As Executive Chef on board Scenic Eclipse, Tom Goetter has set himself the challenge to reinvent dining on the high seas, and that means ensuring his guests can enjoy an ever-changing selection of flavours throughout their cruise. “We have a total of 2500 recipes across our eight restaurants,” Goetter says. “You would need to be on board for one and a half months to eat every dish.”
Dining on board Scenic Eclipse is a global culinary journey with 14 different nations represented in the kitchens and 10 unique dining experiences ranging from causal to fine dining and inspired by all corners of the globe. From contemporary French fine dining at Lumiere to your favourite fillet of steak cooked to perfection in the elegant Elements restaurant, a casual meal in the Azure Bar and Café, or modern Asian fusion at Koko’s, there is never a shortage of choice.
“We want to create a dining experience where guests feel like they cannot decide where to go at night time”, said Goetter. “What I don’t want is that one of our restaurants is called the main restaurant, or our best restaurant. It’s a discovery yacht, and we have created a discovery menu”.
The attention and detail that has gone into the design and fit out of Scenic Eclipse is reflected in the passion for food coming from Tom and his team.
For the sushi bar, he doesn’t just airfreight in the freshest fish; his rice, his vinegar, his soy sauce all come direct from Japan. “You can get dashi vinegar and soy sauce anywhere, but they are different in Japan,” he says. “We have 24 month aged parmesan from Italy. It is outstanding. No one gets it because it’s 10 times the price but if you ever have pasta with this parmesan you don’t want anything else. We have two Italians in the kitchen and they just look at it all day long”.
On joining Scenic Eclipse, Goetter was given the mandate to create his own menus, to create all-inclusive dining experiences that would be like no other on any cruise ship.
“We have lot of toys in the kitchen which I believe other cruise ship companies are not using yet”, he says. “We have dehydrators for dehydrating our own dry foods for breakfast and making our own spice mixes on board. We are using oven circulators for unique smoking methods and have an on board Urban Cultivator herb garden to ensure we have constant access to fresh herbs and greens.”
Scenic Eclipse offers a choice of all-inclusive dining experiences:
- Elements – The main restaurant featuring Italian, steak and seafood
- Yacht Club – Poolside grill, buffet and bar
- Koko’s – Asian Fusion restaurant and Sake bar
- Sushi @ Koko’s – A wonderfully authentic Japanese experience
- Teppanyaki @ Koko’s – Private dining with an open Teppanyaki grill
- Lumière – Contemporary French fine dining and Champagne bar
- Azure Bar & Café – Relaxed all-day grazing
- Epicure – Learn from the best in our dedicated cooking school
- In-Suite Dining – A 24-hour comprehensive menu
- Chef’s Table @ Elements – An exclusive invitation only degustation dining
To complement the dining experience Scenic Eclipse features eight spacious bars and lounges. Guests can sip a glass of France’s finest at the intimate Champagne Bar in Lumiere, indulge in an aged single malt at the elegant Lobby Lounge or unwind in the Observatory with a speciality tea or coffee. Complimentary beverages including mini-bar are part of our signature all-inclusive promise available all day, every day.
Scenic Eclipse has set a new benchmark in luxury expedition ocean cruising suites with 114 luxurious suites across five decks, a sumptuous 550m2 spa sanctuary, up to 10 dining experiences, butler service to every suite, a staff to guest ratio of 1:1, and our on board helicopters and submarine offering truly unique discovery experiences.
Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours has grown over its 33-year history to include award-winning, all-inclusive river cruises and hand crafted escorted land tours that take participants to many of the world’s most fascinating destinations. Since 2008, Scenic has grown to offer river cruises in Europe, SE Asia, Russia and Egypt on its 15 Space-Ships. Sister brand Emerald Waterways has seven Star-Ships offering European river sailings with an eighth (Emerald Harmony) launching this year for SE Asia’s Mekong River.
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