and a stint in Canada, where he forged a relationship with Radisson Hotels. The Radisson Shanghai was his last stop before joining Le Ponant in 2009. Tremel often does long stints on L’Austral, sometimes undertaking eight month tours of duty. “I don’t like being away from my baby,” he says. Indeed, he remembers the vessel when she was just a shell, a hull with no embellishments, pools, bars, cabins, carpets or comforts. The galley is compact but I have learned
how to be unobtrusive with cameras in kitchens where space and time are tight. Usually, galley staff quickly forget I am there, even if right over their shoulder. For me, the most interesting and intimate pictures are of this backstage activity. A ship of this small scale provides a kitchen ambience closer to that of a landside restaurant and it’s amusing to watch the interplay between chef and sous chef, line cooks, waiters, sommelier and
“Coromandel is the primary dining room,
QUIET, ELEGANT, softly lit and IMPECCABLY MANAGED”
Maitre D’ as they come and go from the floor to the galley. If the ship is Tremel’s baby, then these people are his family. In the mid-evening rush of dinner service, he is meticulously piping the text on to a birthday cake as his companions choreograph their movements around him. The ship winds its way along the Amalfi coast, past Stromboli, past Capri, up toward Livorno and Portovenere. Day becomes dusk, a crisp, clean swell picks up on the Mediterranean and the cabin is infused with the smell of the sea.
Tremel has almost total autonomy over
what emanates from the kitchen. Le Ponant has a Corporate Chef – rarely seen or mentioned – but all five ships are allowed free hand to develop their own menus. Hotel manager Eric Noir has an eye on the budget and acquisition viability. His hotel controller and load manager he poached from a five-star German hotel. “When it comes to logistics,” Noir says. “We are the dream team.” The ship shortly leaves for Antarctica and her winter itinerary. No markets or suppliers to call on there and, to this end, a large shipment is waiting for them at Livorno. It will take the day to load, collate and store. L’Austral carries a predominantly French crew and, on this sailing, the majority of passengers are also French, many of them repeat clients. As the principal front-of- house figure, with a permanent eye on his product and his clients, Noir is proud to
Spring 2012 I WORLD OF CRUISING 65
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