This was published 8 years ago
Gourmet food river cruises: Charting a fresh course
River-cruise companies are catering to a more adventurous palate, with inventive menus and offbeat shore excursions, reports Brian Johnston.
Casual dining alfresco on the Aquavit Terrace of a Viking Longship. Credit: Viking River Cruises
When I was offered blue-cheese ice-cream on Uniworld's SS Catherine in France last year, it was a sign of how much river-cruise cuisine has changed over the last decade. There was a time when the food was cautious, bland and international, more suited to retired realtors from the American mid-west than travellers keen to experience local cuisines. Now river-cruise companies are offering increasingly sophisticated dishes, and occasionally even push the limits. For the record, blue-cheese ice-cream is surprisingly tasty. Uniworld's menus now challenge the adventurous palate with guinea fowl, escargots and sour-cherry soup.
The food revolution has come about for a variety of reasons. River ships, especially in Europe, are limited in size and hence amenities, so companies have turned to improvements in the detail and dining. Passengers in the post-MasterChef world are bolder in their tastes and expectations, and more cruises have been launched in food and wine-rich destinations, most notably France.
What also struck me on my Uniworld cruise through southern France was just how much local cuisine featured on the ship's menu. Regional specialties include crab soup with cheese croutons, daube provencal (a wine-soaked beef stew), cod loin in bouillabaisse, and iced Montélimar nougat parfait. Post-dinner cheese plates have an impressive assortment of interesting French cheeses, such as semi-soft Morbier, aged Fourme d'Ambert and washed-rind St-Nectaire.
Crusted rack of lamb is served for dinner on an Avalon cruise.Credit: Avalon Waterways
All river-cruise companies are sourcing more local produce and dishing up food from the regions through which their ships float. Avalon's four-course evening meals also showcase local ingredients: potato dumplings and red cabbage served with sauerbraten pot roast in Germany, or an apricot dessert in Austria's Wachau Valley, known for its apricot orchards. Viking has topfenstrudel (strudel with a sweet-cheese filling) in Austria and the pizza-like flammkuchen in Alsace. Local wines feature more prominently, with river-cruise ships featuring syrah along the Rhone; crisp whites on the Moselle; and peppery Grüner Veltliner on the Austrian Danube.
The trend isn't confined to Europe. I was impressed to find on a recent Travelmarvel cruise on the Mekong that Vietnamese and Cambodian dishes were an option at every meal, including pho noodle soup for breakfast just when I'd had a surfeit of bacon and eggs. Parent company APT does occasional Mekong cruises with chef Luke Nguyen, who prepares a special on-board banquet and leads shore excursions to street food stalls and restaurants, as well as to a Hanoi family for a demonstration in making glutinous rice-flour cakes. Nguyen is now involved in designing the on-board culinary program for RV Samatha, APT's Myanmar ship set to launch next year.
Beyond local cuisine, river cruises are now notable for their diverse dining options, where once there was only a single on-board restaurant. One trend is towards more exclusive experiences. Last year, Scenic Tour's Shape-Ship class vessels introduced degustations at its separate Table La River restaurant, while APT launched a Chef's Table on its Royal Experience cruises, limited to 24 guests who watch the chef prepare a six-course meal, accompanied by fine wines.
Cruise passengers check out a market while on a Scenic Tours cruise in France. Credit: Scenic Tours
Conversely, there has also been a move towards informal dining venues for lighter meal alternatives, such as the outdoor Aquavit Terrance on Viking's longship vessels, and Avalon's Panorama Bistro. Tauck's river ships MS Inspire and MS Savor serve classic American fare at dedicated dining space Arthur's. Scenic Spirit, which launches on the Mekong River in January, will have four dining venues, offering the full range from a la carte to light snacks. For Australians, who often travel on longer itineraries and do back-to-back cruises, these choices provide welcome variety and a break from elaborate, multi-course evening meals. Even in main restaurants, there are simpler "always available" choices such as chicken, steak or salmon on most cruise lines.
No surprise that the food revolution on board has been matched by excursions on shore. Passengers can visit Michelin-starred restaurants in France (Viking); visit a village sweet-making enterprise in Cai Be in Vietnam (Travelmarvel); or head to local markets with the ship's chef in Strasbourg, Avignon or Belgrade (Scenic). When APT launches Bordeaux cruises next year, it promises a wine-paired dinner at Chateau Pape Clement, a visit to a cooperage, and truffle tasting at a local farm. Uniworld takes guests to a chocolatier in Brussels and a vinegar-maker near Speyer in Germany. Its China cruises have on-shore opportunities to enjoy dim sum, dumplings and Beijing duck, as well as lunch with a local family in a traditional courtyard house in Beijing.
