What a voyage! Six days and five nights of great food, delicious wines, hospitality and beautiful human connection. Cunard Line’s third ‘Great Australian Culinary Voyage’ has come to an end and I reckon it was the best one yet.
Cath Claringbold and I were thrilled to have taken charge of the prestigious afternoon tea aboard Queen Elizabeth one of the finest ships in the Cunard fleet. Known for exquisite luxury, world class hospitality and exemplary service, the famous ship has seen its share of memorable celebrations over the years, and we were humbled to have contributed to that story.
The voyage left Sydney harbour at 6:00pm last Thursday 6th February in a spectacular sail out. Sydney really turned on the weather as we set sail on our foodie adventure.
We served a sold out Champagne Afternoon Tea to 400 guests over three days. Menu items included: Scones with Champagne Jelly, Peach Jam & Cream / Chocolate & Raspberry Wagon Wheels / Cherry Blossom Cheesecake / 'Avocado on Toast' / Chocolate & Dulce de Leche Tarts / Gin & Tonic Pavlova and savoury bites from the Queen Elizabeth Kitchen. All recipes were posted to Studio Kitchen for guests to replicate and peruse.We also presented afternoon tea dishes in the Lido and hundreds of portions of dessert in the Britannia I was thrilled that hundreds of guests watched our presentation at the Royal Court Theatre and I also took part in a rewarding panel with food royalty Matt Moran, Nornie Bero & Katie Spain hosted by the amazing Julie Goodwin.
Other events included book signings, as well as lots of interaction with enthusiastic guests and foodies. Present also was David Furniss with the excellent Four Pillars Gin brand.
We also hosted an exciting off shore excursion at our port day in Hobart for guests, showcasing some of Tasmania's food jewels including a trip to taste Abalone at Tas Live, delicious wines at Frogmore Creek and cheeses at Wicked Cheese Co - we even had time to try a few Oysters at Barilla Bay
We want the thank the following for making this such a memorable and successful trip. Cunard - thank you to Katrina Mc Alpine, Julian Rosenberg, Mika Paech and Alex Oakley and everyone else past and present who made this happen.
Cunard Brigade - we could not have done it without Gareth Bowen and Nicholas Oldroyd. Executive Chefs Roland Sargunan and Romualdo Rebello and their excellent brigade of talented chefs including pastry chef Marlo Albayalo.
Cunard Front Of House - Kevin Boag and Sanjay Nair as well as the entire team of wait staff and sommeliers. Thanks to our fellow chefs and food experts Matt Moran, Julie Goodwin, Nornie Bero and Katie Spain. Special mention to Sam Burke from Meat & Livestock Australia for being the MVP in promoting our amazing Aussie produce to the world. Great to work alongside Tom Gorringe and Laura Baratto from Aria and David from Mabu Mabulinkedin.com/company/cu…Another amazing experience from Cunard.