FOOD FOR THOUGHT
CULINARY SHORE-X
Epicurean Excursions 15 Amazing Outings for Food and Wine Lovers
By Janice Wald Henderson
I was on my knees in the Egyptian desert, crouched before a makeshift cooktop in the hot sand. My instructor, a white-robed Bedouin, knelt beside me. With his guidance, I rolled dough on that cooktop, gingerly flipping it until golden. My fellow Silversea Cruises’ passengers cheered, and then we broke bread in a meaningful new way. This was the best flatbread I ever ate: in a tent in the desert on the shore excursion of my dreams.
Lucky for food devotees like me, cruise lines, especially upper-premium and luxury ships, feature showstopper shore excursions to tempt the taste buds. These culinary outings offer opportunities nearly impossible to secure on your own, like my cooking lesson in the Egyptian desert (Silversea Cruises’ Desert Jeep Safari in Sharm El Sheikh) or entry into elite culinary schools, world-class wineries, and exclusive restaurants.
Imagine exploring markets teeming with exotica — live fish, cows’ heads, hot-pink dragon fruit, and odd-smelling durian — which you may never otherwise see. And in such faraway ports, it’s an amazing way to meet locals and soak up foreign culture.
Here are 15 more of the most amazing gastronomical excursions available to foodie cruisers sailing the world.
1. In Hong Kong, Silversea Cruises’ Introduction to Chinese Gastronomy first visits a “wet market” (named for the frequent water hosing), frequented twice daily by locals. The freshness of ingredients, many still alive, will astonish. At the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute, don a chef’s jacket alongside the professionals and take a crash course on Chinese cooking. Feasting on your creations — such as deep-fried paper-wrapped marinated chicken and sautéed spicy pork with chili and peppers — with fellow “chefs” makes the experience all the more fun and delicious.
2. Headed to Sicily on Silversea? Book Sicilian Cooking with Signora Consoli. Taught in her 18th-century home near Mt. Etna’s slopes in Taormina, Eleonora Consoli, a noted chef and cookbook author, leads just 12 passengers in a comprehensive hands-on class. You’ll prepare an exquisite Sicilian meal and relish the results (with wine) in Consoli’s own charming garden.
3. Alaskan cruises are awash in fishing expeditions, but on select Silversea voyages, you not only cast a rod, you quickly eat the catch. On Kachemak Bay Feast from the Sea in Homer, fish for local seafood like red snapper and Pacific cod, and then sail to a secluded cove where an awaiting chef — and bouillabaisse expert — makes the famous fish stew with your catch.
This is an excerpt only. To read this article in its entirety, pick up the current issue of Porthole Cruise Magazine.