Swan Hellenic has partnered with JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs to create Maris, a unique experience of exceptional dining and discovery through the senses, brought to life with the gourmet organisation’s world-famous chefs.
Maris will involve a different JRE chef coming aboard in a series of exclusive cultural expedition cruises on Swan Hellenic’s ships SH Vega and SH Diana. Guests will be taken on a parallel voyage of discovery, exploring the celebrated culinary creativity that has made their name, driven by a passion for tradition, sustainability and quality local ingredients.
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Serving a different signature dish every night, the Maris chef builds to the climax of an extraordinary Gala Dinner created to showcase their creativity and skills.
What’s more, the Maris chef also puts on a cooking show that reveals select secrets of their art and leads gastronomic excursions ashore to explore the local culinary traditions and specialities.
Maris will include specialist lectures on board with shore excursions in which guests explore and savour local hunting and fishing, farming, foraging and culinary traditions and cultures in the company of world-famous chefs, benefiting from their expert perspective. Every Maris chef also mixes and socialises with guests throughout their voyage in the Swan Hellenic cultural expedition cruise tradition.
The JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs star chefs lined up for the first series of Maris sailings include:
- Sabina Repovž from Slovenia (together with husband Grega, awarded Best Sommelier Slovenia 2021 by Gault & Millau – SH Diana)
- Edwin Soumang from the Netherlands (Michelin Star – SH Diana)
- Michael Ammon from Germany (Michelin-starred – SH Diana)
- Andreas Hillejan from Germany (Michelin-starred – SH Vega)
- Manfred Kofler from Italy (SH Vega)
- Manu Núñez from Spain (SH Vega)
- Arjan Kuipers from the Netherlands (SH Vega)
- Tomaž Bratovž from Slovenia (whose restaurant is his country’s first in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants – SH Vega)
- Carles Ramon from Spain (SH Vega)
- Daniel Lehmann from Switzerland (SH Diana)
- Clément Bidard from France (Michelin-starred for 9 years – SH Diana)
- Borja Marrero from Spain (Michelin Green Star in 2023 – SH Diana)
- and Luca Marchini from Italy (also Michelin-starred – SH Diana)
Any number of cruises in the Maris series can be connected to create an odyssey of gastronomic exploration.
Daniel Lehmann, President of JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs, said the group was delighted to align with Swan Hellenic.
“This is a unique opportunity for us to bring our international gastronomic expertise to discriminating connoisseurs on exceptional voyages around the world”.
Andrea Zito, CEO of Swan Hellenic said: “Swan Hellenic and JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs are united by an uncompromising quest to share experiences of the exceptional. So we’re both delighted with how our Maris cruises are set to take the explorations of Swan Hellenic guests into new territory of gastronomic and cultural discovery.
“We’re confident that Maris is going to exceed all expectations and can’t wait to hear our guests’ reactions.”
Chef and sommelier pairing Sabina and Grega Repovž set Maris in motion on 15 April when they boarded SH Diana for the cultural expedition cruise Mysteries of Carthage and the Moors.
The official launch will be celebrated with a Gala Dinner aboard SH Diana as part of her Christening Ceremony Events in Amsterdam on Thursday 4 May. Three JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs chefs will showcase the extraordinary creative variety of Maris gastronomy to mark the occasion: Edwin Soumang (Restaurant One, The Netherlands), Daniel Canzian (Ristorante Daniel Canzian, Italy), and Michael Ammon (Gasthof Jakob, Germany).
Images courtesy of JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs and Swan Hellenic