Regent's Le Cordon Bleu Cooking Workshop

General information about our Regent Seven Seas Mariner (Alaska to Russia to Japan) cruise.

Regent Seven Seas is the only cruise line to offer hands-on cooking classes from the famed Le Cordon Bleu of Paris. These "Classe Culinaire des Croisieres" workshops are offered on select Regent sailings. It's truly an entertaining way to fill a few hours during your sea days.

My husband and I both signed up for the course and we had a wonderful time meeting other food-loving cruisers and getting to know our Le Cordon Bleu chef, Franck Jeandon.

The class was especially fun since a couple we had met online at LuxuryCruiseTalk.com had also signed up. It's always nice to meet new and old friends while cruising!

When we boarded the Mariner in Whittier, Alaska, an invitation and course schedule was already in our room. About 16 passengers had signed up for Le Cordon Bleu at Sea and we were split into two groups of eight. The entire group met together for some activities, such as cooking demonstrations and shore excursions. For the actual hands-on cooking classes, each subgroup of eight got together at Latitudes restaurant.

Here is a sampling of the activities you may expect if you take this course:

Welcome Cocktail Party
Our entire group got together at the Connoisseur Club on September 21. Members of the crew toasted us and introduced us to the Mariner's executive chef, Quinn McMahon, and our Le Cordon Bleu chef, Franck Jeandon.

Chef Quinn was born in Australia and opened his first restaurant when he was just 20. (This guy is definitely a go-getter and Regent is lucky to have him.) He worked in a series of five-star restaurants in Sydney before moving to Europe. In 2001, he joined Regent as a Chef de Partie and worked his way up through the ranks aboard the Mariner, Navigator and Paul Gauguin to his current role as executive chef.

Chef Franck was born in Nice, France and began his career in St. Laurent du Var. He went on to work at restaurants across France, including the Michelin-starred Casino le Lion Vert with Jacques Maximin M.O.F., before moving to London in 1995 to open Monte's Club with Alain Ducasse. Le Cordon Bleu snagged Chef Franck in 2003 and he's been teaching for them ever since.

Hands-On Cooking Classes
These began with a demonstration by Chef Franck. Two cooking stations were set up in Latitudes (the Mariner's Indochine restaurant) and our group of eight watched him prepare a dish. We could walk around to get a closer look, take photos and ask questions. Once he completed his lesson, we broke up into groups of two and prepared the recipe on our own. Everyone actually did very well cooking, despite not being in a familiar kitchen.




We enjoyed four cooking classes. The recipies we learned included:

• Quatrologie of Salmon (smoked salmon, gravlax salmon, grilled salmon and marined salmon)

Notice the blue sea salt as part of the unique presentation of this dish. (Chef Franck recommends using dry food color to achieve this subtle effect.)

• Smoked and Fresh Salmon Rillettes with Tomato Crostini


• Medallion of Lamb Roasted with Provencal Spinach Tian

• Chocolate Souflee with Pistachio Sauce

As part of our training, we received several Le Cordon Bleu-logo'd items: a toque (chef's hat), tea towel and cooking apron.

We loved the hands-on portion of these classes. After we'd made our recipies, we'd sit together at a table and eat, drink and discuss cooking and the world. Chef Franck has seen the world and feels passionately about so many things... these discussions were always enlightening.

Cooking Demonstration
We also had one combined class that was strictly a demonstration, no hands-on cooking. The recipe that day was Seared Halibut and Smoked Salmon Raviolis with Lobster Sauce.

Private Galley and Provision Tour
This was a lot of fun! Chef Quinn led our group through the galley and provision area and told us exactly what it takes to run the kitchens on the Mariner. Very interesting!

Chef Quinn giving the galley tour.

Look at this mixer! It's just a tiny bit bigger than our KitchenAid at home!

With a galley as spotless as this, it's no wonder the Mariner has scored a perfect 100 on three separate inspections by the CDC! Congratulations, Regent Seven Seas!

Group Dinners at Signatures
Two group dinners were held at Signatures, the Mariner's restaurant under the auspices of Le Cordon Bleu. The first dinner on the evening of September 26 was actually a test run for the new menu. Various executive crewmembers joined us for dinner. The second dinner was actually our graduation ceremony. We received two 8x10 group photos (taken earlier during our classes), a huge Le Cordon Bleu cookbook and a graduation certificate for framing. These dinners were actually held on evenings when the restaurant was closed to the public so we had the venue all to ourselves... a nice little treat.

Special Market Tour in Otaru
This was a really special treat! Chefs Quinn and Franck hosted a tour of a local market when we docked in Otaru, Japan. (See more about this event in my blog entry dated September 30, 2006.) Our class met at 9:00 am and followed the chefs to waiting taxis that they had arranged to take us on a tour. We visited a local market and had a sushi lunch before being dropped off in downtown Otaru with time to explore on our own. This was a complimentary event that included our classmates and their spouses who weren't taking the class. It was one of the highlights of our trip!

At the time we booked the class, it was $395 per person and worth every penny. We'll definitely sign up for these classes again on our next Regent Seven Seas cruise!