Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ luxury experience already includes the decadent Sette Mari restaurant — but by the time the brand’s new Seven Seas Grandeur sets sail in November 2023, the Italian eatery will be even further enhanced. The updated menu will then roll out to the rest of the fleet.
“I was already excited to launch Seven Seas Grandeur at the end of 2023, but now, knowing what we have in store with Sette Mari’s refined recipes, the anticipation to sail onboard will be even greater,” said Jason Montague, president and CEO of Regent Seven Seas Cruises. “An ‘Unrivaled Experience’ calls for exquisite cuisine, and I could not be prouder of our incredible team and the unrivaled culinary experiences they create and deliver for our guests with every meal, on every sailing.”
A recent video documents the process behind elevating the Sette Mari experience, which Regent describes as a “celebration of the long, lingering family meal, with exquisite Mediterranean cuisine, enhanced by the company of loved ones and beautiful surroundings.”
Inspired by the Food of Puglia, Italy
Particularly crucial was an inspirational trip Franco Semeraro, senior vice president of hotel operations at Regent, and his culinary team — including Bernhard Klotz, vice president of food and beverage, and Wolfgang Maier, senior director, culinary — took to the Puglia region of Italy, where Semeraro’s family is from.
Franco Semeraro, senior vice president of hotel operations at Regent
Credit: 2022 Regent Seven Seas CruisesAmong their culinary discoveries were the traditional cooking techniques and local ingredients of masserias (farmhouses), including mozzarella, stracciatella and burrata cheese making at Masseria Conte; the olive oil production of La Montalbanese; and pasta making at Il Capriccio. They also learned more about delivering a familial dining experience by cooking with the Osteria Sant’Anna team and prepared fresh seafood for family and friends at Lido Bizzarro. Lessons in Mediterranean-style “living and eating” were further solidified at the outdoor kitchen of Masseria Salamina.
“Seven Seas Grandeur will embody a 30-year ‘Heritage of Perfection,’ which is why I explored my own culinary heritage,” Semeraro said. “I wanted the team to truly experience the hospitality of the Puglia region, not just come away with a few recipes. Our mission was to enrich our existing knowledge of techniques, acquire new skills and discover new ingredients, absorbing the family philosophy that the master chefs of the region apply to their craft, which is translated into a unique dining experience.”
Our mission was to enrich our existing knowledge of techniques, acquire new skills and discover new ingredients, absorbing the family philosophy that the master chefs of the region apply to their craft.
New and updated dishes coming to Sette Mari as a result of the trip include bruschetta al pomodoro, zucchine alla poverella, cavatelli ai frutti di mare, insalata di panzanella alla Masseria Salamina, cozze gratinate al forno, branzino in agrodolce, pasticcini alla mandorle, “Chef Nino” cioppino and focaccia con pomodorini.
“A process such as this usually takes around 12 months to perfect,” Klotz said. “The next steps will be to confirm all the new ingredients and establish their supply, finalize the menu and recipes and then train our incredible chefs across the fleet.”
