All-star chefs: an inside perspective of the world-famous chefs designing today's cruise-ship menus

Cruise Travel, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Lynn Seldon

With many top chefs aligning their stars with various cruise lines, it seems only a matter of time until Emeril Lagasse of "Food TV" fame comes onboard. The cries of "Bam!" from Lagasse and his loyal following could certainly kick the star-chef scene at sea up yet another notch.

Star chefs are now involved with cruise lines and ships in various roles, including one-time sailings and demonstrations, permanent consulting roles for all dining, and even opening a namesake specialty restaurant at sea (like Todd English on Cunard Line's new Queen Mary 2). Whatever the role in and out of the galley, star chefs have certainly taken cruise line cuisine way above sea level.

The "celebrity" chef scene started, appropriately enough, with Celebrity Cruises and Michel Roux. Oddly, the concept actually evolved from a land-based wedding back in the late 1980s. Roux says, "In 1989 the ship owner John Chandris, who co-founded the line that ultimately became Celebrity Cruises, asked me if I would cater for a family wedding [for 750 people] in Athens. This meal so impressed John Chandris that he decided I could probably apply that same engineering precision to boats and cruises. Not one ship had yet been built for Celebrity Cruises, but I was brought in as a consultant."

In his role as Celebrity's culinary and wine consultant, Roux brought world-class dining to cruise ships, including ultra-elegant experiences in specialty restaurants like Millennium's Olympic, Infinity's SS United States, Summit's Normandie, and Constellation's Ocean Liners. Some 15 years later, Roux still takes an average of six cruises a year, sends members of his culinary team on even more sailings, and revises and updates ship menus approximately every six months.

However, many longtime favorites recipes of Roux--and Celebrity's palate-pleased following of repeat cruisers and diners--have been on the ship menus from the start. "I'd say there are at least 30 items on the menus at any given time that were on that first ship with Celebrity," Roux recalls. "I love these dishes and, obviously, so do the guests." Several of these favorites, including Goujonettes de Sole au Sauternes (strips of sole poached in Sauternes), Coq au Vin a la Bourguignonne (chicken casserole in red wine), and Tarte des Demouiselles Tatin (upside-down apple tart), are also featured in Roux's autobiography, Life Is A Menu.

The long list of chefs and restaurateurs that followed in Roux's tasty wake have included: Wolfgang Puck, Nobu Matsuhisa, and Piero Sebaggio (all aboard Crystal Cruises); Charlie Palmer (Seabourn Cruise Line); Joachim Koerper (Silversea Cruises); Jacques Pepin (Oceania Cruises); Paolo Belloni and Cualtiero Marchesi (Costa Cruise Lines); Joachim Splichal (Windstar Cruises); Rudi Sodamin (Holland America Line); and Todd English (Cunard).

Cunard Line's involvement with Todd English (and, earlier, Daniel Boulud) provides a perfect example of the evolution of star chefs since the early days of Roux's involvement with Celebrity. The famed four-star chef Boulud became Cunard's culinary advisor in 2002 and also oversaw the menus for several of the restaurants on the Queen Mary 2 until the creative culinary partnership ended earlier this year. "His sophisticated and exquisite pairing of foods greatly influenced the final Queen Mary 2 menus created by our corporate chefs," says David Gevanthor, Cunard Line's vice president, yield management and marketing.

With the christening of the Queen Mary 2 earlier this year, the ship's 156-seat signature restaurant (called, simply, Todd English) created perhaps the pinnacle of the star chef scene at sea. Along with designing delectable menus, English worked closely with designteam, a London-based firm, to create a stunning dining atmosphere that matches his contemporary cooking.

English's now-famous Olives restaurants throughout the U.S. have been joined by several Figs locations, many stand-alone dining ventures, and much more, leading to many accolades--including being named in 2001 as one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People." Like many star chefs at sea, he's also a top TV chef and cookbook author.

The dinner menu at Todd English includes Paella Olivacious, an Olives signature dish described by English as an "untraditional-traditional" paella with braised lobster, clams, mussels, assorted fish, and chicken--all in a delectable chorizo broth with saffron short grain rice. According to English, "Being involved with Queen Mary 2 is very exciting. While it is a challenge, it is also an honor for me to operate the signature restaurant onboard the greatest luxury liner in the world." Reservations for the already-popular restaurant are required, and there's a $20 surcharge for lunch and $30 for dinner. Surcharges are fairly common in specialty restaurants, but this varies by line and ship.

Between Michel Roux and Todd English, many other star chefs have turned up the heat in cruise-ship kitchens. The result has been a menu of star-struck options on a majority of ships. The food and personalities of these various chefs cross cultural borders, making for a cornucopia of cuisine options at sea.