About Chef Petra Hess, private chef on Sint Maarten / St. Martin
Petra Hess has been cooking professionally since 1981. Trained in Italy, with 24 years as chef on charter yachts across the Caribbean, she now lives on the island and cooks in villas, homes and on yachts all over Sint Maarten and St. Martin, on both the Dutch and the French side.
From Bergamo to the Caribbean
Petra learned to cook next to her mother and never really left the kitchen. She trained in Italy, in the restaurants of Bergamo under master chefs, and ran her own restaurant in Germany. Her cooking has French and Italian roots: careful sauces, fresh pasta, good olive oil, and a respect for the ingredient that comes first.
24 years as a charter yacht chef
Then came the sea. For twenty-four years Petra was chef on charter yachts across the Caribbean, from the Grenadines and Antigua to the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas, many of those years on boats she owned and ran herself. A yacht galley teaches you to cook a five-star dinner in a small space, with what the island market had that morning, for guests who have been everywhere and eaten everything. Along the way she cooked in private villas on Virgin Gorda and served a villa wedding for sixty guests.
Now cooking all over Sint Maarten / St. Martin
Today Petra lives in Saint Martin and cooks across the whole island, from Simpson Bay and Philipsburg to Orient Bay, Grand Case and Terres Basses. What stays the same from dinner to dinner is the approach: ingredients bought that day, a menu written for the people at the table, allergies and dietary needs handled without fuss, and a host who still gets to sit down with her guests. When the last plate is cleared, the kitchen is spotless and Petra slips out.
"Petra's talent in the kitchen is truly exceptional. She creates dishes that are not only delicious but also beautifully presented. Her ability to cater to diverse tastes and dietary preferences with ease is a testament to her skill and creativity."
Christopher Patrick, yacht charter broker, CKIM Group