Caviar at Anchor: Provenance, Service, and the Floating Lunch

Caviar service at anchor is the line item that separates a charter chef from a yacht chef. Done right it's the most memorable starter of the week. Done wrong it's €1,200 of cold fish eggs on a hot deck. Below is how it's handled.

Provenance

For Ibiza charters we source through three suppliers: Petrossian Paris (next-day delivery to Marina Ibiza via overnight courier), Caviar House Prunier (Geneva, similar logistics), and Riofrío (Granada, one of the few Spanish caviar farms — fresh option for last-minute requests).

The tin sizes

• 30g — single starter for two
• 50g — starter for four (the most common order)
• 125g — table service for 6 – 8 across multiple courses
• 250g+ — multiple tables, milestone dinner

Service

Tin opened tableside, mother-of-pearl spoon (never metal — taints the flavour), blinis or potato chips served separately. Standard pairing: chilled Krug or Salon Blanc de Blancs (cuts the fat); also good with iced vodka (Beluga, Stoli Elit) in 2cl shot glasses.

Temperature: 0 – 4 °C, kept in the boat's wine cellar refrigerator. Once open, eat within 30 minutes; 60 if held on ice. Do not leave a half- finished tin in the kitchen overnight.

When to skip

• Open-deck lunch in 28°C+ heat — even on ice, the texture goes wrong in 20 minutes
• Combined with strong-flavoured fish or shellfish earlier in the menu — the palate is overrun
• With sparkling wine other than top-tier Champagne — prosecco overwhelms caviar completely

The cost

50g Oscietra: €280 – €450. 50g Beluga (rare and increasingly endangered — most charters stock Imperial Beluga substitute): €700 – €1,200. Invoiced via APA at cost, no chef mark-up on a properly-run charter.