Chef Thomas Keller Takes High-End Cuisine to the High Seas

One of Seabourn’s ultra-luxury cruise ships that will feature chef Thomas Keller’s signature dishes. Photo: Seabourn

Chef Thomas Keller, who has conquered the culinary scene with legendary restaurants firmly rooted on both coasts, is expanding his realm to the high seas.

Through a partnership with Seabourn, the luxury cruise line, Keller will bring the French and American cuisine that has earned The French Laundry, Per Se and Bouchon a total of seven Michelin stars to the world of luxury cruises.

Beginning this fall, the chef will develop a variety of dishes — including appetizers, entrees and desserts — for dining rooms aboard Seabourn’s Odyssey, Sojourn, and Quest. Seabourn and Keller also plan to open a signature restaurant next spring on the Quest, before adding it to the entire fleet.

Chef Keller will use the same type of high-end ingredients he sources from The French Laundry’s Culinary Garden on the menus he’s developing for Seabourn cruise ships. Photo: Deborah Jones 

Expect the Seabourn restaurants to mirror the warm elegance that characterizes The French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., as well as the serenity of Per Ser in New York City. Seabourn bills its ships as “intimate,” with no more than 300 suites on each, and focuses on delivering gourmet-dining experiences on each.

If Seabourn is looking to take the high-end dining experience to new heights, it has found the right partner in Keller. The French Laundry draws gourmands from around the world with nine-course dinners that start at $295, as does Per Se with its $310 nine-course meal.

Keller, who re-opened The French Laundry earlier this month following the first phase of a major kitchen renovation, was mum about his future plans during a recent Yahoo Food interview.

“If you realize the next thing may not be opening a restaurant, then what’s the next thing?” he told us. “Maybe the next thing is being happy where you are.”

It looks like he had a sea-change of plans.

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