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MIAMI, October 11,
2005----When they introduced a stellar set of dinner menus
designed by celebrity chef/restaurateur Charlie Palmer, The
Yachts of Seabourn won the first-place Diamond Award from
Onboard Services magazine. In the most recent Condé Nast
Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards, the intimate, all-suite ships
scored number one and two for cuisine. And now, these celebrated
cruise ships are introducing an innovative new concept that will
re-define the “alternative” in casual alternative shipboard
dining.
Starting in March of 2006, the popular Veranda Café, high atop
each Seabourn yacht, will be transformed nightly into 2: a
stylish, contemporary dining venue serving imaginative
multi-course tasting menus. Each dinner at 2 will be made up of
playful pairings of dishes, reflecting culinary inspirations
gathered from around the world.
In the newly expanded galley at 2, two chefs will turn out a
taste-tempting array of small plates, mostly designed to be
served two to a course, creating an intriguing variety of
flavors and sensations during a five- or six-course meal.
To start, for instance, diners at 2 might be presented with a
Bouquet of Spring Rolls with soy, Thai and chili dipping sauces,
side-by-side with a Soba Noodle and Seaweed Salad with sesame
vinaigrette. Then an aromatic Lobster Bisque “Presse” appears,
graced with black truffle cappuccino, combined with a savory
Seafood Croquette dressed with white truffle oil. A salad of
Baby Mesclun Leaves in orange vinaigrette with tapenade croutons
accompanies a selection of Prawn Variations with a sweet mustard
dip. One duo of entrees includes Grilled Striped Bass with a
roasted vegetable medley beside Braised Beef Short Ribs with
celery-potato mash and beef jus. Goat Cheese Pops with
caramelized honey and drunken grapes is paired with a Port Wine
Shooter and lemon sorbet as a penultimate course. Finally, a
decadent dessert duet combines Vanilla Beignets sauced with
caramel apple, fudge and chocolate with Ice Pralines of white
and milk chocolate.
Novel lighting effects that transform the room’s décor, fanciful
table settings by Rosenthal and even the wait-staff uniforms at
2 will reflect a relaxed, refined sensibility, embodying classic
quality and a spare, serene modernity.
As in each ship’s open-seating Restaurant, a selection of wines
will be poured free of charge to accompany dinners at 2. In
addition, 2’s sommelier will suggest premium wines available for
purchase to pair with each night’s menu. Six different tasting
menus will be offered, and while the menus will not be themed,
they will take advantage of regional influences in the areas
where the ships are sailing.
Suggested attire for dining at 2 will remain slightly more
casual than that suggested for The Restaurant: Casual for most
evenings and Elegant Casual (jacket, but no tie required for
gentlemen) on those evenings when the Restaurant suggests Black
Tie.
Tasting dinners at 2 will be available, by reservation, to about
50 of the yachts’ 208 guests nightly, at no additional cost. |
