Cunard has announced an exclusive partnership with two Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jnr.
Roux, known for his iconic restaurant Le Gavroche and his role on Masterchef the Professionals among many other TV programmes, will be working alongside Cunard’s culinary development chefs to create an exclusive gala menu for new ship Queen Anne’s Queens Grill restaurant and a new menu for Queen Anne’s pub, the Golden Lion.
The new menu, currently in development, will feature a selection of refined pub favourites from cheese toasties to pies. It will launch on board Queen Anne in May 2024, before being rolled out to the existing fleet later in the year.
Cunard has also revealed four additional dining experiences that will be available on Queen Anne – Japanese restaurant Aji Wa, Indian spice cuisine Aranya, Sir Samuels’ Steak House, and Italian restaurant, Tramonto – which will offer guests more choice than ever before.
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Three of these original venues aboard the luxury cruise line’s newest ship will be alternative evening dining options, available as a supplement, complementing the inclusive fare options offered for lunch or dinner in Tramonto and the Golden Lion pub.
Passengers will also have exclusive use of dining appropriate to their cabin type, from the grand two-tiered Britannia restaurant, the largest Britannia Club restaurant in the fleet, to the opulent settings of Princess Grill and Queens Grill dining.
Angus Struthers (pictured above), acting senior vice-president at Cunard, said: “We’re excited to share a flavour of what will be served on board Queen Anne in 2024.
“Cunard is renowned for high-quality dining options, and we’re delighted to be working with the very best chefs, at the top of their different culinary fields to offer such a wide range of dining options to our guests. From embracing the best of Japan in our new sushi and sake bar to dining al-fresco in Tramonto or enjoying a pub meal in the Golden Lion, there really will be something for everyone.”
Roux added: “It is an absolute privilege to be working with Cunard’s hugely talented and passionate culinary development chefs as we countdown to the launch of their newest ship Queen Anne. For me, there is no better recipe than blending high quality ingredients with elegant execution to create unforgettable experiences for diners, and I am incredibly excited to showcase our elevated, reimagined pub classics to Cunard guests very soon.”
He revealed he would be spending many days on board, in the galleys “making sure everything is perfect” and also meeting and greeting guests, doing cookery demonstrations and hosting Q&A sessions. Cunard said it would confirm which voyages Roux would be joining.
Roux, who joined a Norwegian fjords sailing this year, which Cunard said was extremely popular, is also taking up a residency with his Le Gavroche restaurant, in Cunard’s Verandah restaurant on a transatlantic sailing on September 22-27 from Southampton to New York. He said there would be further opportunities to operate ‘Le Gavroche at Sea’.
He added: “One of the reasons I said yes to working with Cunard, is they have the same principles and ideas as I do. They have levels that they want to surpass so that they over-deliver for our guests, which is something I totally agree with. The service on board is exceptional, mind-blowing in fact, and it’s the little things they do – that attention to detail, that surprises and delights, which is what I try to do every day, and why this is such a good match.”
The line’s new president Katie McAlister pictured with Roux
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