"Top Chef" alumnus and James Beard Award semi-finalist Chef Bryan Voltaggio is bringing his culinary secrets and distinctive cooking style to Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours for a pair of specialty culinary cruises in 2023 and 2024. His first partnership with Scenic was on a South of France river cruise last fall and sold out. For 2023, he is joining the newly-launched ultra-luxury Discovery Yacht Scenic Eclipse II for a nine-day “Iconic Panama Canal” sailing departing Montego Bay on October 31, 2023. In 2024, Chef Voltaggio will bring his talent back to the rivers of France—this time in the wine region of Bordeaux—for the June 18, 2024 departure of the eight-day “Bordeaux Affair” itinerary aboard Scenic Diamond.
An evening welcome reception kicks off each sailing, where guests can sip a cocktail and rub elbows with Chef Voltaggio. This is just the start of multiple opportunities to interact and learn. During onboard cooking demonstrations, Chef Voltaggio will share his culinary secrets—tips, techniques and even a recipe—with guests, who will also be able to sample his cooking. Afternoon Q&A sessions will detail the chef’s experiences as a restaurateur, celebrity chef and beyond. The “main course” on both sailings is a special dinner designed by Chef Voltaggio to highlight each region’s ingredients and flavors.
Guests booking the October 31, 2023 “Iconic Panama Canal” with Top Chef Bryan Voltaggio will experience a culinary program onboard Scenic Eclipse II that includes 10 unique dining experiences. And the itinerary offers several ways to work up an appetite. On Colombia’s remote Isla de Providencia, guests can snorkel, hike and explore the village of Santa Isabel, the island of Santa Catalina, and the Earth’s third largest barrier reef system. Stops in Panama’s Bocas del Toro and San Blas Islands provide ample beach time; opportunities to explore mangrove swamps and search for sloth, caiman and hundreds of bird species; and interact with Panama’s indigenous peoples. Finally, guests transit the Panama Canal and explore the landscape and wildlife among the islands nestled in the Gulf of Panama. Add to this the options to explore above the land in one of two helicopters or dive below the waves in Scenic Neptune II, the yacht’s eight-guest all-electric submersible.
The June 18, 2024 departure of Bordeaux Affair with Top Chef Bryan Voltaggio winds its way through France’s wine region along the Dordogne, Garonne and Gironde Rivers. Chef Voltaggio’s programming is accented by samples of Grand Cru Classé wines, strolls through Medieval villages and a private concert at Château d’Agassac. In the village of Libourne, guests will choose between time surrounded by the 16th-century architecture and a Gothic Church, exploring the town of Bergerac or calling on Château Siaurac for a wine tasting. Other opportunities include exploring the scenic Médoc wine region via a 18.6-mile roundtrip e-bike excursion along the Captain’s Road, spending the day sampling red wine or focusing on the regions blend of 16th-century and World War II history. On the sailing’s penultimate day, guests can explore Bordeaux on foot or bicycle, or choose to Shop with a Chef at Bordeaux’s food markets before heading back to the ship for an oyster tasting and exclusive cooking lesson in Scenic Culinaire.
Good to know: Guests booking either sailing under Scenic’s new “2-for-1 fare” program can take advantage of special savings of up to $3,000 per couple or free air on the Iconic Panama Canal sailing, and up to $2,000 per couple or free air on the Bordeaux Affair. All savings are capacity controlled and may require additional requirements.
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