Windstar Cruises has announced its lineup of James Beard Foundation-affiliated guest chefs for its series of three themed culinary cruises in 2023. The trio of acclaimed visiting chefs include Jerome Grant (D.C.), Ayesha Nurdjaja (New York) and Tracy Chang (Boston).
Windstar is the official cruise line of the James Beard Foundation (JBF). The nonprofit organization’s mission is to celebrate, support and elevate the people behind America’s food culture. It aligns with Windstar’s commitment to fresh and local epicurean experiences around the world, as well as efforts to reduce food waste.
All three themed cruises in 2023, include two on-board cooking demonstrations, as well as four dishes by the JBF visiting chef at a hosted dinner with wine pairings. Each chef will also lead a market tour, gathering fresh and local ingredients for dishes served on board. In addition, all three chefs will provide multiple recipes to be featured on Windstar’s menus across all cruises.
“As the Official Cruise Line of the James Beard Foundation, we’ve hosted dozens of top chefs over the years. One of the best byproducts possible is a delicious and constantly rotating section of JBF dishes on our menu – on all of our sailings,” explained Windstar President Christopher Prelog. "It doesn’t get any better than sailing with a James Beard Foundation guest chef on a special culinary cruise. Not only will you get to eat their food, you’ll also get to know them. You may even learn a few tips and tricks for being a better cook yourself, and you’ll definitely have a richer and deeper travel experience because of it.”
Windstar's 2023 Culinary-Themed Cruises Include:
Star Legend in the Caribbean 4-11 MAR 2023, from Panama City to Oranjestad with Chef Jerome Grant
Grant grew up mostly in the United States – New York, Oklahoma, California, Maryland – and picked up the basics of Filipino cuisine from his mother and the Caribbean flavours of his Jamaican heritage from his paternal grandparents. After graduating from Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, Grant moved to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he gained his first critical notice. Grant then accepted an executive sous chef position at Urbana Restaurant in Washington, D.C. before working as executive chef of the Mitsitam Native Foods Café inside the National Museum of American Indian. He went on to become the inaugural chef of the Sweet Home Café inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture, turning it into a James Beard Award-recognized restaurant. Since 2020, Grant has been with Dacha Restaurant Group in D.C.
Wind Surf in the Mediterranean 17-26 JUN 2023, from Venice to Athens with Ayesha Nurdjaja
Ayesha Nurdjaja is the executive chef at Shuka in New York City’s SoHo neighbourhood, as well as sibling restaurant Shukette. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she is the daughter of an Indonesian father and an Italian mother. Nurdjaja graduated from culinary school in 2006 and, after watching chef Lidia Bastianich cook on PBS, walked into Lidia’s restaurant, Felidia, and asked for a job. They brought her on as a line cook and she worked her way up the ranks to become sous chef. Since then, Nurdjaja has helped lead the kitchen teams at Bar Artisanal, Michelin-starred Picholine and at Michelin-starred A Voce under chef Missy Robbins. She also spent time as executive chef at Il Bordello and most recently at Brooklyn neighbourhood favourite Red Gravy, where she offered her take on modern southern Italian cuisine.
Star Breeze in Asia 21-30 SEP 2023, from Tokyo to Osaka, Japan with Chef Tracy Chang
Tracy Chang is the chef/owner of PAGU restaurant in Cambridge, MA, celebrating Spanish and Japanese-style tapas paired with natural wines, sakes, sherry, and more. Chang’s love for the restaurant industry began at an early age—her grandmother immigrated to Boston in the 1980s and opened several Japanese restaurants. Prior to PAGU, Chang founded a pop-up restaurant, Guchi’s Midnight Ramen, and hosted events with restaurants, startups, nonprofits, and universities, including Harvard, where she is a teaching fellow. The standard operating procedures she created for her restaurant PAGU, as well as for Off Their Plate, have been compiled into a comprehensive guide by the James Beard Foundation, World Central Kitchen and the Aspen Institute.
For more details, see the Windstar Cruises site.
