Associating Holland America Line with the past is natural; the line’s origin dates back to 1873. Recently, a collectively intelligent wind of change has opened the Holland America experience to relevant ideas. Now, the Holland America evolution continues with a culinary partnership that makes total sense, again building on their past while positioning the line for future growth. A huge bonus: that Holland America culinary focus brings a new partnership that is a win for one of the most significant groups of cruise travelers in the Holland America demographic: Foodies.
At a time when many other cruise lines have hung the responsibility for their culinary efforts on big name celebrity chefs, Holland America Line had held back. Rightfully so, their Culinary Council* already brings a diverse group of highly-skilled cuisine professionals to the tabletops of Holland America ships sailing around the world. We saw the ongoing result of those efforts not long ago on new ms Koningsdam, a game changer in the big ship cruise category.
Now, Holland America Line is partnering with the long-running public television show America’s Test Kitchen, to make unique experience possible at sea. Announced in foodie heaven New York City at a press conference at the prestigious Institute of Culinary Education, Holland America Line’s shipboard Culinary Arts Center will be transformed to replicate the television set where the prominent America’s Test Kitchen TV shows are recorded for broadcast by more than 350 public television stations nationwide.
“We provide our guests with tremendously immersive and authentic experiences to enrich their travel, and America’s Test Kitchen’s commitment to delivering a quality culinary experience with a focus on learning is a perfect match.”- Orlando Ashford, Holland America Line President.
Significant here, the partnership calls for Holland America Line chefs trained by America’s Test Kitchen culinary experts. Onboard, Holland America Line guests will enjoy shipboard cooking demonstrations and hands-on workshops. Topics will range from shaping Asian dumplings to making the perfect pie crust. Also unique, the knowledge cruise travelers will take home after sailing will be of a far higher quality than before on Holland America ships or on any other cruise line that offers immersive chef-oriented programming. You see, public television’s America’s Test Kitchen is sort of like the Consumer Reports of cooking shows. Foolproof, accessible recipes and cooking techniques come from rigorous testing and a science-based approach to cooking not found elsewhere.
Holland America Culinary Focus Brings General Cooking Interest Programming
Onboard, demo courses are planned to be 45-minutes long with a mix of video content, live instruction, taste tests and recipe samples. Some of the thoughtful courses in development include Asian Dumplings (pictured below), Salad for Two, We Love Chocolate, Everything Salmon, Getting to Know Chiles, Flavors of the Mediterranean, Meatless Monday Meals and New Italian Favorites. Foodies like the idea of bringing culinary knowledge home from their cruise, this partnership will enable them to do that more effectively.
Holland America Culinary Focus Also Brings Specific Skill Set Programming
Also planned are longer, 90-minute workshops that focus on teaching a specific skill set. How about learning how to make Perfect Pies or Handmade Pasta? The possibilities are endless, enabled by consumer-friendly America’s Test Kitchen programming brought to sea as well as familiar faces that will energize the experience far beyond “As Seen On TV”.
Holland America Culinary Focus- Coming To A Holland America Ship Near You
America’s Test Kitchen demo courses and workshops will begin aboard ms Westerdam October 18 for the ship’s Mexico season and on ms Nieuw Amsterdam November 13 for the Caribbean season. The program is expected to roll out fleetwide by June 2017.
Not Familiar With America’s Test Kitchen?
America’s Test Kitchen is a fully equipped, 2,500-square-foot test kitchen located in Massachusetts where a team of more than 50 highly qualified test cooks perform thousands of tests every year. The Holland America partnership continues the quest of America’s Test Kitchen. Charged with developing the best recipes and cooking techniques the process includes reviewing and rating the best cookware and equipment as well as taste-testing and recommending brand-name supermarket ingredients.
“This is an incredible opportunity for fans of America’s Test Kitchen, and food lovers in general, to immerse themselves in the Test Kitchen experience,” said David Nussbaum, CEO of America’s Test Kitchen. “The classes on board Holland America Line ships will feature our famous foolproof recipes designed to be repeated and enjoyed long after the voyage has ended. We are excited that Holland America Line is helping America’s Test Kitchen reach more enthusiastic home cooks through this onboard experience.”
How intense is the America’s Test Kitchen process?
Recipes are tested as many as 70 times to arrive at the combination of ingredients, technique, temperature, cooking time and equipment that yields the best, most foolproof recipe.
Recipes and reviews are published in two magazines, Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country, in a growing line of cookbooks and special interest magazines, and on the America’s Test Kitchen websites and through an instructional online Cooking School. They also are featured on two public television series:Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country. Also part of the deal: Holland America Line guests will experience 24-hour access to episodes of America’s Test Kitchen as well as Cook’s Country television programs in their staterooms.
America’s Test Kitchen looks to be a wonderful match for the trending Holland America Line experience and a direct result of energized Holland America Line cruise travel experience enabled by relatively new President Orlando Ashford.
Holland America Culinary Focus Shines in Partnerships
*Holland America Line’s Culinary Council is led by Master Chef Rudi Sodamin, joined by renowned international chefs Jonnie Boer, David Burke, Elizabeth Falkner and Jacques Torres. The line also has exclusive partnerships with Sushi Chef Andy Matsuda and Master Mixologist Dale “King Cocktail” DeGroff. In addition, focused regional chefs and culinary experts have been known to be included in Holland America culinary programming. We saw that first hand on a Holland America Sip – Savor – Sail cruise to Alaska that featured Seattle Space Needle Executive Chef and Seattle Seahawks chef
Booking: For more information about the Holland America culinary focus, consult a travel professional, call 1-877-SAIL HAL (877-724-5425) or visit hollandamerica.com.
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