New Gourmet Explorer Tours were developed by in collaboration with Michelin-starred chefs
By
Rebecca Gibson |
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has developed a new collection of exclusive culinary-inspired shore excursions for Seven Seas Explorer’s inaugural Mediterranean season.
Part of the Regent Choice Shore Excursion programme, the new Gourmet Explorer Tours were developed by Kathryn Kelly, RSSC’s executive director of Culinary Enrichment, in collaboration with Michelin-starred chefs and local culinary experts in each of the destinations the ship will visit. The tours are designed to enhance the curriculum offered at the ship’s onboard Culinary Arts Kitchen and each one will be led by the chef instructor and a local guide – often a chef – with knowledge of the region’s agriculture, wine and cuisine.
“Our Gourmet Explorer Tours were specifically designed to match the unrivalled level of guest experience found onboard Seven Seas Explorer,” said Jason Montague, president and COO at Regent Seven Seas Cruises. “We have created an unbelievable collection of culinary-inspired tours where our guests can partake in true once-in-a-lifetime epicurean experiences. Our tours were expertly crafted to provide our guests with unique opportunities to dine at a highly coveted and world-renowned, Michelin-starred restaurant, visit iconic markets and palatial vineyard estate homes, and learn from some of Europe’s premier chefs with personalised, hands-on instruction.”
In total, RSSC will offer 22 Gourmet Explorer Tours, many of which are followed by personalised instruction in the ship’s onboard Culinary Arts Kitchen. For example, guests visiting Sorrento in Italy will be able to make cheese at an artisanal fromagerie, watch a culinary demonstration by a master chef, and dine in the gardens of the Don Alfonso, while those in Monte Carlo, Monaco, will be able to enjoy a wine tasting at Cave Bianchi in Nice followed by dinner at the famed La Chèvre d’Or restaurant.
Tours in Saint Tropez, France will allow guests to taste three Provence varietals at La Croix winery and enjoy a gourmet dining experience at La Vague d’Or, a Michelin three-star restaurant.
Guests will also be able to source produce and sample local delicacies at the Corfiot Market in Corfu Old Town, Greece; attend a tasting at an artisanal olive oil producer, a cooking demonstration and seven-course tasting lunch in Madremanya in Palamos, Spain; visit a fish and produce market, make cannolis and enjoy lunch and a cooking demonstration at a restaurant in Taormina, Sicily; and attend a cooking demonstration, enjoy lunch with wine at Villa Dianella, and visit Il Mercato Centrale market in Livorno, Italy. Another tour will include a guided walk through the Boqueria and Santa Caterina markets, followed by a lunch and kitchen tour from Chef Jordi Cruz at ABaC, a two-star Michelin restaurant.
“We are creating something truly special and sure to be enjoyed by both die-hard foodies and peripheral fans of the culinary arts,” said Kelly. “With our Gourmet Explorer Tours we have an incredibly diverse array of options for our guests, ranging from the crème-de-la-crème of luxury with our day in Saint Tropez to a more casual farm-to-table experience in Greece. I cannot wait to begin.”