Out of this growing gourmandise, themed cruises have emerged, and I predict more companies will be offering more of them in the next few years. Currently, Avalon is the leader, with numerous wine- and beer-themed cruises. Among other examples are Uniworld's Epicurean Adventure" program on European rivers (wine tastings, culinary demonstrations, degustation dinners) and Tauck's seven-night Taste of France on the Rhône River, which includes visits to the covered markets in Lyon, dinner in the Paul Bocuse restaurant L'Abbaye de Collonges, and a cooking class in Valence.
Saint-Emilion among the vineyards of the Bordeaux region.
American Cruise Lines offers a Christmas cruise on the Mississippi, featuring regional Christmas favourites on the menu, a workshop in gingerbread house making, and a meal at historic New Orleans restaurant Antoine's, which serves Creole food and is said to have invented oysters Rockefeller. Many European Christmas markets cruises tempt with roast chestnuts, mulled wine and marzipan in light-decorated markets in destinations such as Vienna and Cologne. It's a feast for the eyes and the tastebuds, and yet another reason to get rolling on the river.
VINE ROMANCE
If my blue-cheese ice-cream experience provided a food revelation, then a shore excursion on a Viking cruise in the Bordeaux region revealed river cruising's burgeoning wine scene. The optional excursion in the legendary Saint-Emilion region gave me the chance to meet Paul Goldschmidt, whose in-laws have lived in Chateau Siaurac since the 18th century. He seemed dizzy with his good fortune in marrying so well. "It's so nice that we have a garden, a chateau, vineyards. It's a gift. And why not share it, imagine if Mozart had kept his music to himself!"
passengers taste local snacks in Budapest on a tour with a Viking chef.
Goldschmidt gave us three of his wines to taste, all 2011 merlot and cabernet-franc blends. For the first time, I really appreciated how terroir can affect the same grapes. Chateau Siaurac, from vines grown on clay and gravel, is fruity with blackberry and cherry flavours. Chateau Vray Croix de Gay is complex and intense, thanks to gravelly soils. "Turn it around in your mouth and it's like windows that open until you get the final burst of light," says Goldschmidt. The third wine, Chateau Le Prieure, is delicate and floral. "The vines grow on limestone, which the roots can't penetrate, but they always have enough water and never too much. Do you feel the difference?"
Anyone on a river cruise can certainly feel the difference between the anonymous house wines of yore and the current offerings of more considered, local wines. Wine-related shore excursions have also improved and expanded, partly because French rivers are now all the rage. Those around Bordeaux highlight wine regions such as Margaux, Médoc and Sauternes, while misleadingly named Provence cruises take in the wine regions of the Rhone and Burgundy. There are opportunities for wine lovers across Europe. Uniworld, for example, offers organic wine tasting at Nikolaihof estate in Austria, and a lunch at Quinta da Avessada winery in Portugal, noted for its premium fortified muscatel wine.
Beyond wine, there are other interestingly boozy shore excursions. Viking offers a Cognac blending experience at Camus, the largest and one of the last remaining family-owned producers in the famous Cognac brandy region of France. Tauck's Seine cruise includes absinthe tasting in Auvers-sur-Oise and calvados (apple brandy) tasting at Chateau du Breuil, which has been in the distilling business since the 16th century. Scenic takes guests to a Norman manor house to sample cider, and many of its cruises host Scenic Sundowner cocktails at locations such as Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, high above the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine rivers at Koblenz, or against the backdrop of Kinderdijk's famous windmills in the Netherlands.
A chef prepares local specialities on an APT cruise on the Mekong River.
Avalon has featured wine-themed cruises since 2009, timed to take in wine festivals and including tours of private vineyards and on-board wine-pairing lessons. This year it has eight wine-themed cruises across Europe, and two beer-themed cruises in Austria and Germany. The latter includes visits to historic breweries and on-board lectures that cover such topics as beer-brewing techniques and beer-and-food pairings. Wine cruises might include a chocolate-and-wine tasting or a visit to legendary Chateauneuf-du-Pape, where guests can learn about the origins of the iconic wine and the local soil and climate conditions that produce it.
Europe is the epicentre of river-cruise wining, but the vineyards of the American northwest are attracting attention too. Un-Cruise's weeklong Ameritage cruise this year through Washington and Oregon features an on-board wine expert to lead wine tastings and presentations, and visits nine cellar doors.
More information: American Cruise Lines, see americancruiselines.com. APT, phone 1300 196 420; see aptouring.com.au. Avalon Waterways, phone 1300 230 234; see avalonwaterways.com.au. Scenic Tours, phone 1300 723 642; see scenictours.com.au. Tauck River Cruises, phone 1300 804 522; see vistraveltheworld.com.au. Travelmarvel, phone 1300 208 712; see travelmarvel.com.au. Un-Cruise; see un-cruise.com. Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection, phone 1300 780 231; see uniworldcruises.com.au. Viking River Cruises, phone 1800 131 744; see vikingrivercruises.com.au.
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