9 minute read
Appetite for Change
Chef Daniel Boulud is set to take his cuisine to the seas with a new restaurant on Celebrity Beyond
With stringent health and safety measures coming into play, will changes to on-board dining spell the end of the buffet?
Words: Jenna Campbell • Food Photography: © Bill Milne
Cruising has evolved gradually over the years, but one aspect that has stood the test of time is the buffet. An integral part of the on-board dining experience, it captures the very essence of travel, a chance to free oneself from the constraints of the day-to-day in favour of indulgence and unashamed consumption.
Operationally, these large-scale dining rooms and self-service concepts have traditionally been the most efficient way to feed hundreds, if not thousands of hungry passengers in a relatively short amount of time.
That was until Covid-19 brought the industry to a standstill, reshaping fundamental aspects of the cruise experience and forcing operators to examine the future of dining. In the early stages of the pandemic, Japan’s public broadcasting organisation NHK conducted an experiment in collaboration with infectious diseases experts to illustrate how quickly coronavirus could spread at a cruise ship buffet or restaurant. As expected, the results were far from optimistic, exemplified by a widely-shared video showing how easily the virus could transfer between food items, utensils and passengers. In a subsequent effort to show how socially-distanced dining on cruise ships could work, operators were faced with the reality of reduced capacity and the removal of self-service options, which will likely result in lengthy queues and discomfort for passengers occupying a confined space.
These concerns are not limited to cruise ships of course, land-based hospitality spaces are faced with the exact same challenges. So with hotels, restaurants and bars now open in most parts of the world, what learnings can the cruise sector take to on-board dining? In recent months, Starboard’s sister publication Supper – dedicated to hotel food and drink – has explored the innovative solutions and practices that have helped the sector get back to business. The introduction of Perspex screens to separate
Virgin Voyages and MSC Cruises have diversified their food and beverage offer, opting for more intimate venues, food halls and enhanced room service
tables were a quick and easy solution in the early days of the pandemic, but since then, a host of more creative concepts have come to the fore. Adam D Tihany for example developed a series of screens that co-ordinate with the interiors of the restaurants he designed, an idea that could be implemented in his forthcoming cruise projects. For Vernick Fish at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia Comcast Centre, Tihany designed screens in the same fluted glass that fronts the pass, while at Seafood Bar at The Breakers Palm Beach, the room dividers feature nautical details in line with the interiors scheme.
Elsewhere, architect David Rockwell – who’s working on Norwegian Prima – devised a kit of parts that could transform New York’s streets into outdoor restaurants. The adaptable and modular system addresses flooring, barriers, shading, lighting and furniture as well as space for sanitation and restaurant equipment with the ultimate aim of creating a venue that diners feel comfortable in. Design agency AvroKO meanwhile produced its own Covid-19 response in the form of a step-by-step guide for the reopening of restaurants. Entitled Reimagining Your Restaurant, the guide uses AvroKO’s philosophy of Hospitable Thinking - designing not just for functionality or aesthetics, but for core human needs such as safety, significance and surprise – to reassess the customer journey, suggesting light-touch interventions like antimicrobial surfaces and transparent shields, both of which demonstrate that it is possible to retain a level of theatre that has become an important part of the dining experience.
Elsewhere, hospitality venues have been inventive in their concepts, installing pop-up dining domes, socially-distant greenhouses, or in the case of St Moritz Hotel & Spa in Cornwall, a purpose-designed Covid-safe restaurant known as the Anti-Social Club. The ideas have spanned every corner of the market, from selfservice to fine-dining. Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud temporarily converted his New York flagship into Boulud Sur Mer, a casual popup with social distancing in mind, while others pivoted to take-aways or meal-kits. Many of these adaptations could easily be applied to existing dining spaces on cruise ships, and the possibilities for crossover between land and sea are not only limited to the design process, but wider product procurement, as can be seen in the growing number of innovative tableware and service options. Covered and customisable bento boxes from manufacturers like Craster and MyGlassStudio, for instance, provide operators with hygienic and safe options for serving passengers and tap into a growing trend for anywhere-anytime dining.
In truth, the cruise sector is already set up for combatting the spread of disease owing to flu or Sars outbreaks in the past. The thorough sanitisation of surfaces in restaurants is already standard practice, as is the removal of table items such as salt-and-pepper shakers. Over the last year, existing practices have stepped up with enhanced cleaning methods like electrostatic spray systems, pre-boarding health screenings, mandatory hand-washing stations and single-serve packaging to reduce the risk of virus transmission.
While more stringent health and safety regulations could result in the end of the buffet altogether, there was already a gradual move away from the concept pre-Covid. In a worldfirst, Virgin Voyages eschewed the cruise staple in favour of a food hall, where all meals are made to order, giving guests the chance to eat as and when they like. Setting the tone for things to come, the company also revamped its room service offering with ‘Ship Eats’, taking ergonomically designed tiffin boxes, re-usable lunch boxes and kit bags to create a more experiential and personalised in-room experience. Doing away with cumbersome plates, glasses and trays, the stacked dishes are designed to be handled, allowing guests to move around the cabin, while the canvas bags roll up and down to cater to large or small food orders.
