Cruise & cuisine
THE FLAVORS OF WINDSTAR CRUISES
Bjoern Wassmuth, chef and culinary director of Windstar Cruises, on the diversification of food and his favorite travel destination
How did you become a chef? It started in my grandmother’s kitchen with the family- run business — a meat and sausage factory in Germany that supplied restaurants, hotels and retailers. I then apprenticed as a chef at the Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and traveled the world. I worked in the finest hotel restaurants like Sonnenalp Hotels & Resorts in Germany, Suvretta House, Bürgenstock Hotels & Resorts and Tschuggen Grand Hotel, all in Switzerland, and Hotel Baltschug Kempinski in Moscow, as well as luxury cruise ships and a private yacht at the Côte d’Azur. I became a certified master chef in 2007.
Clockwise from above: Black Forest gateau; Bjoern Wassmuth; the Dalmatian coast, Croatia
60 • postcards
Why did you decide to work in the cruise world? I have experience overseeing the food and beverage operation of a luxury cruise line. For the last eight years, I’ve been in London running multiple restaurants for a high-end chain and working as their development chef. When the opportunity to return to cruise arose last summer, I was happy to take on a new challenge.
What’s it like working for Windstar Cruises? Windstar guests are keen on trying new and adventurous dishes. With the ongoing diversification of culture comes a diversification in food and the integration of global flavors. Nowadays, flavor profiles are fused together in traditional and non-traditional manners, creating more bold and sophisticated results. Also, as our understanding of food evolves, the desire to control our intake of carbohydrates, sodium and sugar is increasingly important and Windstar Cruises has responded to this by moving towards healthier dining options. Windstar is the official cruise line of the James Beard Foundation, too, and works with both well-established and upcoming chefs who create extraordinary dishes for our menus.
Where do you love to travel? I love the Dalmatian coast — its natural beauty is incredible. Its starts in the north of Croatia and goes down to the beautiful Bay of Kotor in Montenegro.
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