It was mid-morning at sea and breakfast plates on which made-to-order omelets, fresh mango and papaya slices and blueberry pancakes had just been consumed were still being cleared in the dining room. In the galley, preparations–which had started 48 hours earlier–were at a frenzied pace for an elaborate Norwegian buffet at noon, featuring long tables full of food: turkeys, venison saddles, legs of beef, a dozen salads, roasts of beef, vegetables, several baskets and trays of breads, and a bounty of seafood.
With all this food it would seem likely that passengers’ thoughts would drift to other subjects, but from 10 to 11 a.m., it was standing room only for a cooking demonstration by a guest chef.
Welcome aboard a food-themed cruise, a gastronomic extravaganza of cooking lessons, demonstrations, tastings and special menus. This particular sailing, a Guest Chefs of Europe Baltic voyage aboard Cunard’s Royal Viking Sun, featured a traditional Russian table complete with caviar and vodka and a Swedish smorgasbord. Another highlight was a culinary demonstration and special menu created by Chef Jean Bordier, owner of the Michelin-starred L’Aubergeade in Pontchartrain, France.
In full regalia–big chef’s hat, crisp white jacket and apron, and a medal hanging from his neck on a red ribbon–Bordier prepared a nage de homard (lobster in a dry white wine sauce with leeks, carrots, celery, onions, butter and salt) explaining every step in French, which was translated by one of the chefs.
If we remembered one thing from the demonstration, Bordier said through his translator, it was always to use the best ingredients to prepare our dishes–then, he assured us, they will come out right. “Toujours (always),” he repeated, smiling and pointing to some of the ingredients before him: bottles of Pouilly Fuisse wine, Evian water and big red lobsters, which Hans Pirker, chef de cuisine aboard the ship, had had flown in from Maine.
And the program has a wonderful byproduct, said Toni Neumeister, Crystal Cruises’ corporate executive chef, whose line also features food-themed voyages. “It (the guest chef program) provides continuing education for our own professional chefs.”
Pirker agreed. “For me and my staff, the guest chefs represent new ideas, new recipes,” Pirker said. “For the passenger, they are a treat–something extra that makes the cruise special.”
Here are some voyages with special emphasis on food that are on the horizon:
– For 1998, Crystal Cruises’ Crystal Harmony will offer the Crystal Wine & Food Festival on all of its 11-, 14- and 15-day Panama Canal/Caribbean cruises from January through April. The festival will also be featured on an Orient cruise from Hong Kong to Sydney (Oct. 19) and a South Pacific cruise from Auckland to Honolulu (Dec. 10).
The 1998 festival series on the line’s Crystal Symphony’s will begin on Jan. 14 with the Routes of Royalty World Cruise (available in seven segments) and continue on European cruises (May 5, 29, Sept. 15 and 27) and all 10- and 11-day Panama Canal/Caribbean cruises (Nov. 10-Dec. 21). Each sailing will present a master chef, best-selling cooking author or television food personality.
For details, call 800-446-6620.
– Silversea features Culinary Extravaganza cruises created in partnership with the Le Cordon Bleu Academy in Paris. The voyages, presented through next April, are joined by master chefs from the school, who create epicurean events with Silversea’s chefs and sommeliers. The cruises include “Across a Southern Sea,” a 16-day voyage (Feb. 14) on the Silver Cloud, which will take guests on a transatlantic adventure from Rio de Janeiro to Cape Town. Another food-themed voyage is “Passage to India,” a 14-day sailing (April 27) on the Silver Wind from Singapore to Bombay. Fares for Culinary Extravaganza cruises range from $7,245 to $19,395. Call 800-722-6655.
– Cooking Light, a food and fitness magazine, will launch a Ship-Shape Cruise Adventure aboard Celebrity Cruises’ Century sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale to the Western Caribbean on Nov. 1. Cruise-only fares begin at $1,024. Call 800-367-5348.
– Delta Queen Steamboat’s Delta Queen will feature an eight-day Cajun Culture Cruise leaving New Orleans April 9. Highlights include demonstrations, savory local dishes on the menu and a visit to the home of the Tabasco-brand pepper sauce. The cruise, which calls at the Louisiana towns of Iberia, Krotz Springs, St. Francisville and Oak Alley, is priced from $1,290. Call 800-543-1949.
– Windstar Cruises’ roster of food-themed voyages includes a Barcelona to Lisbon cruise next week with guest chef Matthew Kenney of New York City’s Matthew’s restaurant. Kenney has been recognized as one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America and was nominated for Rising Star Chef by the James Beard Foundation. The seven-day Oct. 19 sailing of the Wind Star is priced at $3,295.
Ben (Cohen) and Jerry (Greenfield) of ice cream fame will highlight an Oct. 30 Wind Spirit sailing from Monte Carlo to Lisbon. Fare for the 10-day sailing is $4,495.
Chef Jean Francois Meteigner of La Cachette Restaurant in Los Angeles will be aboard a Wind Star voyage from Lisbon to Nice April 12. The 12-day cruise is priced at $5,795. Call 800-258-7245.