The evolution away from buffets has also led to the steady increase of fine-dining experiences on-board and with it the proliferation of smaller and more intimate dining spaces helmed by Michelin-starred chefs. Reflecting this shift, Celebrity Cruises’ forthcoming vessel Celebrity Beyond will feature acclaimed chef Daniel Boulud’s first restaurant at sea in the form of Le Voyage, a 50-cover dining concept inspired by global flavours. MSC Cruises meanwhile boasts chef partnerships with Ramón Freixa, Roy Yamaguchi and pastry chef and chocolatier Jean-Philippe Maury, with the upmarket dining offer often characterised by smallcapacity restaurants. But whatever the type of restaurant, cruise lines are having to adapt. Speaking at Seatrade Cruise Virtual, Jacques Van Staden, Vice President of Food & Beverage at MSC Cruises explains: “One of the biggest
JACQUES VAN STADEN, MSC CRUISES
P&O Iona features The Glass House, a wine lounge concept designed by Jestico + Whiles (above), while Norwegian Prima will introduce the Indulge Food Hall (opposite)
successes we’ve seen is our QR-coded menus for restaurants and wine lists; it’s really about leveraging the mobile devices and technology guests already have. This is something we’re probably going to continue using because we’ve seen it has been effective across all age groups.” Across the sector there’s a noticeable move towards diversification, with the standard restaurant replaced by more adventurous concepts such as the food hall or immersive dining, as well as grab-and-go and take-away options. New concepts reflecting the nonbuffet trend that will soon be open to guests on board P&O’s latest addition, the Jestico + Whiles-designed Iona, include Glass House, a home for wine connoisseurs featuring a wine list curated by Olly Smith. Such concepts are being introduced according to evolving tastes and the wide-range of options available on land. “The creative response to the need for an inside-outside is particularly exciting and we are seeing igloos, pods and bell tents appearing in the most unlikely locations,” explains James Dilley, Director of Jestico + Whiles. “As always with the trends in cuisine, they respond to the particular conditions of time and place. As such, we are seeing offers inspired by the opportunity for being outside with barbeque, smokers and wood burning adding all kinds of new foods, and a new kind of theatre.”
Elsewhere, Carnival Cruise Line’s newest ship, Mardi Gras, reflects the move away from set meal times and formal dining with its casual Italian-themed La Piazza Zone, which will house a variety of food and beverage outlets on the promenade, including Bar della Rossa serving classic cocktails, and Piazza Panini offering hand-pressed sandwiches and deli bites.
Also diversifying its food options, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Prima Class will boast the brand’s first-ever upscale open-air market place in the form of its Indulge Food Hall as part of the expansive Ocean Boulevard, which at 44,000ft2 , wraps around the entire deck. The food hall will encompass 11 eateries including a tapas food truck, while the Boulevard will also host three
premium dining venues including Onda by Scarpetta, Los Lobos and The Local Bar & Grill.
While new designs and concepts have been years in the making, operational changes to how passengers navigate dining spaces on-board will be imminent. “The health, safety and wellbeing of guests and team members has always been our number one priority,” says Wesley Cort, Vice President, Food & Beverage Operations at Norwegian Cruise Line. “With this in mind, we will be implementing some changes to our food and beverage service when we return to sailing: all buffets and beverage stations will be operating at full service, with staff available to serve guests rather than guests serving themselves. Likewise, areas will be cleaned, sanitised and disinfected at an increased frequency. This will include the use of Electrostatic Spray Technology, which is a new way to apply disinfectants in less time and with better coverage than traditional cleaning methods.”
Meanwhile, MSC Virtuosa – which already offers five speciality restaurants, five main dining rooms, a buffet and 21 bars and lounges – has announced two new speciality dining concepts, Hola! Taco & Cantini, a fast-casual street food dining venue and Indochine, an upscale restaurant offering Vietnamese classics with a French twist. MSC is also tapping into the trend for touch-free food and beverage experiences with its immersive and futuristic MSC Starship Club, which will be home to Rob, the first-ever humanoid robotic bartender at sea.
Whilst more automated food and beverage experiences could be on the cards for the next wave of cruise ships, in the meantime the approach will likely mirror that of the land-based hospitality sector, with a greater focus fast-casual and grab-and-go options, alongside a selection of smaller fine dining venues and enhanced in-room experiences. And yet, the industry is unlikely to fully retire the all-you-can-eat buffet anytime soon, instead its Covid-era adaptations will have prompted a rethink of how to deliver exceptional dining experiences on a large scale, especially in a way that protects guests’ health and wellbeing, whilst also satisfying increasingly discerning appetites.
