Navigating celebrity chef partnerships

As foodies look to the culinary trends of a new year, they are often best described as “what’s in” and “what’s out.” 

And while that’s no less true on the cruise front — say goodbye to stuffy fine dining restaurants and hello to relaxed yet sophisticated atmospheres — one of the real trends to keep an eye on is neither in nor out but in the midst of an evolution: the industry’s longtime partnerships with celebrity chefs.

From the largest contemporary ships to the smallest, most luxurious ones, cruise brands have long leaned into foodie culture, offering exclusive gastronomic experiences and often attracting big-name chefs to help deliver them. 

These chefs — Nobu Matsuhisa on Crystal, Thomas Keller on Seabourn, Guy Fieri on Carnival, Daniel Boulud on Celebrity — have earned fame from renowned restaurants, lofty culinary awards or being viewed by millions on hit cooking shows. 

While some cruise lines continue to cook up collaborations with star chefs, others have stepped away from those partnerships entirely or changed the way they work together. Some others have doubled down on big-name cooks. 

Daniel Putzhammer, Seabourn Cruises’ senior director of food and beverage and talent acquisition, said that part of the evolution has to do with cruise lines wanting a more curated approach.

“I think there will be lines that continue to work with celebrity chefs, and if anything, maybe lines are using them more tailored to their needs,” Putzhammer said. 

And as David Yeskel, a freelance travel journalist specializing in food and beverage on cruise ships, has noted, many cruise brands are confident in their own culinary cachet.

“The in-house-developed concepts are so sophisticated right now and so good that they don’t necessarily need a celebrity chef,” he said.

Seabourn’s new concept 

Seabourn is one of those lines. The luxury brand ended an eight-year partnership with the Michelin-starred Keller last year to launch Solis, an in-house concept serving food inspired by the region a ship is sailing in.

“When you talk about Thomas Keller, you don’t talk about a celebrity chef, you talk about the celebrity chef,” Putzhammer said.

Keller is the first American-born chef to hold multiple three-star ratings from the Michelin Guide. In 2016, he opened The Grill by Thomas Keller across the Seabourn fleet. 

The chophouse was popular, Putzhammer said, likely due in part to Keller’s rigorous focus on quality. At one point, if Seabourn wanted to use a tomato that was different from the type called for in one of Keller’s recipes, the line had to send a picture of it to Keller’s organization for approval, he said. 

While The Grill was a crowd-pleaser, many of Seabourn’s repeat customers wanted something different after nearly a decade. They wanted “fresh and healthy” fare and preferred Mediterranean cuisine rather than fine American food, Putzhammer concluded from a survey of about 4,000 passengers. 

The line replaced The Grill and rolled out Solis last year. The new venue taps the expertise of master chef and culinary partner Anton “Tony” Egger and senior corporate chef Franck Salein and has been “very well received,” Putzhammer said. Of course, the venue has “big shoes to fill,” he added. 

While pulling away from its celebrity-backed venue, Seabourn is not stepping away from featuring chefs. The brand has sought short-term relationships with lesser-known culinary experts around the world to offer guests regional flavors. For instance, the line hosted a chef from Hong Kong to serve as the ship’s guest chef for around two weeks on an Asia cruise. 

“Those don’t necessarily need to be the big names but rather fit the area and the product we are providing,” Putzhammer said about regional guest chefs.

While culinary trends lean toward local and fresh ingredients, going in-house with the Solis restaurant also gives Seabourn the flexibility to tailor its menus to foods the brand has available rather than adhering to a celebrity chef’s menu, he said. 

Seabourn is not alone. Silversea Cruises has honored celebrity chefs — such as New Orleans’ award-winning chef, restaurateur and TV personality Nina Compton, who named its 2024 newbuild, the Silver Nova — but the line has mostly made its destination-focused S.A.L.T. Kitchen its culinary star. 

Standing for Sea and Land Taste, the concept focuses on telling the story of a cruise ship’s itinerary via workshops in its branded kitchen and through its dinner menu or drinks crafted with spirits from the area. 

“Rather than tie ourselves to one particular chef or a single cuisine, we’ve taken a different approach that emphasizes authentic culinary experiences, onboard and ashore,” said Adam Sachs, director of the S.A.L.T. program. “S.A.L.T. is all about connecting with the unique flavors and cultures of the places we go — and we go to a lot of places.”

Crystal’s evolving approach

But many lines have no plans to break their star restaurateur connections.

Crystal was an early adopter of celebrity chef partnerships when it inked a deal with Matsuhisa more than 20 years ago. His Umi Uma Japanese-Peruvian restaurants are still featured on the line’s two ships. 

