjodi

Arnis Maskevics, La Belle Epoque

Originating from Latvia, Arnis (pronounced Ar-nee) joined the crew of La Belle Epoque in 2018, having spent most of the previous year working aboard Panache. Experienced in a multitude of culinary expertise, Arnis is looking forward to putting his skills to excellent use aboard La Belle Epoque.  A great multi-skilled crew member, Arnis also enjoys throwing a rope if necessary, in between courses!

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European Waterways' master chefs prepare world-class cuisine. Meet Chef Arnis from lxury hotel barge La Belle Epoque - barge holiday in France
Arnis Maskevics, La Belle Epoque

Hannah Dunleavy, Renaissance

Hannah has been a much-loved member of the Renaissance crew since 2014. Having previously worked as a hairdresser, Hannah quickly fell in love with food and moved to France to learn its fine cuisine, which she now shares with our guests years later.

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European Waterways' master chefs prepare world-class cuisine. Meet Chef Hannah from lxury hotel barge Renaissance
Hannah Dunleavy, Renaissance

Jonathan Drew, Panache

Jonathan lives outside Glasgow where he trained and gained experience in high-end hospitality in the prestigious Number Seven Lounge of Celtic FC. While working for the Compass Group preparing private buffets and fine dining events for Directors and Senior Management at the new Scottish Power HQ in Glasgow, he competed in The Compass Chef of the Year Competition, finishing second! Jonathan, or ‘Jonny’ to his friends – joined Panache when he was visiting Alsace and is looking forward to a full season onboard and adapting his menus for both Holland and Northern France.

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European Waterways' master chefs prepare world-class cuisine. Meet Chef Jonathan from lxury hotel barge Panache
Jonathan Drew, Panache

Sylvain Moretto, Enchanté

An extremely experienced chef, Sylvain has been barging for over ten seasons with European Waterways and Enchanté, including three seasons aboard Renaissance. Many of our guests who are fortunate to enjoy Sylvain’s cuisine will photograph and write about their culinary adventures.

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European Waterways' master chefs prepare world-class cuisine. Meet Chef Sylvain from luxury hotel barge Enchante
Sylvain Moretto, Enchanté

Jim McGarry, L’Impressionniste

Jim is one of our most seasoned barge chefs, having worked on a number of our cruises for seven seasons. In his eighth season aboard L’Impressionniste, Jim continues to delight passengers with his varied menus and beautiful presentations.

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European Waterways' master chefs prepare world-class cuisine. Meet Chef Jim from luxury hotel barge L'Impressionniste
Jim McGarry, L’Impressionniste

Erell Delmotte, Rosa

Erell has been a crewmember within the European Waterways group since 2015 as both a hostess and a guide. Having worked closely with the chefs onboard barges Nymphea, Renaissance, Finesse, Panache, L’Impressionniste and Scottish Highlander, Erell gained valuable experience and spent the winter of 2018 training as a chef.  Her weeks as relief chef on Rosa in 2019 were more than enough to convince Barge Manager and Owner, Dominique, to offer her the position as barge chef for the 2020 season.

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Robert Erdelyi, Spirit of Scotland

Robert is originally from Budapest and gained his experience working on the larger river boats. His first experience working on a luxury barge cruise as aboard L’Art de Vivre, where he thoroughly enjoyed a close working connection with the barge’s passengers. You’ll instantly warm to Robert’s big character and broad smile.

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European Waterways' master chefs prepare world-class cuisine. Meet Chef Robert from luxury hotel barge Spirit of Scotland
Robert Erdelyi, Spirit of Scotland

Mike Crowson, Finesse

A bit of a celebrity in the world of culinary blogging, Mike Crowson also known in the blogging world as ‘The Barge Chef’, spends the barging season serving up delicious meals for the lucky passengers aboard luxury hotel barge Finesse. Born and bred in Cornwall, Mike is a stellar chef who takes a great deal of satisfaction from both barging and cooking up a storm in the kitchen.

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European Waterways' master chefs prepare world-class cuisine. Meet Chef Mike from luxury hotel barge Finesse
Mike Crowson, Finesse

Andrea Chin, La Bella Vita

Andrea has been the Italian master chef aboard La Bella Vita since its launch. This culinary extraordinaire loves interacting with clients and sharing his passion for Italian food. But don’t take our word for it – our client reviews on Chef Andrea’s creations speak for themselves!

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European Waterways' master chefs prepare world-class cuisine. Meet Chef Andrea from luxury hotel barge La Bella Vita
Andrea Chin, La Bella Vita

Enjoy Luxury Barge Cruising with the Experts

Whichever barge you choose to cruise with, our onboard chef will delight you with culinary creations that feature the best locally-sourced ingredients and he/she has the experience and imagination to produce dishes that cater to your specific dietary requirements. Usually, our chefs will also be pleased to show off their skills with a cooking demonstration in the galley.

Talk to a member of our Sales Team for help in planning your perfect luxury barge cruise along Europe’s finest waterways.

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