A day with head of catering Köbi Fahrni

«The only cruise where everything is freshly prepared on board.»

Host, manager, gastronaut: As head of catering at Zugersee Schifffahrt, Köbi Fahrni navigates meticulously through his day.

Köbi Fahrni's working day only ends the next morning. Even at 4 or 5 a.m., the manager of GASTRONAUTIC and head of catering for the Lake Zug fleet is in his office, billing the crew's hours, writing e-mails and closing the previous day's finances.

At 7.30 a.m., the Walchwil local heads out onto the water for the first time. On board, he briefs his management staff on the day's events on all three boats and allocates staff. At the same time, goods are being delivered, checked and loaded straight onto the boats. "In the morning, we have to organise everything carefully so that all of the boats have exactly the supplies they need on board." New orders are also placed at the same time. "We always order for the next day, because we cater for an average of around 300 to 400 guests every day. We buy almost exclusively local products", says the 48-year old. He is especially proud of this. And it doesn't end there: «We're the only cruise company that prepares everything fresh on board.»

Afterwards, Köbi Fahrni can be found either on the morning cruises or in his office, dealing with quotations, confirmations and reservation planning, planning menus for charter cruises or attending appointments. As soon as the large cruise boat returns at 11.45, the catering manager hops on board and quickly greets the guests. For the crew, this means that from this moment on it's full steam ahead. Guests are seated, drinks are served, and food orders taken. The host recognises plenty of regular customers, allocates tables and welcomes the groups personally. Afterwards, he lends a hand with the service himself: «I do a lot of coordination, but I also plan myself in as a staff member.»

In addition to the «Culinary Zug» special cruise, the lunch cruise is one of his favourites. «There’s so much going on!» A hectic schedule with lots of guests – the father of two is very familiar with this. After completing a banking apprenticeship, he attended a school of hotel management: «I was clearly more interested in catering!», he laughs. After stints as a hotel director and catering manager both in Switzerland and abroad, he went self-employed in 2022 with GASTRONAUTIC AG and a crew of 30. The special considerations when catering on board a boat include the space restraints in the galley and the constant flow of visitors when all the guests board at the same time. «We coordinate everything and offer lightning-fast and friendly service», says Köbi Fahrni: «So that our guests can really enjoy their break – their mini holiday on the lake.»

If there is a special cruise booked for the evening – usually every couple of days or so – then he prepares the boat with some of the crew. There is usually still some time left for office work before he boards again for the evening. And the catering manager only disembarks at midnight, when the guests step back onto dry land after an enjoyable cruise.

Does he also have quiet evenings? Sure. On these evenings, Köbi Fahrni goes to bed at 7 p.m. This is how he recuperates for his next long day as an enthusiastic host.