By
Rebecca Gibson |
Holland America Line’s (HAL) latest newbuild is to feature new dining concepts, menus and reimagined venues when she debuts next February.
Koningsdam will offer cuisine from around the world in several alternative restaurants and menus developed by HAL’s award-winning master chef Rudi Sodamin and other international chefs.
“With Koningsdam, we are building upon our outstanding culinary foundation,” said Sodamin. “Our guests will truly appreciate the many inventive menu choices and the visionary innovations that will be delivered with our first Pinnacle Class ship.”
Deck 2 will showcase several of the ship’s dining venues along one central promenade. In addition to the Main Dining Room, the walkway will include the Culinary Arts Center, which was developed in association with Food & Wine magazine.
The venue will feature a show kitchen and individual cooking stations that will used by both the ship’s chefs and visiting celebrity chefs during cooking demonstrations and interactive classes. It will also offer regionally inspired workshops, as well as classes for children and teenagers.
For the first time, the venue will also host a new dining concept called Dinner at the Culinary Arts Center each evening. Chefs will prepare simple, artisanal dishes in the show kitchen using select ingredients harvested from a glass-enclosed growing area next to the kitchen.
Lining the entry to the Culinary Arts Center are nine interactive displays that allow guests to explore the lives of food and wine luminaries, their culinary secrets, recipe tips, favourite dishes and more.
Other venues on the walkway include the new Sel de Mer (Salt of the Sea) brasserie, which will serve classic French seafood dishes with a contemporary twist, and the line’s popular Pinnacle Grill, which will feature a glass-enclosed wine room and serve traditional steakhouse dishes.
Meanwhile, HAL’s traditional Lido dining areas has been transformed into a modern marketplace with various themed stations serving baked breads and pastries, salads and health foods, classic dishes such as scrambled eggs and herb-roasted chicken, foods from around the world and desserts.
The ship will also feature the new Grand Dutch Café, which reflects the line’s heritage and offers Dutch-themed snacks and beverages, including Heineken beer on tap. Other venues include the outdoor Dive-In at the Terrace Grill by the ship’s Lido pool, Italian restaurant Canaletto, Asia-inspired Tamarind, which will offer a new seven-guest sushi bar.
“Koningsdam allows us to leverage our culinary creativity and debut new brand-exclusive venues and magnificent food concepts as well as enhance our current successful offerings,” said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. “We know that guests are going to be excited with our many creative dining choices and appealing new experiences aboard Koningsdam.”
Koningsdam, which is the first in HAL’s Pinnacle class and the largest ever built for HAL, will accommodate 2,650 guests and 1,025 crew members. The ship will offer a range of new innovative features and reimagined interiors created by hospitality designer Adam Tihany and designer and architect Bjorn Storbraaten.