Metamorphosis - Cruise Ship Portal

produce and seasonality, have become de
rigour. For many cruise lines, food and
beverage options are now as much of an
on-board selling point as star performers
and innovative leisure pursuits.
The next big step is rationality. Not only
will this demand the development of new
supply lines, it also forces chefs on board to
adopt a different mindset.
“One thing I could not believe upon first
entering the industry ten years ago was
that executive chefs would come on board
and do six month stints without ever going
ashore,” exclaims Franck Garanger, fleet
corporate chef, culinary development, for
Oceania and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
“What is the point of travelling the world
if you never leave? I push my guys to get
out there, explore and come back with
fresh ideas.”
Garanger’s insistence upon his team
opening themselves up to new experiences
is reflected in the cruise line’s culinary
offerings. Oceania is beginning to
introduce far more options tailored to a
ship’s itinerary, a development the lively
French chef admits he cannot take full
credit for.
“People were writing letters demanding
to see more of the regions we travelled to
reflected on the plate,” he admits. “That is
where we have focused a great deal of our
attention over the past two years. From the
day I became executive chef, I brought a
Michelin-star mentality to bear: cutting
down on portion size, insisting vegetables
and sauces were prepared a la minute, and
serving fresh pasta. Looking beyond the
traditional dishes to something more local
is a natural progression of that.”
Local flavour
Garanger is not alone in this view. Despite
the logistical challenge, a number of cruise
lines are beginning to demonstrate far
more flexibility in regards to what can be
served at sea.
In 2008, Holland America Lines master
chef Rudi Sodamin introduced menus on
the fleet’s premium ships that incorporate
flavours, techniques and recipes that reflect
each sailing itinerary. Elsewhere, Crystal
Cruises’ wine and food voyages have been
in operation on select Panama Canal, Asia,
Northern and Western Europe and
Caribbean voyages during 2009, with a
strong focus on regional cuisine, including
a Spices of the East tour on board the
Crystal Symphony.
“One of the most enjoyable ways to
immerse oneself in a destination and
culture is with food,” says Toni
Neumeister, vice-president of food and
beverage operations for Crystal Cruises.
“The guests not only want to have the
cultural experience of seeing new places;
they want the culinary element as well.
While we have to cover all the traditional
bases, we’re also obliged to reflect the
area the ship is visiting. Our guests enjoy
it, the chefs enjoy it and it also makes
perfect sense to source produce in the
areas we’re visiting.”
But how feasible is this approach when
catering for large numbers? While the
main dining room on an Oceania ship will
always try to have one local speciality on
its lunch and dinner menus each day, an
expanded repertoire showcased through
the chef ‘parfum’ dinners is only available
to the top 12 cabins on board.
“The chef visits the local market and
creates something truly special,”
Garanger explains. “It is his night. The
hotel manager and captain are not
invited. We set up a table on the pool
deck with perhaps 20 to 30 covers. The
“
chef cooks in front of the guests and
introduces what is on the plate: where it
was bought, why, and what else one can
find in the region.”
The line’s new ship, Marina, will
have a restaurant dedicated to the
programme, but will remain relatively
exclusive. The ability to roll out
similar initiatives for the majority of
guests would require more than a mere
market visit by the executive chef and
involve a major overhaul of the manner
in which ship kitchens manage their
supply chains, something that cannot be
done overnight.
“The challenge of the future is going to
be finding supply bases around the world
in ports that can supply the specifications
and quality we want,” agrees John
Meszaros, vice-president of supply chain
management for Carnival Corporation.
“What we need to do with these ports
is either set up a logistics structure to
accept inbound supplies or work with
vendors to develop these areas.”
Insight > Food & beverage
The right recipe
A short-term solution is the employment of
guest chefs chosen to match a ship’s
itinerary and employed to school guests in
the intricacies of local cuisine through
shoreside excursions, cooking
demonstrations and alternating daily
specials incorporated into more traditional
on-board menus.
“We really try to replicate the original
recipes and buy our spices and speciality
ingredients through recommended local
suppliers,” Garanger explains.
“Having a guest chef on board adds
an extra dimension to market trips
and the food being served. There may only
be one dish a night, but it is always
extremely popular.”
While it is heartening to hear of local
specialities being celebrated on board, the
more exotic cuisines can be a challenge to
the Western palate. “When it comes to
Indian cuisine, for example, I prefer to
select recipes that maintain the traditional
character and spicing but are not too hot,”
admits Garanger. “It is right that we open
the guests to new experiences, but we
must not push them too far.”
The chef visits the local market and creates
”
something truly special. Franck Garanger
This also applies to regions where the
local cuisine is not best suited to the more
refined environment of a premiere cruise
ship. Sailings to Brazil, for example, see
local ingredients brought on board, but
prepared in a manner more familiar to US
and European guests.
This demands a degree of imagination
from chefs – another key selling point of
taking a regional approach in the eyes of
Garanger. “It is a great opportunity for
chefs to continue learning,” he enthuses.
“Our executive chefs are young and
ambitious; they do not want to be stuck
cooking the same things day after day.
They stay with us not only because we
pay them well; they are constantly evolving
and are treated like the stars of the show
on board.”
This is a development that will only
gather pace as more fleets begin to address
the growing appetite for culinary adventure
and provenance and, in turn, demonstrate
once again that the cruise ship is far more
than a floating resort hotel. �
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