What the chef needs to know: before you board

When you book, write down every dietary need in the party. Name the guest, the need, and whether it is a preference or a medical matter. We pass the notes to the chef and confirm what the kitchen will prepare.

Do this early. A note sent a few weeks ahead can be acted on; a note sent at the pickup can only be passed along. Tell us about a vegetarian guest, a vegan guest or any restricted diet in the first message, not the third.

Once the chef has answered, we write back to you with the plan for that guest, so the first dinner holds no surprises.

Tell us an allergy in the plainest words you have, naming the allergen, how severe the reaction is and whether trace amounts matter. We pass the note to the chef and confirm what the kitchen can do.

For a serious allergy, tell us early and carry your own medicines. Personal medicines belong on your bring list, and the first-aid kit is the boat's.

If halal matters to your party, tell us when you book and we confirm what can be arranged. The same goes for a guest who cannot eat shellfish, gluten or dairy: tell us the need and the degree, and we confirm what the chef can do.

Mineral water, coffee, tea and snacks are in the fare. Soft drinks and alcohol are yours to bring, so carry what your party wants to the pickup. The sun deck, the dining room and the jacuzzi are all places to open them.

A refrigerator and a water dispenser are aboard. Let us know how many bottles you plan to carry and how many guests want them chilled, and we confirm with the crew how much the refrigerator can hold for you.

A cake for a birthday or an anniversary is arranged on request. So is a dinner on an island, a seafood dinner, or a dinner with a special request. Each is quoted separately, and the figure reaches you with your booking.

Send the date, the number of guests and what you have in mind. We ask the boat and reply with a figure, and nothing is added to your fare until you agree it.

If you would rather bring the cake yourselves, tell us, and we confirm with the crew that it can be kept cool until the evening.

Every request in this letter follows one route. You tell us, we pass it to the chef, and we write back with what the kitchen will prepare.

That holds whether you tell us about a vegetarian guest, a cake on the second evening or a dinner on an island. It is a short chain, and it means the chef hears your party's needs from one voice, well before the pickup.

If a request is beyond the kitchen, you hear it from us when you book, with what can be done instead.