But even that line’s approach is evolving. A year-and-a-half since being acquired by A&K Travel Group, Crystal has expanded its culinary partnerships to not only star chefs but star restaurants. In 2024, it launched Beefbar venues on its two ships, the brand from restaurateur Riccardo Giraudi that offers elevated street food and high-quality meats. Beefbar has locations in New York, throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Crystal, like Seabourn, found that its loyal client base wanted something different than the dishes they’ve dined on for decades. Jacqueline Barney, the line’s senior vice president of global marketing, said Crystal wanted to offer something new and found it important to incorporate a land-based restaurant name that customers would recognize and respect. 

Crystal also made a deal with Michelin-starred chef Massimiliano Alajmo and restaurateur Raffaele Alajmo to consult on dishes for its specialty Italian restaurant, Osteria d’Ovidio. 

Celebrity Cruises’ third Edge-class ship, the Celebrity Beyond, debuted in 2022 with Le Voyage by Daniel Boulud. But while the star chef is overseeing the recipes, the 50-seat eatery’s menu is based on the region where the ship is sailing, not on the chef’s traditional French cuisine. 

Princess Cruises doesn’t lean on just one big-name chef: vice president of food and beverage Sami Kohen rattled off a list of the line’s celebrity chef partnerships. They include meat guru Dario Cecchini with The Butcher’s Block by Dario aboard the Sun Princess; James Beard Foundation-recognized sushi master Makoto Okuwa with Kai Sushi; and 13-time world pizza champion Tony Gemignani who created five pizzas for Princess last summer. 

Anyone can bring on a world-class chef, but at Princess, the philosophy behind its partnerships is to forge a unique connection with the guests, Kohen said. Princess uses the culinary collaborations to create unique stories, experiences and dishes its passengers cannot find at home.

“It is very easy to create a steak, Italian, French or Spanish restaurant in any place around the world,” he said. “If we are not able to offer something unique that they don’t have in their hometown, it’s not part of a full experience” Princess wants guests to have. 

Celebrity partnerships are laced throughout several of Princess’ sister brands at Carnival Corp. Food Network personality Fieri’s Guy’s Burger Joints and Guy’s Pig & Anchor Bar-B-Que Smokehouses on Carnival Cruise Line ships is among the most well-known.

Holland America Line (HAL), like Princess, aims to tell a story. Japanese chef Masaharu Morimoto, of “Iron Chef” fame, is the ambassador and face of HAL’s fresh-fish program. The line taps his star power to tell its story about sourcing fish from 60 ports and going from port to plate in less than 48 hours. 

HAL serves Morimoto’s fish dishes for an extra charge in the dining room and offers a Morimoto at Sea pop-up once per cruise with a cover charge.

Another way of highlighting celebrity chefs can be seen at Windstar, which is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its partnership with the James Beard Foundation. 

Oceania’s changing tastes

Oceania Cruises, long known for its culinary focus, works with several renowned chefs in various ways. 

French author, PBS television personality and culinary educator Jacques Pepin headlines his own restaurants on Oceania ships, called Jacques. And while the line originally dropped Jacques on its last ship, the Oceania Vista, it is bringing the venue back with a refreshed menu on the Vista and its sister, the Allura, debuting in July. 

Oceania also incorporates other popular chefs’ dishes into its dining venues rather than opening branded restaurants onboard.

For example, Italian-American chef, cookbook author and TV personality Giada De Laurentiis was not only godmother to the line’s newest ship, the Oceania Vista, but was named the brand’s culinary ambassador and now co-chairs its culinary advisory board. 

Oceania serves two of her creations on the Vista, including her lemon pasta, in the ship’s Italian restaurant Toscana and in the Grand Dining Room. 

Like Seabourn, most of the passengers on Oceania’s ships are repeat guests. While good for business, that can pose a challenge for the culinary team, said Bernhard Klotz, Oceania’s vice president of food and beverage.

“They come back cruise after cruise,” he said. “We want to make some changes because some guests, they like changes. And some guests, they don’t.”

It is not simply the involvement of a celebrity guest that makes these dishes a hit, Klotz said. It’s that the chef and cruise line work together to figure out what recipes will work. Some ingredients that are consistently available on land may not be so easy to obtain during a cruise, Klotz said. That’s a problem because the line wants to offer a consistent experience. 

“If we make something onboard, it should not be just one time when we have all the ingredients,” Klotz said. “We need to have something that we can serve worldwide. It doesn’t matter if we are in South America or in Africa or in Asia or in Europe or here in the United States. We should always have the same quality available.”

Oceania is among the cruise lines like Windstar that don’t just feature dishes and restaurants from celebrity chefs but also brings them onboard. 

Sara Moulton, who hosted 13 seasons of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals” on PBS and worked as the executive chef behind the scenes of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” hosts specialty cruises on Oceania and serves as a member of the line’s culinary advisory board. 

Moulton hosts cooking classes and demonstrations, and Oceania showcases her work when she does demonstrations by adding her dishes to the menu in the main dining room that cruise. 

Moulton “is another personality that brings a lot of followers. Our guests, they love her,” Klotz said. 

Rebecca Tobin contributed to this report.