Fine dining on and off the Oceania Riviera: Travel Weekly

In the world of small-ship cruising, Oceania Cruises has staked its claim as a leader in the culinary arts, billing itself as having the “finest cuisine at sea.”

It’s a bold claim, and one that would arguably be hard to measure against the growing list of competitors in the luxury space. But they may well have the finest cuisine without the upcharges that have become almost the norm for dining in specialty restaurants on ships large and small.

On a recent sailing through the Greek Isles and Turkey on the Oceania Riviera, I got a firsthand look at Riviera’s culinary focus, which carries far beyond its free gourmet dining in four reservation-only restaurants: Red Ginger, Toscana, Jacques and Polo Grill.

Culinary offerings during Greek night in the Terrace Cafe. Photo Credit: Jeri Clausing

Among its choices of daily excursions — which include a nice variety of the traditional, active and more intimate — were daily gastronomy- and wine-focused tours. There’s also an onboard cooking school with daily classes led by master chefs.

That hyperfocus on all things culinary provides an impressive alternative both for serious foodies and travelers looking for new activities in places they may have already been.

Drinking in wine history

In Santorini, for example, we took one of the small-group excursions Oceania offers in partnership with the culinary travel company Food & Wine Trails. Led by local sommeliers, chefs, cooking instructors or wine and food experts, the tours are focused on introducing visitors to the best and most authentic food and wine of the region.

I’ve been to Santorini before but had no idea the island has the oldest continually cultivated vineyards on the planet or that it produced one of the most perfect crisp, light white wines I have ever tasted.

We learned all about the history of wine on the island, the impacts of its volcanic soil and how the vines grow in baskets close to the ground due to of the wind during a visit to Boutari Winery. The winery was founded by Yiannis Boutari, a pioneer of the Greek wine industry whose family has been called the “Mondavis of Greece.”

Learning about local wines and the unique agriculture at the Boutari Winery on Santorini. Photo Credit: Jeri Clausing

I’ve been to a number of wineries over the years and often get quite bored with long talks about how wine is made and the different types of grapes. But the presentations by our guide and the winery employees were quite interesting, focusing on the many unique aspects of Santorini’s agriculture and wine history, not just the one winery.

The best part, of course, was sampling the Boutari wines over a traditional lunch of Greek salad, fried tomato fritters and lemon chicken.

We had a feast of local favorites at the hotel Kirazli Sultan Konak during a chef-led excursion in Kirazli, Turkey. Photo Credit: Jeri Clausing

Hands-on cooking

Another culinary highlight of the trip was a chef-led excursion in the Turkish village of Kirazli, about a 30-minute drive from the port of Kusadasi.

Many history buffs like my husband braved the July Mediterranean heat to explore the ancient Greek city of Ephesus and the temple of Artemis. I chose instead to join Oceania chef instructor Stephanie Hersh, a former executive assistant to Julia Child, as she took us to a roadside stand to sample watermelon and cucumbers, then through the village for a luncheon feast of local staples at a small boutique hotel, Kirazli Sultan Konak. Before eating, we had a hands-on lesson in rolling Turkish dolmas, or grape leaves stuffed with pumpkin seeds, and stuffing and pinching manti, or Turkish dumplings.

One morning, Hersh also gave us a sample of the onboard cooking classes, which included instruction on favorite dishes from the Riviera’s gourmet restaurants as well as dishes from the region where the ship was sailing. During our abbreviated class, we made simple classics like a traditional Greek salad, figs and feta rolled in prosciutto and yogurt with honey and walnuts.

Master chef Stephanie Hersh, a former executive assistant to Julia Child, leading a class in the ship’s cooking school. Photo Credit: Jeri Clausing

For onboard dinners, we had a wide range of gourmet options at the reservations-only specialty restaurants and the Grand Dining Room and the most casual but still delicious buffet at the indoor-outdoor Terrace Cafe. The cafe also hosted a Greek feast one night, complete with gyros, kebabs, hummus, moussaka — just to name a few — and the biggest display of olives I have ever seen.

The four specialty restaurants did not disappoint. I had some of the best creamy gnocchi of my life at Toscana; yummy pad thai at Red Ginger; a tender, perfectly medium-rare filet at Jacques, the French venue; and a hearty steak with family-style sides of creamed spinach, asparagus, onion rings and potatoes at Polo Grill.

While the Grand Dining Room is the open-seating option for fine dining, its dishes rivaled those of the gourmet restaurants. Our hands-down favorite: beef bourguignon served over perfectly cooked noodles.

After 10 days it was clear that no matter one’s opinion about whether Oceania indeed has the best food at sea, the line’s reputation for culinary leadership is more than well deserved.