Sunday, September 25, 2011

Cooking Up Creativity

Celebrity Cruises' charismatic Vice President of Culinary Operations (and primo chef) Jacques Van Staden took a new approach to dining with the introduction of Qsine restaurant onboard Celebrity Cruises. A modern atmosphere, iPad menus, and innovative recipes are all a part of sharing a unique and playful dining experience with guests. While I sampled a preview of the menu aboard the Celebrity Eclipse conveyance sailing a couple years ago, it's a difficult concept to describe, so I'll let the experts show you in the video below.


On a related note, Celebrity Cruises has expanded its already robust culinary talent by naming 2010 James Beard Foundation "Rising Star Chef" nominee and 2007 "Rising Star Chef of American Cuisine" John Suley as its director of Culinary Operations.

Tapped by Celebrity's Van Staden (who is himself a James Beard-nominated Master Chef), Suley is widely regarded as one of the country's top "up and coming" chefs. Prior to joining Celebrity, he worked in the star-studded, international dining scene as executive chef at the South Florida incarnation of three-time James Beard honoree Alfred Portale's famed "Gotham Bar and Grill" (New York), "Gotham Steak" at the chic Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. At Celebrity, Suley joins Van Staden in leading the line's continuing quest to achieve the highest levels of consistency, quality and innovation in the culinary experience.

"John Suley is known for his edgy and innovative cooking style, and is a genuinely unique chef," said Van Staden, "Having known him for 12 years, and observing the amazing contributions he made during the recent debut of our newest Solstice Class ship, Celebrity Silhouette, I am confident he will be an inspirational and creative leader within Celebrity's innovative culinary team, and will make tremendous contributions as we continue to prove to vacationers around the world that we can treat them to a dining experience that is easily comparable to the best on land."

For more information, visit CelebrityCruises.com

Video Courtesy of Celebrity Cruises

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