Chef Kirsten Dixon Unlocks the Secrets of Alaska Cuisine for Silversea Guests

One of the highlights of any Alaska cruise is the availability of freshly caught Alaska salmon, halibut, and king crab. However, there’s more to Alaskan cuisine than fish and seafood and Award-winning chef Kirsten Dixon, who has been cooking and living in the backcountry of Alaska for more than 20 years, will introduce Silversea guests to a wide variety of native dishes during a Culinary Arts enrichment program aboard Silver Shadow’s Voyage 3213, sailing May 17 to 31 from Tokyo to Seward, with calls in Hakodate, Kushiro, Petropavlovsk, Dutch Harbor, Kodiak, and Homer.

Dixon and her family own Within the Wild Adventure Company, which operates three remote wilderness lodges in Southcentral Alaska (Winterlake Lodge, Redoubt Bay Lodge, Tutka Bay Lodge); the Cooking School at Tutka Bay; a home goods boutique, RusticWild; and La Baleine, a café in Homer, Alaska. Dixon spends time at all three lodges during the summer and frequently teaches cooking lessons in the kitchen at Winterlake Lodge or at the Cooking School at Tutka Bay. Dixon attended culinary school at the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and earned a master’s degree in gastronomy from Adelaide University in Australia. She has written two cookbooks, including The Winterlake Lodge Cookbook, for which she won the "Best Female Chef USA" award at the Gourmand International Cookbook Awards in 2004.

"We’re delighted to be able to showcase the talents of Chef Dixon on one of our Culinary Arts voyages," said Christian Sauleau, Silversea's executive vice president of fleet operations. "These culinary theme sailings are a great way for guests to perfect their cooking skills, learn the secrets of master chefs, and discover the unique flavors and ingredients of a particular region."

On Culinary Arts enrichment voyages, celebrity chefs display their exceptional talents during dynamic and informative cooking demonstrations. The voyages also feature escorted provisioning trips to international markets (when the itinerary permits), food and wine pairings, creative regional dishes, and a five-course grand gourmet dinner. Throughout these special sailings, the featured guest chef and Silversea’s executive chef are on hand to share their culinary expertise and answer any questions. Travelers with a passion for food will be pleased to know that this Silver Shadow voyage will also feature the exclusive "Relais and Châteaux L'École des Chefs" interactive cooking school, hosted by Silversea culinary trainer David Bilsland.

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