Restaurants

Oceania Cruises brings signature French restaurant aboard new ship, Allura

21 January 2025 No Comments

Oceania Cruises is bringing its signature French restaurant, Jacques, on board its newest ship, Allura, which launches in mid-July.

Named after renowned chef Jacques Pépin, the founding father of Oceania Cruises’ culinary philosophy and the line’s first-ever Executive Culinary Director, this sophisticated restaurant is already a crowd favourite with Oceania Cruises guests sailing on Marina and Riviera.

In addition, Jacques will make its debut aboard Vista, Allura’s sister ship, in October 2025, joining the Polo Grill steakhouse, Italian restaurant Toscana, and pan-Asian Red Ginger on all four of the line’s 1,200+ guest ships.

Frank A. Del Rio, President of Oceania Cruises, said: “Jacques is our culinary patriarch, having been a member of the culinary team since day one. His creativity and expertise form the very heart of our philosophy, The Finest Cuisine at Sea, which drives everything we do. Bringing this fabulous restaurant to Allura as she launches this summer, and to Vista later in the year, means the world to me, and the entire Oceania Cruises family.”

Oceania Cruises’ two Executive Culinary Directors and Master Chefs of France, Alexis Quaretti and Eric Barale, will be working with Chef Pépin to bring new flavors to the menu, as well as honing the well-loved dishes that have been on the menu since Jacques was first introduced to the fleet when Marina was launched.

Chef Pépin commented: “I am so excited to be writing the next chapter of Jacques with my friends and colleagues, Chefs Alexis Quaretti and Eric Barale. This is the perfect opportunity to experiment with some delicious new dishes and to explore unique ways to serve some of the classics that our guests have come to know and love. We have lots of exciting plans for this latest iteration of Jacques. I cannot wait to share them.”

Chef Quaretti added: “It is wonderful to bring Jacques to our two newest ships, and I am thrilled to be working alongside the man himself to create this latest version of our signature French restaurant. When considering this new generation of Jacques, it was very important for me to introduce recipes from personal childhood memories and to share my vision of French family food as well as honoring the classic French bistro experience.”

 

Oceania Cruises’ most-loved dishes from Jacques on board Marina and Riviera will remain on the menu, alongside a selection of new options. These include duck with a Grand Marnier-infused orange sauce, and a veal medallion with a morel sauce, in addition to new vegetarian dishes. For those with a sweet tooth, classic French desserts Crêpes Suzette and profiteroles will join other indulgent choices on the dessert trolley.

 

Guests can look forward to more experiential dining in Jacques through the introduction of tableside service for a range of new dishes, including beef tartare. This, plus new, carefully chosen crockery, glassware, and silverware to reinforce the importance of “l’art de la table,” augments the authentic Parisian bistro experience.

“Our beautiful new ship, Allura, represents Oceania Cruises’ dazzling future but also honours our history,” Del Rio said. “The addition of Jacques to her and her sister, Vista, is a wonderful tangible example of this – celebrating our heritage, our heartfelt passion for food, while always looking ahead to what’s on the horizon.”

 

For additional information on Oceania Cruises’ small-ship luxury, exquisitely crafted cuisine, and expertly curated travel experiences, visit OceaniaCruises.com, call 855-OCEANIA, or speak with a professional travel advisor.

Unico 20°87° has picked its next celebrity chef for its in-house restaurant residency

1 January 2025 No Comments

UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya, a five-star, all-inclusive beachfront resort in the heart of the Yucatan peninsula, today announced illustrious Chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo as its next celebrity chef-in-residence to helm the hotel’s flagship restaurant, Cueva Siete.

Since opening, Cueva Siete has become a vibrant hub of rotating celebrity chefs who interpret the region’s cuisine with signature techniques, locally sourced ingredients, and unique flavors. Under Chef Gerardo, Cueva Siete will undergo a culinary renaissance, bringing distinctive new dishes and a fresh perspective to every table.

Since its inception, the Chef-in-Residence program at UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya has hosted numerous master chefs to oversee the entire restaurant for two full years, transforming the experience and ensuring a refreshed experience for returning visitors. The resident chef is granted full creative control of Cueva Siete’s menu and kitchen in order to showcase their expertise and signature specialties.

