When the Radisson Seven Seas Mariner recently visited Australian shores, Vic Cherikoff and I were invited on board from the 8th to the 11th of November 2005 as part of the Radisson’s Spotlight on Wine and Food program.

During the five day cruise from Sydney to Hobart we held a series of cooking classes using native Australian ingredients in every day cooking. Each of the cooking classes consisted of two dishes which were then profiled each evening in the main restaurant, The Compass Rose.
A selection of the Australian menu included;

• Creamy cauliflower soup with West Australian marron scented with lobster oil and lemon myrtle
• Seared kangaroo fillet with yakajirri rosti, aniseed myrtle mushrooms, quandong confit and crispy enoki
• Lemon Aspen Sorbet
• Wildfire spiced Tasmanian ocean trout fillet on paperbark smoked kipfler mash topped with pineapple and riberry salsa
• Rolled wattleseed pavlova with wild rosella

Whilst onboard the Mariner’s Executive Chef, Quinn McMahon asked us to present an Australian Steakhouse menu in the La Veranda restaurant, which served a range of Australian steaks and game meats including kangaroo loin, emu steaks and crocodile tail served with native flavoured sauces including a sweet Kakadu plum sauce, mountain pepper BBQ sauce and a wattleseed mushroom sauce. As many of the guests were American, the Australian style pork ribs with Illawarra plum sauce proved quite popular.

During the cruise down the east coast of Australia, all the Australian menus were accompanied by a selection of both white and red wine by Wolf Blass. After our cooking classes we were joined by Wolf Blass’s Chief Winemaker, Chris Hatcher who conducted two presentations on Australian wines which were very interesting.

Whilst on board we had the experience of dining in Signatures Restaurant which is by the famed Le Cordon Bleu of Paris. The Seven Seas Mariner was the world’s first cruise ship to offer dining by the Le Cordon Bleu and does require a reservation as the restaurant books out very quickly. The menu was an exceptional five courses consisting of appetizer, soup, a sorbet, a main dish, and dessert. The French style presentation was exceptional as too was the wine selection and superior service.

The Seven Seas Mariner is the world’s first all-suite, all-balcony ship, catering to only 700 guests, she is one of the most spacious cruise ships afloat. For more information on the Radisson Seven Seas Cruises visit www.rssc.com