Seafood for thought
Charles Dickens’ hungry hero, Oliver Twist, wasn’t the only individual to cry “Food, glorious food!” Cruise lines have been pandering to our palates for years. And, just when you think “what possibly could be new about food at sea?” up pops something innovative.
Here is a smorgasbord of recent news in the maritime melting pot:
Oceania Cruises (oceaniacruises.com) touts its menu. According to a spokesman, each of the line’s three small vessels offers 200 different dishes-from fusion and nouvelle cuisines to master chef Jacques Pepin’s signature recipes-that change every day. In an initiative dubbed “The Perfect Table,” Oceania now showcases the talents of its chefs and their creations every evening in each ship’s quartet of open-seating gourmet restaurants. In addition to a reprise of such classics as steak au poivre, lobster thermidor and beef tartar, the line highlights its bread makers.
Executive Corporate Chef Franck Garanger creates exceptional French breads and what the line claims are the only “authentic” baguettes at sea. Garanger uses only the finest Viron flour for the baguettes, which are baked in special ovens, notes an announcement. “Star boulangers know that the quality of your bread is dictated by your flour and ovens,” Garanger says. Oceania’s passengers enjoy the bakery’s cornucopia: poulichette, Normandy bread, brioche, bacon bread, chestnut rolls and olive bread-prepared fresh every day. more…