 

“I am thrilled to officially be part of the Chef-in-Residence program at UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya. My predecessors, Chef Lula Martin Del Campo, Chef Xavier Perez Stone, and Chef Christian Bravo have truly laid a remarkable foundation and exceptionally high standard for the program,” said Chef Gerardo. “I’m most looking forward to seeing hotel guests experience my menu with unique flavors and hopefully, have them coming back for seconds.”

About Chef Lugo

Chef Lugo brings more than 25 years of experience to Cueva Siete, with a focus on fresh, local, seasonal ingredients and responsible sourcing from regional farmers and growers.

He is currently Executive Chef at the renowned Nicos, named among Latin’s America’s 50 Best Restaurants for 10 consecutive years, and a recipient of the prestigious Diners Club Lifetime Achievement Award. Chef Gerardo has helmed exceptional kitchens across the globe, including Le Bristol in Paris, Las Rosas Restaurant in Turin, Imperial Hotel Tokyo, and numerous others. He serves as a mentor to Young Chefs S.Pellegrino, and also appeared as a judge on the first edition of Netflix series Iron Chef Mexico.

Chef Gerardo’s menu at Cueva Siete will feature traditional Yucatan dishes, including Xe’ek, a fresh citrus salad and Salbut Dzik, a modern take on a pulled protein salbute. The menu will dive into local flavors and ingredients like jicama, plantain, purslane and achiote.

With the launch of this latest culinary initiative, UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya further solidifies its reputation as a top culinary destination for thoughtfully prepared, authentic cuisine defined by the unique tastes, textures, and aromas of Mexico’s rich culinary heritage.

For more information, visit http://www.unicohotelrivieramaya.com.

Portland chef Deepak Saxena brings all-American fare with Indian flair to Oregon

1 October 2024

Deepak Saxena can still recall the events of a rainy Thursday afternoon in April 2015, when he slid open the counter window of his food cart, Desi PDX, for the first time.

“It was mostly a lot of my friends who were coming by to try the food,” he said.
 

Now, almost a decade later, customers are still lining up for Saxena’s take on Indian-American comfort foods, like the crispy chai cardamom chicken wings, which have been a staple since day one.

A self-described, self-taught culinary enthusiast, Saxena first dabbled with cooking in his 20s. 

But it would be nearly 17 years after working in the tech industry, when Saxena finally took a leap of faith and quit his day job, choosing instead to focus on nurturing his culinary hobby.

Now with two locations, Desi PDX brings a modern take on traditional Indian fare to Portland’s competitive culinary scene. Best-sellers include the tea brined, tea stained and deep fried cardamom chai tea chicken wings, and butter chicken katsu plate. Saxena is one of many talented chefs driving innovation in Portland’s culinary scene, as restaurants embrace high-end Southeast Asian cuisine and foodies welcome the opportunity to explore culture through taste buds.

“For me, cooking is really about using the flavours that I grew up eating; I consider myself a bit of a cultural mutt,” said Indian-born Saxena, noting that he grew up in Africa, lived in Mozambique and then Brazil, before moving to the U.S. as a child. “My food is really an exploration of that, to these ancestral connections. Food is very much about community and bringing people together.”

In 2022, Saxena expanded his footprint in Portland with his first brick and mortar restaurant, Masala Lab. Open for breakfast and brunch, the restaurant menu spotlights American breakfast favourites with an Indian twist—think pakora waffles served with homemade chutney and smoked yogurt, or a chaat hash with lime pickled greens, curried shrimp grits, and lentil fritters in a mushroom gravy (a genius take on biscuits and gravy). 

At both restaurants, Saxena’s food is a playful exploration of Indian cuisine. “It’s local fare with Indian flair,” he says. “There’s this idea that Indian food is eight dishes that you get at the buffet, and I’m looking to challenge that.”

Recently, Saxena partnered with a few other Portland chefs to launch a brand new concept called Bar Asha, which highlights small plates of South Asian fare and curated cocktails. This new endeavor is symbolic of the exciting and collaborative energy within Portland’s diverse culinary scene. 

Desi PDX is located at 4233 N Mississippi Ave and is open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Masala Lab is located at 5237 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. and is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.