Celebrity chefs have become a must-have for every cruise line. The latest is Curtis Stone.
This week, Princess announced an exclusive partnership with the Aussie-born food icon best known for his budget meals for a certain supermarket chain.
But there is more to Mr Stone than meets the eye. He is also a phenomenally popular restaurant chef, particularly in the United States. His specialty dining and meal offerings will be rolled out across Princess’ 18-ship fleet over this year and next.
But he is not alone. Here, we profile four of the best-known seafaring galley stars – and share some of their remarks about each other.
Curtis Stone, Princess Cruises
Age: 39
Born: Melbourne, Australia
Restaurant: Maude, California
Michelin stars: Zero
Cookbooks: Cooking With Curtis; Good Food, Good Life; Relaxed Cooking With Curtis Stone; Surfing The Menu; Surfing The Menu Again; What’s For Dinner?
Curtis on Jamie Oliver: “Jamie is a big voice and he preaches – you know his show is called The Food Revolution. So he’s there talking about healthy food and you’ve got to practice what you preach.”
Jamie Oliver, Royal Caribbean International
Age: 40
Born: Clavering, Essex, England
Restaurants: Barbecoa, London; Fifteen, London; Jamie’s Italian, Australia and the UK; Jamie Oliver’s Diner, London; Recipease, London; Union Jacks, London
Michelin stars: Zero
Cookbooks: Cook With Jamie; Happy Days With The Naked Chef; Jamie At Home; Jamie Does…; Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals; Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals; Jamie’s America; Jamie’s Comfort Food; Jamie’s Dinners; Jamie’s Great Britain; Jamie’s Italy; Jamie’s Kitchen; Jamie’s Ministry Of Food; Save With Jamie; The Naked Chef; The Return Of The Naked Chef
Jamie on Gordon Ramsay: “He is too busy shouting and screaming and making our industry look like a bunch of shouters and screamers. He’s just a ranter, he’s paid to rant. He’s paid to shower negativity and all his proteges don’t talk to him because he’s like that and it’s a shame.”
Luke Mangan, P&O Australia
Age: 45
Born: Melbourne, Australia
Restaurants:Amilla Fushi, Maldives; glass, Sydney; Lonu by Luke Mangan, Maldives; mojo by Luke Mangan, Sydney; Salt, Tokyo; Salt grill, Surfers Paradise; Salt grill, Jakarta; Salt grill & Sky bar, Singapore; Salt tapas & bar, Singapore; World Wine Bar, Tokyo
Michelin stars: Zero
Cookbooks: At Home & In The Mood; Salt Grill; The Making Of A Chef
Luke Mangan on the state of today’s young workers: “I get apprentices’ mums calling and saying about Little Johnny: ‘You’re working him 50 hours a week!’ My mum and dad would drop me off at the train station and make darn sure I worked 50 hours a week – work that out!”
Marco Pierre White, P&O UK
Age: 53
Born: Leeds, UK
Restaurants: Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill, several in the UK; Marco’s New York Italian, several in the UK; Wheeler’s of St James’ Oyster Bar & Grill Room, London
Michelin stars: Three
Cookbooks: Hell’s Kitchen; Great British Feast; Hell’s Kitchen; Marco Made Easy; White Heat; Wild Food From Land & Sea
Marco on Jamie Oliver: “I’d rather be who I am than a fat chef with a drum kit … Go and win your first Michelin star, Jamie, and then I might take you seriously.”
Ouch!
