Curtis Stone’s big reveal

Celebrity Chef Curtis Stone has officially opened SHARE by Curtis Stone on board Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess in an event in Sydney last month. “What I wanted SHARE to be was a place you could linger, share dishes with someone you care about,” Stone told attendees. The specialty restaurant serves up sharable small plates of charcuterie, salads, handmade pastas, premium meats and decadent desserts in a friendly atmosphere. “I wanted it to feel pretty homely and contemporary,” he explained, pointing out certain elements from his home have been incorporated into the design. “When I walk around to the bookshelf, there’s the exact same books that I have at home and some of the knick-knacks are identical to the ones I have in my house.” Noting the changing culinary landscape of cruise ships, Stone said cruising has changed in a similar way that Las Vegas has. “Las Vegas used to be the home of a $4 buffet or all you can eat and now there’s Michelin-starred restaurants and amazing things happening out there and likewise with cruise ships, in the past it was all about big buffets and the more the better, but now people who are going on cruises have a very different level of expectation and certain cruise lines, like Princess, really appreciate great food,” he said. The restaurant has been fitted to Sun Princess and Emerald Princess, which are in Australian waters this month and Ruby Princess, which sails in the northern hemisphere. “The menu for Sun Princess alone took about two months to finalise – I wanted to get the look and feel just right for the Aussie market, so I’ve developed a menu unique to the ship,” Stone said. Popular items on Sun Princess’ SHARE menu include roast chicken with bacon slab and charred onion slaw, and warm bread pudding with toffee sauce.