Cruises

Windstar Just Dropped the Chef Lineup for Its 2023 Culinary Cruises — and We Can't Wait to Score a Table

Windstar Cruises has three food-focused sailings next year, continuing its long-standing partnership with the James Beard Foundation.

By

Paul Brady

Published on October 3, 2022

A windstar cruise sails along the coast in Dubrovnik — Photo:
Courtesy of Windstar Cruises

One of the world’s best small-ship ocean cruise lines, as voted by Travel + Leisure readers, just announced a trio of trips that should thrill restaurant lovers.

Windstar Cruises will host three big-time chefs in 2023 as part of the line’s continuing partnership with the James Beard Foundation. Joining for exclusive trips will be Tracy Chang of Pagu in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Jerome Grant of Sweet Home Café in Washington, D.C.; and Ayesha Nurdjaja of Shuka and Shukette in New York City. All three are James Beard Award nominees or past semifinalists.

Food from Ayesha's Shukette — Jennifer Davidson

Each guest chef will join passengers and crew on a culinary-focused cruise, leading market tours in ports, serving a multi-course meal aboard, sharing recipes during cooking demos, and generally hanging out, swapping stories.

“It doesn’t get any better than sailing with a James Beard Foundation guest chef on a special culinary cruise,” Windstar president Christopher Prelog said in a statement shared with Travel + Leisure. “Not only will you get to eat their food — you’ll get to know them. You may even learn a few tips and tricks for being a better cook yourself.”

Chef Ayesha Nurjaja, Chef Tracy Chang and Chef Jerome Grant — From Left to Right: New York’s Ayesha Nurdjaja; Boston’s Tracy Chang; and D.C.’s Jerome Grant.
Courtesy of Windstar Cruises (Tracy Chang: Collin Raney)

First up on the calendar will be a March trip from Panama to Aruba, aboard the Star Legend with Jerome Grant. The chef, who also helms the kitchen at Jackie and the forthcoming Mahal, both in D.C., will be along for the ride to destinations including Panama's San Blas Islands and Cartagena, Colombia.

Cold smoked salmon with tomato marmelade and young heirlooms — Cold-smoked salmon with tomato marmalade and young heirlooms from chef Jerome Grant.
Courtesy of Jerome Grant

A trip with Ayesha Nurdjaja follows in June, aboard the Wind Surf as it travels from Venice to Athens. The 342-passenger ship, the world’s largest sailing yacht, will call at ports such as Dubrovnik and Hvar, both in Croatia, as well as Corfu, Greece.

Rounding out the 2023 lineup is a trip with Tracy Chang, who will join the Star Breeze as it sails in Japan in September. The Tokyo to Osaka itinerary will also include a few ports in the southern island of Kyushu, as well as a visit to Busan, South Korea.

Tracy Chang's PAGU Guchi's Midnight Ramen — Courtesy of PAGU

The itineraries are just the latest in a long string of food-focused journeys on Windstar, which has had an exclusive partnership with the James Beard Foundation since 2017. The line, which has a fleet of six small ships, is a T+L World’s Best Awards Hall of Fame honoree.

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Tell us why!