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Cruises and Cuisine Go Hand in Hand
by Roy Witman
Published on this site: April 20th, 2006 - See
more articles from this month
From weekend workshops to full-service culinary academies,
men and women are drawn to cooking lessons. Now you can incorporate
your love for cooking with your dreams of high seas adventure
because more and more cruise ships are offering cooking-related
events onboard.
Originally attributed to small cruise ships that needed an
incentive to gain bookings, cooking cruises have grown over
the years and are now found aboard large vessels. One of the
most recent announcements is from Holland America. Working
in conjunction with Food & Wine magazine, Holland America's
Culinary Arts Center will offer demonstrations and seminars
from world-renowned chefs, wine experts, cookbook authors
and more.
A fleet-wide enhancement, the Culinary Arts Center will be
retrofit onto all 13 existing ships and will also be incorporated
into the upcoming 14th ship due to launch in summer 2008.
Each Culinary Arts Center will include theater-style seating, state-of-the-art show kitchen, plasma screens that
allow every participant to see, a display counter for easy
viewing and space for guests to participate in preparing some
of the dishes. Upgrades to all Holland America's ships will
be complete by summer 2006 allowing each ship to include Culinary
Arts Center activities during each cruise.
One small cruise company offers tours featuring chefs from
the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu. As you cruise the Baltic
Ocean or the Mediterranean Sea, you can enjoy studying under
talented instructors. Other small ships sail to Greece, Turkey
and other worldwide destinations offering cooking classes
based on each region visited.
Over 60 top chefs are slated to appear during the next 12
months on Holland America's ships including Nick Stellino,
chef and host of Nick Stellino's Family Kitchen V; Jacques
Torres, chocolatier, pastry chef and cookbook author; Aaron
Sanchez, chef and owner of Paladar, New York City; Michelle
Bernstein, owner and chef of MB restaurant in Cancun; Neal
Gallagher, chef of Oceana (and voted Best New Chef of 2003);
Charles Dale, founder of Aspen's Renaissance, Range and Rustique
restaurants, and the list goes on.
Food preparation, wine tasting, cooking classes, seminars,
book signings, question-and-answer sessions and market tours
in port are just a few of the activities passengers on various
ships can look forward to.
When booking a cooking cruise, look for themes such as grilling,
desserts, healthy entrees, Italian, Mexican, etc. In addition,
also ask about group discounts. Holland's Culinary Group Program
offers special fares for groups of 25 or more, a cabin for
a guest chef, two one-hour demonstration sessions, a complimentary wine tasting or cocktail party and a color group
photo.
Most cooking cruises allow you to eat what has been prepared,
so you can literally taste the fruits of your labor. However,
samples may not be enough for an entire meal. If the cooking
tour you book is aboard a smaller ship rather than a large
vessel with onboard restaurants, you might be wise to ask
if a meal will be served prior to booking your reservation.
Whether you opt for an intimate-sized ship with only a few
hundred passengers and a defined itinerary or a large vessel
capable of sailing the world, cooking cruises are fun, entertaining
and exciting for every member of the family. Ask your travel agent for the details on cooking cruises available
in the destinations you want to sail.
Roy Witman is Vice-President of Cruise Vacation Center
based in Yonkers, New York. Visit them online today at http://www.cruisevacationcenter.com
for the best deals on
Alaska cruises and
Hawaii cruises. You'll find their service exceptional
and their attention to detail second to none.
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