Charting a Journey of Culinary Excellence with Windstar Cruises

Windstar Cruises has always prided itself on its top-notch culinary offerings, but as the official cruise line of the James Beard Foundation, the company has charted a path to further elevate culinary excellence on the seas and beyond. Ten years into their collaboration, JBF and Windstar Cruises reflect on their deeply aligned missions and how chef-led cruises curated with the James Beard Foundation champion Good Food for Good®, JBF’s guiding principle to create a more equitable, sustainable, and delicious food industry for everyone.

“We now have access to celebrated chefs with a commitment to excellence, chefs with diverse culinary backgrounds, and [the ability to match] host chefs with the sailing region to highlight local flavors,” says Peter Tobler, Windstar Cruises’ director of hotel operations. “Without a doubt, collaborating with [the] James Beard Foundation has elevated our food culture. The culinary movement for us is continually evolving and guests are keen to try new and adventurous dishes.”

To date, more than 45 James Beard Foundation–recognized chefs have participated in chef-led Windstar voyages in which the featured chef hosts interactive culinary demos, leads market tours, and prepares multiple menus, including a memorable final evening showcase dinner. Victoria Jordan Rodriguez, JBF’s senior director of special projects, shares that early in the project, many of the featured chefs had completed JBF’s Chef Bootcamp for Policy and Change®, one of the advocacy programs that the Windstar partnership helped support. Today, this values-driven alignment between the two organizations remains paramount, whether featured chefs are Bootcamp alums committed to sustainability and local ingredient sourcing, or James Beard Award–nominated chefs who exemplify culinary excellence.

During fun-filled, interactive culinary demonstrations, chefs have an opportunity to recreate signature dishes and share the stories behind them. Chef Irene Li, 2022 James Beard Leadership Award winner and chef/owner of Mei Mei—a Boston-based dumpling cafe, classroom, and factory—helmed a chef cruise that began in Montreal and finished in Boston, with stops in Nova Scotia and Maine. “We served a coconut–dashi clam chowder, a fun take on a New England classic that was perfect for the slightly chilly weather!” she says. “We also made hand-pulled noodles, scallion pancakes, and dumplings, three of our specialties at Mei Mei—both on the menu and for cooking classes. And we featured my husband's favorite cumin lamb shepherd's pie, another comforting classic with a Chinese twist.”

Guests receive printed recipes to recreate the tastes of their trip in their own kitchens. “We usually ask the JBF chef to give us recipes that an average household can execute at home with ingredients that you can find in the local supermarket,” Tobler says. “I have guests writing back to me [saying], ‘Hey, last night I just did xyz JBF recipe for a party of 10 people and it turned out to be absolutely phenomenal.’

Guests are also invited to accompany featured chefs on local market tours while they source the ingredients for the dishes they’ll prepare for dinner. Besides being a popular activity for guests, these excursions help to underscore Windstar’s commitment to sustainability and local ingredient sourcing, two values that help support JBF’s mission to build a more sustainable and equitable food system. “[We practice] sustainability by minimizing food waste through well-planned production [and] promoting eco-friendly food consumption. Also, local and seasonal ingredients are more of an emphasis now than ever,” Tobler says, citing examples like fresh fish in Iceland and local salami and cheeses in Italy and France, as well as local beverages such as French wine, Tahitian beer, and Caribbean rum.

Championing local sourcing and reducing food waste are two ideologies that resonate for Jennifer Hill Booker, executive chef/owner of Bauhaus Biergarten in Springdale, Arkansas, a culinary instructor, cookbook author, and Chef Bootcamp alum. “I like that Windstar gets supplies from small vendors and suppliers throughout the cruise,” she says. “They actually stop when we’re in harbor to get fresh produce.” A pledge to sustainable, local ingredient sourcing also supports upholding high standards of culinary excellence. “Our chefs are seeing that commitment to not just that local community, but to the best flavor," Jordan Rodriguez says. “Guests are able to see that; they’re able to taste that. It’s Good Food for Good®.” 

To cap off a memorable cruise and chef residency, JBF chef-led cruises culminate in a showcase dinner, which gives chefs an opportunity to highlight their culinary point of view and to interact with guests. "We have chefs that are able to present food to a demographic of people that maybe we ordinarily wouldn’t be able to cook for and tell our story through food,” Hill Booker says. “The first [cruise] I was on, everyone was very interested in talking to me and hearing [about] my culinary journey, and where they can support me as far as eating in my restaurant or purchasing my cookbook or spices. I still keep up with two of the guests regularly, which is pretty cool.”

Both Hill Booker and Li shared their appreciation for Windstar championing diversity among their employees and praised the kitchen and dining room staff’s hospitality and work ethic. “I loved the spirit of generosity and hospitality on board Windstar and definitely feel like it mirrored our own approach to hospitality at Mei Mei,” Li says. “I also loved joining crew mess for a meal and seeing the amazing Filipino, Malaysian, Indonesian, and other foods that the crew eats. We all believe that staff who are well cared for are best able to care for guests!”