A far cry from the buffets of old
The cruise industry is catering to foodies
‘I’m changing the menu for tomorrow,” Joseph Kalynuik, executive chef of Windstar Star Legend, said as we walked through the Mercato delle Vettovaglie in Livorno, Italy. “I’m looking for local charcuterie, cheeses, truffles, lavender, limoncello. Look at all this!”
We were on the “Market Tour with the Chef,” a popular excursion offered on Windstar cruises. The market is beautiful, located in an historic 19th-century building, designed by the Italian architect Angiolo Badaloni, and modeled after Les Halles, the central market in Paris.
But this was more than a look-see through the historic 1894 market. Chef Kalynuik was on a buying mission, looking for the best local ingredients to include in the ship’s restaurant dishes.
“Va bene!,” a cheese vendor said to our small group, offering us slivers of pecorino sardo al tartufo. It was aged, firm and salty, laced with the earthy taste of truffles. Kalynuik bought a kilo of the cheese, along with links of local sausages.
We trailed Kalynuik through the market, tasting and buying along the way: disks of creamy camembert, bags of fresh Meyer lemons, a variety of salumi, marinated peppers, olives and anchovies, truffle chips, and honey.
The next day the fruits of our labor were in full view. Lunch at Veranda, one of the restaurants aboard Star Legend, featured a bountiful charcuterie table, filled with the market finds. Also, on the menu were sausages with peppers and onions, truffle risotto, Bolognese fettuccine flavored with local meats and spices, and a shrimp and crab dish in a limoncello-flavored beurre blanc. Later that evening at Windstar’s Amphora restaurant, we enjoyed a warm camembert appetizer, topped with a lemon-flavored fig jam, drizzled with honey.
“Our guests are keen on trying new and adventurous dishes, predominantly local, authentic foods,” Kalynuik said. “It’s about experiencing the local culture through food.”
We’d joined a recent seven-day Barcelona to Rome Mediterranean cruise aboard Windstar’s Star Legend to check out its updated culinary offerings. Windstar is the official cruise line of the James Beard Foundation, and the official cruise line for the National Health Association. On our cruise, we not only went to market with Kalynuik, but also joined his cooking class to learn how to make chicken and mushroom vol-au-vent (“Remember to coddle the cream!” Kalynuik advised) and Italian seafood chowder. We had lunch at the Star Grill by Steven Raichlen, cookbook author, TV host, and founder of Barbecue University, where we dined on bourbon-brined turkey breast, tender smoked pork shoulder, and burnt ends.
Lunch and dinner menus in the main restaurants included dishes from James Beard-winning chefs, like Annie Pettry’s glazed wild shrimp and Spanish chorizo dish, Paul Berglund’s roasted rack of lamb with preserved green and red tomatoes, Duskie Estes’s prosciutto and watermelon salad, Amy Brandwein’s grilled filet of branzino, and Irene Li’s coconut dashi clam chowder. A James Beard award-winning chef was not aboard our cruise, but Windstar has already hosted 48 James Beard award-winning chefs on board, and will host chefs Omar Anani, Tanya Holland, and Loryn Nalic on upcoming 2024 culinary cruises. They’ll conduct on-board cooking demonstrations, lead market tours, host a special multicourse dinner, and provide multiple recipes to be featured on Windstar’s menus on all its cruises.
“Not only will you get to eat their food — you’ll get to know them,” says Windstar president Christopher Prelog. “You may even learn a few tips and tricks for being a better cook yourself, and you’ll definitely have a richer and deeper travel experience because of it.”
If we were on a gluten-free diet or committed to only healthy eating (sadly, we’re not!), there were plenty of options. Windstar, in partnership with the National Health Association, offers whole foods, plant-based, SOS (salt, oil, and sugar free) and gluten-free appetizers, soups, entrees, and desserts in all its main dining venues.
Windstar showcases what’s happening throughout the cruise industry: an across-theboard effort to upgrade culinary offerings.
“Cruise clients, particularly more seasoned and discerning sailors, are seeking a more personalized experience and elevated culinary excellence, delivered in a more comfortable ‘country club’ atmosphere,” says Elizabeth Cincotta, founder and luxury travel designer of Rising Tide Travel, which specializes in luxury cruises.
Kristin Karst, cofounder and executive vice president of AmaWaterways, agrees, “Delving into regional food and wine specialties has become an important part of how travelers experience a destination,” she says. “A heightened culinary focus enables our guests to develop a deeper and more nuanced appreciation for a country, its history, culture, and people.”
Major cruise lines have responded in a big way to the demands of a more discerning and food-wise clientele. Today, it’s not uncommon for cruise lines to offer celebrity chef tie-ins, cooking classes, local market excursions, specialty restaurants, and a variety of healthy options. For example, Silversea has a new culinary program called S.A.L.T. (sea and land tours), that includes food excursions, cooking classes, chef ’s tables, and an evolving restaurant that adapts to each port. Oceania, with celebrity chef Jacques Pepin as its executive culinary director, has a state-of-the-art Culinary Center, offering classes from international master chefs, immersive culinary tours (e.g., an Argentine dinner at a local’s residence, traditional Irish bread making in Belfast, or a Paella workshop in Alicante), and a host of specialty restaurants, including Toscana’s serving authentic Italian dishes, Polo Grill’s steakhouse fare, Red Ginger’s Asian flavors, French country cuisine at Jacques, and the Dom Perignon Experience at La Reserve. Regent Seven Seas has introduced its new Epicurean Perfection programming, including specialty restaurants, special tastings, deck-top regional barbecues, on-shore culinary, wine, and spirits tours, hands-on cooking classes in its state-of-the-art Culinary Arts Kitchen, and specially curated Spotlight Voyages designed around specific culinary interests. AmaWaterways, the first river cruise line member of the La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, offers at least one wine or culinaryfocused excursion on all its itineraries, while others, like Essence of Burgundy & Provence and Taste of Bordeaux, include six tours designed to showcase the culinary experiences in these regions. In 2024, the cruise line will offer more than 70 winefocused cruises.
Our winter Mediterranean cruise began in Barcelona. But it wasn’t until the final day onboard, docked in Rome, that we were able to snag a seat at Cuadro 44 by Anthony Sasso, touted as one of the world’s youngest Michelin-starred chefs. It’s an intimate, 40-person-or-so restaurant with an open kitchen and warm, inviting vibe. We enjoyed glasses of house-made sangria and plates of Jamón Ibérico, Cantabrian anchovies and marinated olives, poached cod, and romesco pork belly. It was a far cry from the grand ballroom dinners and buffets of old.