Food is a wonderful way to connect with a destination, and your cruise can be a cultural and culinary odyssey as well as an ocean voyage
“The old reputation of cruise ship restaurants was of places where you could eat steak and chips wherever you were in the world,” says Ilaria Edoardi, product development specialist for Silversea’s pioneering Sea and Land Taste (Salt) programme.
“Despite there being so many great restaurants on cruise ships, it is still a challenge to tackle this old perception. I believe food is a wonderful way to connect with a destination, and it’s my job to try and bring travellers the real flavours of the destinations we visit.”
Today, most travellers consider themselves “foodies”, so this new initiative by Silversea could simply be seen as a timely response to the changing demands of holidaymakers who were raised on Netflix shows such as Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, Somebody Feed Phil and Chef’s Table. But to Edoardi, the challenge runs deeper: as a food anthropologist, she sees food as a key to understanding an entire culture.
“Because food is so relatable, essential and enjoyable,” she says, “it can open us up to wider conversations about culture and travel – conversations that might seem a little heavier or daunting in any other context. Every single dish tells a story. Food follows migration patterns, colonisation and trade routes. Throughout history, people have brought their favourite dishes and ingredients with them, because food is a way to make somewhere new and potentially scary feel homely. Food means home.”