Our
PRIVATE CHEF
Renate Kiverte
Most mornings at Sidewake, the first sound in the house isn’t the boat engine – it’s Renata in the kitchen.
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From the 2015 beginning, Sidewake always had one clear rule: if the boats and coaching are world-class, the food has to match. No more sad sandwiches after huge sets. So the “private chef in the house” idea has been part of the academy from early on. And since 2024, that role has been in the best possible hands – Renata.
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Long before anyone shuffles in half-asleep, Renata’s already moving: lights on, coffee grinding, breakfast taking shape. She doesn’t just “make food”; she runs the engine room of the camp. The first question of the day is never “What’s for breakfast?” – it’s “Who’s riding early and how hard are we going today?”
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Renata has learned the full rhythm of wake life. Early riders get quick, clean fuel – eggs, oats, fruit, good bread, proper coffee. Later riders might get a slower breakfast with a few extras. Heavy trick day? Lunch leans into simple carbs and protein. More surfy, chill day? Lighter meals and maybe a sunset dessert. There’s always a quiet notebook on the counter with little notes: “no gluten”, “loves spicy”, “competing this weekend – extra clean”.
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By mid-day, the kitchen has usually turned into the second social hub of the house (after the dock). Someone’s stretching on the floor, someone’s scrolling through clips, someone’s leaning on the counter stealing a roasted potato straight from the tray. Renata has seen all of it: nervous first-timers who barely eat because they’re excited, pros arriving with strict macros, families just happy everyone is eating at the same table.
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Evenings are where her magic really shows. The boat comes in, boards get racked, the sun slides down behind the hills – and from the terrace you catch that first wave of smells from Renata’s kitchen: garlic, herbs, something grilling, maybe a crumble in the oven.
The big table fills up with plates and stories: first inverts, first wake-to-wakes, “almost had it” slams and that one perfect surf run. Renata moves through it all – topping up bowls, adjusting portions, sneaking an extra dessert to the kid who tried their first deep-water start.
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Since joining Sidewake in 2024, her menu has quietly evolved with our riders: more plant-based options here, a new recovery dish there, Mediterranean flavours adapted for athlete stomachs. But one thing hasn’t changed from the very beginning of Sidewake: nobody goes to bed hungry, under-fuelled or feeling like they had “camp food”.
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That’s Renata’s story at Sidewake: not just “the chef”, but the person in the heart of the house making sure every big wake, every hard session and every personal best is backed up by real, honest, seriously good food. You come here for the riding – but a lot of people leave talking just as much about Renata’s cooking.
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And somewhere between early breakfasts and late-night desserts, Renata didn’t just cook for riders – she became one.
Watching sets every day from the dock and hearing all the trick talk around the table, she slowly got pulled into the wakeboard world herself. First it was “just a few tries” behind the boat, then regular sets, then proper coaching sessions.
By 2025 she wasn’t only fuelling athletes – she was one, finishing on the podium at the Portugal Wakeboard Nationals. Now the person plating your recovery meal is also out there charging on the wake, which pretty much sums up Sidewake: once you’re here, it’s hard not to fall in love with this life
