CRUISE FOCUS
Another boutique venue, La Reserve, is by day a wine-tasting event and by night a reservation-only event for up to 24. At $75 a head, it includes a seven-course gourmet dinner paired with premium wines chosen by the ship’s cellar master. Jacques Pepin, chef to three French premiers,
celebrated TV chef, author and teacher, is the titular head of Oceania’s culinary department and his name and image are highly visible. But the evolu- tion and design of the dishes, their execution and maintenance is very much the domain of Garanger.
H
e and Culinary Director Eric Barale created the company’s gastronomic programme and ensure its smooth execution across
the fleet. The two have been friends for more than 20 years, their professional paths cris-crossing until Oceania brought them together. Garanger is deferential toward Pepin’s long-stand- ing contribution to the concept. “What we look to Jacques for is really the big picture,” he says. “He has a style that has evolved over the years to be a very honest, clean way of cooking and presenting food.” The Corporate Chef’s style mirrors that of Pepin and has its roots in French provincial cooking. The two meet annually to go through the menus, which shift in character and content as the ships rotate through their seasonal and culinary cycles. And Garanger says: “I have a dream job that’s
unique in the cruise industry. It’s 100 per cent creative.”
One reason for that creativity is the sup- port he gets. Barale, responsible for sourc- ing ingredients and overseeing budgets, enables Garanger’s vision to become real- ity, while Senior Executive Chef Wolfgang Meier has an eye perpetually on quality control, staff training and logistics. Garanger and Barale are members
of the Fondation Escoffier. “That means we signed an oath to preserve certain culinary traditions that go back more than a century,” he explains.
STORY OF A CHEF
Franck Garanger grew up in his father’s patisserie in Angers, France, and, from
an early age, had his eye on a culinary career. Inspired by the French gastro luminaries of the day, he pursued his ambition doggedly from the age of 16. After two years at The Hotel Concorde La Fayette in Paris, he spent the following decade refining his skills at premier hotels in France, Switzerland, Monaco and Italy. In 1994, Silversea Cruises caught his attention and, within four years, he was appointed Corporate Chef for the line. Since 2003, he has been the Executive Fleet Chef for Oceania, with four vessels now under his purview.
Autumn 2011 I WORLD OF CRUISING 63
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