Your Cruise Your Way Cruise Blog

Holland America recently announced some new additions to their culinary guest enrichment program. One of the better known and more popular is Roberto Santibañez, culinary partner for Carlos Santana’s Maria Maria restaurants, who is scheduled to sail as part of the guest-enrichment program on the May 2 Black Sea and Holy Lands sailing aboard Holland America Line’s ms Rotterdam. These events are always popular among cruise enthusiasts, as they are always involved in the preparation aspects as well as a dining adventure on board.

During his cruise, Santibañez will perform cooking demonstrations , for guests in the ship’s state-of-the-art show kitchen, conduct culinary seminars and tastings, and participate in question and answer sessions.

Prior to his partnership with the Maria Maria restaurants, the Mexico native was the culinary director for New York City’s Rosa Mexicano restaurants. While there he developed the retail line of products for Rosa Mexicano Kitchen. He recently completed “Rosa’s New Mexican Table,” a definitive and creative cookbook on Mexican food.

Santibañez graduated with honors from Paris’s Le Cordon Bleu and has worked at restaurants around the world, including Henbury Estate in Cheshire, England, and Fonda San Miguel in Austin, Tx., as well as for the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Mexico City. He is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and The James Beard Foundation.

Santibañez’s recipes have been published in “Gourmet,” “Bon Appetit,” “Martha Stewart Living,” “SELF” and “Saveur,” and he has made frequent appearances on television programs including NBC’s “Today” show and on Telemundo. In 2007 he began serving as a member of the Board of Advisors for the Center for Foods of the Americas, a branch of the Culinary Institute of America dedicated to the Latin American Foods.

Holland America Line launched its innovative culinary guest-enrichment program in 2005 with the installation of a Culinary Arts Center aboard each of its 13 premium cruise ships. A first-class “show kitchen at sea,” the Culinary Arts Centers presented by Food and Wine magazine resemble the elaborate show kitchens used by celebrity chefs on television cooking programs and offer culinary demonstrations, tastings and hands-on cooking classes aboard every Holland America sailing.

Each facility features a theater-style venue, with two large plasma video screens and a large cooking display counter where guests can learn from the masters. In partnership with Food and Wine magazine, Holland America Line has scheduled more than 70 celebrated chefs and wine experts to sail in 2008. On cruises that do not have a celebrity chef on board, classes and demonstrations in the show kitchen are scheduled with Holland America’s own expert chefs.

In the summer of 2007, Holland America Line launched a youth Culinary Arts Center activity program to teach kids and teens how to cook. The program incorporates dishes from breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in complimentary 45-minute-long classes. Kids under 8 years old learn to make theme cookies, fruit roll-ups, ice cream sandwiches, salad people art and scones. Kids 8 and over make soft pretzels, granola bars, pita chips and hummus, and saltwater taffy. Teens also can attend adult culinary demonstrations.

Holland America Line ships are the perfect setting to showcase award-winning guest experts. In addition to the enrichment experience provided by the culinary stars on board, passengers can dine in a variety of venues, including everything from a quick bite poolside to a formal five-course affair. Every ship features an elegant main dining room, a sophisticated Pinnacle Grill where guests can sample Sterling Silver beef and fresh seafood, the casual indoor-outdoor Lido Restaurant, and the Terrace Grill on deck for lunchtime fare.

For a full schedule of Holland America Line’s Culinary Guest Program, visit http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-vacation-onboard/Activities.action?tabName=Culinary%20Arts%20Center.
For cruise brochures or for more information, call me at 1-888-579-8706 or visit www.hollandamerica.com.