At least 10 more celebrity chefs could host masterclasses on P&O Cruises’ new ship Britannia.
The line’s Food Heroes – James Martin, who is heading the school; patissier Eric Lanlard; Marco Pierre White; and Atul Kochhar – are already set to hold classes for passengers.
However, Martin revealed that the list of celebrity chefs featured could grow, saying he was in talks with numerous well-known chefs about bringing them on board for culinary classes with passengers.
Speaking on board the ship, Martin, who is creating 150 recipes for the classes, said: “I will be joining the ship regularly. On top of that, we will have other chefs coming on board.
“The chef’s table will be pretty mega. The idea is that it will be used for the people who take the classes to eat what they have made. But then in the evening, it will host special dinners where I might cook for the guests, or another one of the Food Heroes might do it.
“The fact that this is 17 decks up, floating in the middle of the sea on the biggest cruise ship in Europe, makes this the best cookery club.”
Eric Lanlard is devising sweet treats for the Market Cafe that will be exclusive to Britannia, as well as creating an afternoon tea menu.
“I am excited to be involved in the afternoon tea because it is such a popular thing at the moment,” he said.
“Being involved in the Market Cafe is also exciting because it is at the heart of the ship. I love interacting with people, and cruising, so to be involved in the masterclasses will be wonderful.”
Britannia will be different from anything P&O Cruises has delivered before, a senior manager claimed.
David McCarthy, P&O’s hotel operations project manager, said the ship design was “fluid” and the interior would “flow better” than that of any previous ship.
“Having worked on Ventura, Azura and, to some extent, Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, I think this ship will be different from anything we have done before,” he said.
“There is a lot more synergy in the architecture because we are working with only one architect for the whole ship, whereas previously we have worked with several for different parts of the ship.”
McCarthy said the ship’s entertainment would include spontaneous performances on the sun deck, while the atrium would feature pop-up shops.
Work on the 3,600-passenger ship is on schedule and it is due to be delivered on February 27.