Alaskan Cruise Cuisine-A Gastronomic Adventure

My husband, Jerry and I just returned from a fabulous cruise to Alaska on Oceania Cruise Line. We sailed from Seattle along the Inside Passage up to the first port of call-Ketchikan, Alaska. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful. The two words we kept using to describe what we saw were “vast” and “stunning”.

If you are into food this is the cruise for you. One of the reasons we chose Oceania is the food. Originally inspired by Jacques Pepin, the menu over the years has changed a bit to accommodate changing tastes, but several of Chef Jacques signature dishes remain.

Jerry and I had the pleasure to meet with Executive Chef Simon Hockley to discuss provisioning of the food onboard, how the food is prepared and the complexity of the food service onboard Oceania’s Regatta. Chef Simon has been with Oceania for 10 years and now heads up a staff of 67 chefs cooking and baking around the clock. I want to share with you some of the wonderful food we ate on our Oceania cruise.

There are 3 exquisite restaurants on the Regatta: The Grand Dining Room; and two specialty restaurants: Polo Grill and Toscano’s. The buffet was also very good. We loved them all. The innovation of classic favorites combined with perfect sauces and garnishes made us hungry for the next meal. We did eat a lot! Here are just a few of the fabulous dishes we experienced.

APPETIZERS:

Each dish is carefully prepared and presented.

I had two favorite starters…the Sformatino di Pepperoni from Toscano’s and the Roasted Beetroot with Goat Cheese Napoleon from Polo Grill.

Everything we tried was absolutely creative, delicious and deeply flavorful.

Our toughest decision onboard was what to eat next!

MOVING ON TO THE MAIN COURSE:

It would be hard to say which of the main courses was our favorite, but the Filet Mignon with Roquefort crust served at Toscano’s really stands out.

Chef Jonel Capote cooked and served this meal himself. What a gracious, talented, and humble chef!

Jerry ate veal prepared several different ways at each of the 3 restaurants. I leaned into the seafood.

Living in Arizona, fresh fish is hard to come by so I could not get enough of it!

 

Before we head to dessert a word about WINE…

The wine list both ‘By the Glass’ and ‘By the Bottle’ is extensive and the sommeliers were very helpful with selecting the perfect pairing with the food. I think I managed to try every wine by the glass and my two favorites were the Rose from Chateau Montaud Cotes de Provence, France and the Poesie Soave Classico DOC from Veneto, Italy.

Here is that fabulous Rose. The wine offerings were from all over the world and carried delicious Albarino from Spain, dry and flavorful Riesling Mosel from Germany, Chianti Classico from Tuscany, Shiraz from Australia, Malbec from Argentina and much more!

As much as I love wine, occasionally a martini is in order! This is WA BI gin from Japan served at the Martini’s Bar. Very herbaceous and almost citrusy. All around delicious!

On to DESSERT or as Polo Grill’s dessert menu says…FINE ENDINGS:

The buffet serving breakfast and lunch also had wonderful desserts.

The buffet had the best assortment of pickled herring and smoked salmon.

Who doesn’t like pickled herring for breakfast!

DID I MENTION BREAD?

The bread, baked daily, was fresh and plentiful. At Toscano’s they served the bread with an array of exotic olive oils and balsamic vinegars.

Pastry was excellent!

I want to close our gastronomic adventure with a few words on provisioning. It took nearly all day to load the food onboard. Chef Simon shared these quantities with us for a 14 day cruise. Ours was 10 days, but close enough. The amounts will blow your mind!

Here are some of the cases of food being loaded at the Seattle pier.

And here are some of the quantities loaded: 543 lbs. of Maine Lobster; 259 lbs. of Raw Shrimp; 638 lbs. of Salmon; 538 lbs. of Beef Tenderloin; 546 lbs. Beef Strip; 2850 lbs. of All-Purpose Flour; 1254 lbs. of Solid Butter; 1400 lbs. of Bananas; 1550 lbs. Cantaloupe; 1700 lbs. Pineapple; 2400 lbs. Potatoes; 1100 lbs. Tomatoes; 900 lbs. Cucumber; and 14,600 pieces of Turndown Chocolates!…You get the idea! Lots and lots of food!

Thanks for sharing our fabulous 10 days of feasting

on the beautiful Oceania Alaskan cruise!

This truly was a trip of a lifetime!