Do culinary-themed cruises sound appetising to you?
One region that guests are increasingly interested in delving into deeper is food, and cruises with a culinary theme are growing in popularity.
Whether it’s the chance to mix it up with celebrity chefs such as Marco Pierre White – cooking up a storm on P&O Cruises’ newest ship Ventura – or James Martin offering live cookery demonstrations on board Ocean Village Two as it heads to Greece via Venice, guests want to turn up the heat in the kitchen. Uniworld River Cruises is another line brining additional flavour to its itineraries with an ‘Epicurean Adventurer’ programme with includes private wine tastings, culinary demonstrations and wine and food pairing dinners. And Holland America Line offers a Culinary Arts Center programme that gives guests the chance to sample fine wines from around the world or learn basic cooking techniques, kitchen safety, new ingredients and how to follow recipe instructions.
Food features in the ‘enrichment’ offerings from Regent Seven Seas too, with Le Cordon Bleu workshops available on some sailings – there’s still time to book for the 17-night November cruise from Singapore to Sydney on board Seven Seas Mariner. For a programme fare of $499 per person, guests take part in three intensive two-hour workshops during the voyage and participate in preparing selections from the ship’s own Le Cordon Bleu menus. A dinner with the Le Cordon Bleu Chef is also organised during the voyage, and at graduation ceremony and celebration dinner they receive their own chef’s apron and hat, a tea towel, a special Le Cordon Bleu cookbook of classic recipes, plus a certificate of participation.
Good food deserves good wine of course, and if you want to learn about the latter then Go Barging’s 12-passenger L’Impressionniste could provide the perfect closer-to-home setting.The elegant hotel barge is cruising the canals of Southern Burgundy this year on a six-night itinerary which includes visits tot he renowned medieval chateau of Clos de Vougeot and Domaine Jafflin, homes to some of France’s finest Grand and Premier Crus. Also included in this cruise are visits to Dijon’s Palace and market and the 12th century Abbaye de la Bussiere, where passengers enjoy the gastronomic delights of Master Chef Olivier Elzer and sample some choice local burgundies in the vaulted, Michelin-starred restaurant.
Read our guide to some of the best foodie experiences on the oceans today
Read our guide to celebrity chefs at sea
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