Yacht provisioning in Barcelona: cooked meals, blast frozen, ready to heat on board
You are going out for several days. You do not want to cook at sea, and you do not want to eat out of tins. We cook your meals in our French kitchen in Barcelona, blast freeze them at -18 °C, pack them in labelled, stackable portions and deliver them to your pontoon. On board, all that is left is to heat them.
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What the others do, and what we do
Barcelona provisioning companies deliver products : Wagyu, lobster, champagne, fine groceries. That works very well when you have a chef on board. If you do not, you end up with excellent raw ingredients and nobody to cook them — under way, heeling over, on a gimballed stove.
We approach the problem from the other end. We deliver cooking, not groceries. Every dish is prepared by our French chef in Barcelona, chilled and blast frozen, portioned and labelled. You need no cooking skills on board: you take a pack out of the freezer and heat it.
Portioning: the real technical question
It is the first thing crews ask us about, and it is what separates provisioning that works from provisioning that does not.
Under way, not everyone eats at the same time. The watch coming off wants to eat straight away, the watch going on wants a full stomach, and nobody wants to defrost a six-portion block for two people. So we portion by watch — typically 1 to 3 people — rather than for the whole crew. If you prefer larger shared portions for meals at anchor, we mix both formats in the same order.
Each portion is packed flat, which lets you stack them in regular blocks in a boat freezer: you save a great deal of space compared with rigid trays, and you can see what you have without emptying the lot.
How it works
- You tell us about your passage. Number of crew, days at sea, available freezer capacity, diets and allergies, planned stopovers.
- We build the meal plan. We size the number of portions, the balance between hot dishes and cold meals, and what should be eaten first.
- We cook, then blast freeze. Rapid temperature drop straight after cooking, then storage at -18 °C.
- We deliver to your pontoon, still frozen, in the slot before you cast off. You load straight into the boat's freezer.
What is written on every pack
An unlabelled frozen meal is a meal nobody dares open ten days in. Every portion carries:
- the dish name and its ingredients;
- the allergens, following the EU list of 14 regulated allergens;
- the number of servings ;
- the production date and freezing date ;
- the use-by date ;
- the reheating instructions.
That is what lets a crew member who was not there at loading help themselves without hesitating, and a skipper manage stock rotation properly.
Heating on board, without cooking
Our dishes are heated without thawing first : in a bain-marie in a pan of water, or in a frying pan for the dishes that suit it. No oven needed, no preparation washing-up, very little fresh water used, and a single pot to clean.
If you like, we also include a share of ready-to-serve cold meals for the first few days : it takes a crew two to three days on average to get their sea legs, and those are rarely the days you feel like lighting the stove.
Where and when we deliver
- Delivery areas — Port Vell, Marina Vela, Port Olímpic, Port Fòrum, and on request Port Ginesta and the nearby coastal marinas.
- Lead time — allow a week for a multi-day passage, to settle the meal plan and produce it. For tight departures, write to us: we can usually adapt.
- Delivery — by refrigerated vehicle, in your slot, still frozen when transferred on board.
- Pricing — on quotation, depending on crew size, duration and the level you are after.
Who it's for
- Bareboat charters — you are off to the Balearics with friends or family, and nobody wants to spend the holiday in the galley.
- Professional crews — crew meals over several days, without tying up the on-board cook.
- Deliveries and transits — departures for the Balearics, the Costa Brava, southern Spain or further afield.
- Owners — you want to eat on board the way you would eat ashore, without taking on a chef.
- Regattas — quick, portioned meals you can eat one-handed.
And if you are only out for the day
This service is for multi-day passages. For a day out — brunch, aperitif, birthday, stag or hen party — we have a separate offer, entirely cold and ready to serve, with nothing to heat: see our boat outing packages.
Frequently asked questions
How far in advance should I order provisioning for a passage?
Allow a week for a multi-day passage: that is the time needed to set the meal plan, cook it and freeze it properly. For a tighter departure, write to us — we often find a way.
What portion sizes do the meals come in?
By default in watch portions, meaning 1 to 3 people, so that everyone can eat when they need to without defrosting for the whole boat. We also make larger shared portions for meals taken together at anchor, and we are happy to mix both formats in one order.
How much freezer space do I need on board?
Our portions are packed flat and stack into regular blocks, which markedly reduces the space they take. Give us the dimensions or capacity of your freezer and the number of crew, and we size the order accordingly.
Do I need to thaw before heating?
No. The dishes are heated straight from frozen, in a bain-marie or a frying pan depending on the recipe. No oven needed, little fresh water used and a single pot to clean.
How are the meals frozen?
In a blast freezer, immediately after cooking, then held at -18 °C until delivery. The rapid temperature drop preserves texture and flavour in a way a domestic freezer cannot.
What is on the label?
The dish name and its ingredients, the allergens following the EU list of 14 regulated allergens, the number of servings, the production date, the freezing date, the use-by date and the reheating instructions.
How is the cold chain maintained up to the boat?
Delivery by refrigerated vehicle, in a slot agreed with you, with the products still frozen when transferred on board. The transfer happens just before departure to keep time out of refrigeration to a minimum.
Can you handle special diets or allergies?
Yes. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, pork-free, individual dislikes: tell us at the briefing stage. On a passage, it is better to flag an allergy once too often than once too few.
Do you deliver outside Barcelona?
Port Vell, Marina Vela, Port Olímpic and Port Fòrum are our usual areas. Port Ginesta and the nearby coastal marinas are possible on request. Tell us your marina and your date.
How is this different from your boat outing packages?
The charter packages are designed for a day out: everything is cold, ready to serve, with nothing to heat. Provisioning is for multi-day passages: the dishes are cooked then frozen, and heated on board meal by meal.
Tell us where you are going
Your crew size, your dates, your marina, your freezer capacity and any dietary requirements: we come back to you within 24 working hours with a meal plan and a quote.
WhatsApp +34 693 58 64 56 · virginie@pocapots.es