Australian holidaymakers will soon have the chance to dine at two Curtis Stone restaurants close to home, with the award-winning chef’s restaurant SHARE featured on two Princess Cruises’ superliners sailing in local waters.
Officially opening SHARE by Curtis Stone onboard Sun Princess in Sydney today, Chef Stone said he was thrilled that thousands of Australians were now enjoying his cuisine at sea.
As part of the chef’s exclusive partnership with Princess Cruises, SHARE by Curtis Stone is available on Sun Princess, which is based in Australia full-time, as well as Emerald Princess, which arrives on November 15 for its first Australian season. Princess Cruises’ Ruby Princess, which sails in the northern hemisphere, also features a SHARE by Curtis Stone restaurant.
“So much of my food ethos comes from my Australian upbringing so it means a lot to me that two of my SHARE restaurants are so close to home for Australians,” Curtis said.
“SHARE combines all the things that I’m most passionate about – being on the ocean looking over the water, escaping to visit new destinations, and sharing stories and good times over a delicious meal.”
Curtis said he had worked closely with the Princess team to bring his vision to life onboard Princess’ ships, describing the new restaurants as a “real labour of love”.
“From a food perspective, the Princess culinary team have come into my test kitchen in Los Angeles and I’ve worked with the chefs at sea to develop our offering. The menu for Sun Princess alone took about two months to finalise – I wanted to get the look and feel just right for the Aussie market, so I’ve developed a menu unique to the ship.
“I’m a very hands-on chef – I’ve been heavily involved in sourcing produce from the best Australian suppliers for Sun Princess and when the ship is at sea I’m often on FaceTime with the SHARE kitchen to see how everything in the galley is going.”
Curtis said his passion for SHARE extended to the restaurant design.
“I have a very specific vision of how I want my restaurants to look and feel as well as taste. With SHARE, I’ve shared personal family photographs for the walls and even selected the books on the shelves – they’re the same books you will find in my living room at home. It’s the personal touches that are really important to me.”
Princess Cruises Vice President Australia and New Zealand Stuart Allison said SHARE had been a hit with local guests since its introduction on Sun Princess earlier this year, with its roast chicken with bacon slab and charred onion slaw, and its warm bread pudding with toffee sauce proving particularly popular.
“SHARE centres on a philosophy important to both Curtis and Princess – a dining experience with friends and family in an environment designed for exploring new tastes, while sharing in wonderful memories and great holiday experiences. We’re thrilled to have Curtis onboard and very excited to be offering two SHARE restaurants to Australian cruisers this summer,” Mr Allison said.
Australia is the biggest market for Princess Cruises outside the US. With three Princess ships based in Australia year round and two deployed over summer, Australians spend more nights on Princess’ ships than on any other cruise line.
Sun Princess cruises include a 12-night South Pacific cruise sailing from Sydney on April 25, 2017 priced from $1499* per person twin share plus an onboard credit of $100 per person. Meanwhile, an 11-night South Pacific cruise on Emerald Princess departing March 7, 2017 is priced from $1199* per person twin share plus an onboard credit of $100 per person.
For more information visit www.princess.com, call 13 24 88 or visit a travel agent.
*Subject to availability, conditions apply
SOURCE: Princess Cruises