Lessons From the High Seas

Hone your cooking skills with culinary classes from master chefs on your next cruise

By Diane Tierney

Cruise lines are upping their culinary game by partnering with some of the world’s best chefs and cooking schools from Le Cordon Bleu to Relais & Châteaux. It’s no wonder passengers are keen to sign up for tasty learning experiences during their holiday at sea.

© VIKING CRUISES

No matter which experiences you choose, you can expect top-of-the-line workstations and all the essential tools you might need. Participants receive personalized instructions from experts and classes are designed to appeal to a wide range of tastes and aptitudes, from beginners to experienced cooks.

Here is a sampling of what lessons are being served up for cruise guests.

REGENT SEVEN SEAS’ CULINARY ARTS KITCHEN

© REGENT SEVEN SEAS

Regent Seven Seas Cruises has cooking demonstrations in the Culinary Arts Kitchen onboard its Splendor and Explorer ships. Expand your skills in a welcoming environment reminiscent of France’s most prestigious cooking schools in both layout and design. There are about 16 different classes available, including Treasures of the Aegean,

revealing the essence of the famed Mediterranean diet, Familia Cubana, honouring cherished Cuban recipes passed down from generations, Sensuous Spain, all about the country’s delicious tapas, and Island Fusion, using indigenous ingredients from the Caribbean islands you’re travelling through.

OCEANIA CRUISES’ CULINARY CENTERS

© OCEANIA CRUISES

Oceania Cruises hosts a hands-on cooking school on its Riviera and Marina ships, and classes are conducted by master chefs from around the world. At select ports, guests also accompany a chef while shopping for fresh ingredients at local markets during a Culinary Discovery Tour. At your fully equipped workstation in the state-of-the-art Culinary Center, you’ll be guided step-by-step on how to make a wide range of dishes. There are about a dozen cooking classes with new ones often added, like one devoted to the cuisine of the Patagonia region. Perhaps you’ll pick up secrets of Argentine grilling or the finer points of Chilean roasting and baking. To go along with the delicious, hearty dishes, enjoy expert wine pairings from the destination.

HOLLAND AMERICA’S PORT TO TABLE

© HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY/ TOMMY LUNDBERG

Port to Table cooking demonstrations and fine dining events on Holland America ships focus on ingredients and dishes inspired by the culinary traditions of the regions included in the cruise itinerary. Hosted by the cruise and travel director, these events feature an onboard chef or local chef from the region who will share their gastronomic knowledge with participants. The shows in the Culinary Art Kitchen or bigger main theatre showcase everything from Alaskan salmon to Hawaiian luau favourites. These are the same recipes for dishes found in the ships’ dining venues, flagged as Port to Table meals on menus.

SILVERSEA’S SEA AND LAND TASTE

© LUCIA GRIGGI

Adam Sachs, a three-time James Beard Foundation Journalism Award winner, oversees Silversea’s Sea and Land Taste (S.A.L.T.) initiative. It first launched on Silversea’s Silver Moon ship last year, then rolled out to its sister vessel, Silver Dawn, in March 2022. Both feature interactive S.A.L.T. Labs where small groups of guests gather to prepare a destination-focused recipe, as well as shore excursions with a culinary focus, like visiting a working organic farm in Greece. It’s a meaningful way to gain insights into the local food heritage. “By connecting customized shore excursions with fascinating lectures and hands-on cooking experiences, we allow guests to come away with a more thorough understanding and appreciation for the tastes, cultures and foodways of the places we visit,” Sachs says.

VIKING CRUISES’ KITCHEN TABLE

© VIKING CRUISES

The Kitchen Table program from Viking Cruises puts an immersive spin on culinary education. Guests can shop, cook and also dine with master chefs in a twopart, exclusive experience that takes them directly to the heart of their destination’s food culture. In port, you might join a chef for a few hours at a local market to handpick ingredients for what will be on the menu that night. Then, you’ll head to the test kitchen for the cooking lesson, during which you’ll pick up not only advanced professional techniques, like the art of beautiful plating, but also a more profound knowledge of the local cuisine.

These hands-on experiences enable you to better understand the soul of the destinations you’ll visit through food. Hopefully, you’ll relive them when you recreate delicious meals at home with your new next-level cooking skills.