Oceania Cruises is preparing 20 new interactive culinary classes and more for guests onboard the Marina and Riviera starting in April 2015. The Culinary Center offerings will include an extensive two-day immersion program, a session dedicated to the life and work of Chef Jacques Pépin, and extras added to the Gourmet Explorer Series’ international delights.
The new cooking programs, ranging in length from 45 minutes to three hours, were developed by Director of Culinary Enrichment, Chef Kathryn Kelly, and will feature the Marina‘s and Riviera‘s Culinary Center and its individual cooking stations.
“In our Culinary Center, guests cook under the instruction of faculty members who are CIA graduates and have apprenticed under a who’s who of renowned chefs,” shares Kelly. “We continue to add new topics to keep things fresh for past guests, and this year, we’re proud to honor our consummate teacher, Jacques Pepin, with a special class.”
The culinary offerings are detailed by Oceania Cruises below:
Culinary Center Immersion Program
In response to guest requests, the Oceania Cruises Culinary Center will offer a special Culinary School Immersion Program on select itineraries. The curriculum is designed to improve the skills of a home chef by focusing on the essential techniques for creating basic sauces, grilling, preparing vegetables and other culinary skills. The in-depth instruction is spread over a morning and afternoon session and extends for two days, or four sessions in total.
The highlight of the culinary immersion program is a friendly competition where teams of four guests are paired together to prepare a dish that is judged by the faculty and executives from the shipboard culinary team. All participants receive a special certificate at the end of the program, while the winning team can claim culinary bragging rights for the remainder of the cruise.
Celebrate Jacques Pépin
In collaboration with Chef Pépin, Oceania Cruises is creating an exclusive class that includes recipes from Jacques’ cookbooks and family favorites. The new class “La Technique: A Celebration of Jacques Pépin’s 80th Birthday” covers techniques written in his early book “La Technique,” which remains an indispensable source of culinary knowledge for modern chefs, as well as “Essential Pépin,” a collection of over 700 technique-based favorite recipes that stretches over his six decades in the kitchen.
Guests will learn five basic techniques around eggs, proteins, vegetables, sauces and desserts. At the conclusion of each class, guests pose for a photo that will be incorporated into a special birthday card for Chef Pépin. Throughout the spring, summer and fall, these photos along with tales from guests who experienced the class will also be posted on the Oceania Cruises blog.
New Regional Classes
With an abundance of guests seeking new educational epicurean experiences, the Culinary Center is introducing 20 new classes as part of its Gourmet Explorer Series. These classes will showcase regional cuisine from Morocco, Peru, the Pacific Northwest and more.
The curriculum of the Culinary Center continues to appeal to a wide range of tastes and culinary skill levels by incorporating techniques inspired by the cultures and regions the ship visits with classes such as Planet Veggie, Viva Tapas, At Home in Sicily, Rock Your Wok, What Mermaids Know, Global Gourmet and the Pizza Master Class.
For more information on the new culinary program, visit Oceania Cruises‘ website here.
HEADER IMAGE SOURCE: OCEANIA CRUISES
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