Sailing Yacht Serena

Hugh attended culinary classes and schools in France, Japan and America, and specializes in Mediterranean, Latin American and Asian fresh food dishes with premium ingredients.
Hugh is a light social drinker but nonsmoker, no drugs, no criminal record, clean licenses and a broad sense of humor especially when trying to catch fish!

Vivianne Swietelsky
Chef/First Mate Ocean Star

Vivianne, or “Chef Vivi” is based in Water Island, USVI and Coconut Grove, Miami. She is known for her authentic interpretations of the world’s great cuisines – American, Mediterranean, Southeast Asian, and Latin American, and her signature fusion MediterrAsian cuisine. She is also makes amazing desserts and is an inspired cocktail mixologist.
For as far back as she can remember, Chef Vivi has been passionate about food and the artistry of its preparation. Born in the U.S. to an Italian father and a Venezuelan mother, she has travelled all over the world and lived in the United States, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Mexico, and the Caribbean and is fluent in five languages. Her family life revolved around the enjoyment of great food and her mother taught her to cook instinctually, from the heart. Chef Vivi built upon this foundation and has expanded her culinary knowledge and skills over the years.
Chef Vivi attended different culinary schools around the world and studied Hospitality Management at the Florida International Universi¬ty’s School of Hospitality & Tourism. She has been a restaurant Pastry Chef, owned her own upscale Miami catering company, “Truffles Catering”, and worked as Private Chef for HNWI in both private homes and on charter yachts.
Another one of Chef Vivi’s passions is sailing, and she has enjoyed working on sailboats around the world. She also has an ASA Certificate for Offshore Sailing gained in the U.S. Virgin Islands and has owned and operated several Beneteau yachts.
After working as Yacht Chef with Captain Hugh on Ocean Star 60, Vivianne and Hugh became partners in 2023 and now operate Serena Yacht Charters, LLC on their beautiful 63-ft Beneteau sloop, Yacht Serena. Yacht Serena is a very special yacht: she is the Hull #1 of Beneteau’s ultimate luxury Oceanis Yacht 62 cruiser series. Vivianne has enjoyed refitting Yacht Serena with many upscale amenities, including FRETTE sheets and towels, Lanvin products, and Bose sound systems in every cabin.
What Vivianne enjoys the most about being a Private Yacht Chef is the daily interaction with her guests and the pleasure of creating wonderful memories for them. She really loves the feeling of serving wonderful food, drinks, and delivering excellent service on gorgeous Yacht Serena. Her and Captain Hugh’s motto about their guests is, “it’s all about you, all the time”. Nothing matters more to them than delivering a five-star experience and exceeding even the highest expectations.