Delicious buffets on land and water
The neighbors around the former Augustiner Hof in Sankt Augustin-Ort have certainly already noticed. The premises, which have been vacant for several years, have been undergoing major renovation and work for several months. Brickwork and tiling, painting and drilling have been carried out. Something completely new has been created in the large kitchen of the old restaurant: RheinGastro. The buffet service specializes in international delicacies from cuisines around the world, as well as delicious, freshly cooked German family recipes from grandma's cookbook. For events outside the customer's own premises RheinGastro offers unusual event locations on land and water. Five event boats on the Rhine and three event rooms at the location in Sankt Augustin are available for guests.
The idea of setting up our own buffet service was born out of a minor emergency. The MS RheinCargo, a Cologne ship owned by PS M. Schmitz GmbH & Co. KG (PSM) and the ships of KölnTourist Personenschiffahrt GmbH had traditionally relied on external catering companies for the buffets at events and charter trips. Michaela Herzog, Managing Director of PSM, explains: "Although RheinCargo has a small kitchen on board, there is definitely not enough capacity to prepare the food ourselves in the quality that we want to offer our guests and that meets our high standards." PSM's catering partners were in turn severely affected by the shortage of skilled workers, including a shortage of grill masters for the popular barbecue parties on the Rhine. "These factors prompted us to take the plunge and invest in our own buffet service, which not only provides high-quality buffets for our ships, but can also prepare delicious meals for all kinds of events for customers outside the shipping industry."
New life for an old restaurant
At the end of 2022, the first step was to look for a suitable kitchen. They found what they were looking for in the Augustiner Hof, which had been empty for some time. "There is a wonderfully large kitchen, spacious cold rooms and also guest rooms of various sizes that can be used for all kinds of events," says Michaela Herzog happily. However, there was still a lot to do before anyone could actually think about cooking there. "We first had to bring the kitchen and appliances up to the latest technical standards. As everything had not been used since 2020, there was more to modernize than we had initially thought."
However, the kitchen was ready for use in time for the start of the shipping season and the first orders were successfully completed in 2023. These included fully booked brunch trips at Easter and numerous charter trips, including for large corporations such as Deutsche Telekom. A highlight in the summer are the "Culinary World Cruises" on the MS RheinCargo in Cologne, country-specific boat trips such as an American barbecue, a trip to Spain and a trip to Greece. RheinGastro provides the appropriate buffets, the grill master and the country-specific dishes for these trips.
Widely traveled chef
"This is just the beginning," emphasizes Lars Nossol, one of the two RheinGastro chefs and logistics expert. "We want to offer customers of all kinds high-quality food, always freshly cooked, with attention to detail, at an excellent price-performance ratio, always delivered on time and reliably."
The focus is on the world's most popular cuisines. Lars Nossol explains: "My colleague Tobias Peter, a chef with heart and soul, has traveled far and wide and has already cooked in seven countries in North America, Asia, Africa and Europe. No cuisine is safe from him on his travels around the world and he always brings home new ideas and recipes. For example, he has already completed cooking courses in Bali, Sri Lanka, Cuba and the Caribbean. His wealth of ideas is a precious treasure."
RheinGastro also offers delicious German recipes, some of which have been passed down through generations, traditional dishes from grandma's cookbook, but with a modern twist. The inspiration for this comes, among other things, from the unique cookbook library with over 4,000 cookbooks from the last 200 years that Tobias Peter has acquired. This has now found a new home on the premises of RheinGastro.
Buffets with specialties from the USA, Mediterranean cuisine or the Asian-Pacific region are on the program, or a buffet takes you on a journey across Germany. Wedding couples can say "I do" to a special wedding buffet. With a special fish and seafood buffet, the motto is "raise your fins" or guests can choose "the great tuber" full of creative and tasty potato-based dishes. A special highlight from the menu is the "Anno Domini" medieval buffet. Of course, there are also purely vegetarian buffets or delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes that can be chosen as part of any buffet.
Room rental in Sankt Augustin from 2025
Now that the conversion of the old restaurant is gradually nearing completion, RheinGastro is ready for bigger things. At the end of 2024, the conversion work will also be completed in the event space in the former Augustiner Hof. The guest rooms are then expected to be available again next year for celebrations of all kinds, from christenings, family and company celebrations to funeral coffees, seminars, conferences or club meetings, naturally also with the delicious creations of the RheinGastro team. As part of the KölnTourist family, RheinGastro offers locations on land and water. Guests can already choose from a total of five ships in Cologne and Bonn, including the well-known MS Moby Dick. In the former Augustiner Hof, RheinGastro has the "Trockendock", an event hall for larger groups of up to 50 people, "Omas Küche" with its real wood ambience, which is particularly suitable for receptions, and "Tobis Bibliothek", the small guest room which houses the cookbook library and is ideal for small groups with its cozy atmosphere.
As part of the KölnTourist family, RheinGastro brings popular specialties of international cuisine as well as delicious German dishes, interpreted in a contemporary way, to the table on land and on water. As an experienced and reliable buffet service, RheinGastro delivers a wide variety of culinary delights to its guests' rooms and to its own unique event locations (whether on one of its event ships, in the "Trockendock" event room or in its own library with over 4,000 cookbooks) and reliably fulfills individual customer wishes with a high level of consulting expertise. The motto: cooking for love.
Owner: PS M. Schmitz GmbH & Co. KG (PSM)
Rudolf-Hahn-Straße 24 | 53225 Bonn
Location of the PSM: RheinGastro
Uhlandstraße 8 | 53757 Sankt Augustin
Phone: 02241 / 88 12 855
www.rheingastro.de