Some five years ago, the luxury cruise line Silversea decided to upend its dining and drinks offerings, figuratively of course, with something unlike anything else at sea. And thus was born their successful S.A.L.T. culinary and cocktail experiment that continues to evolve with each new ship iteration and which complements the already wide range of dining options on their ships.
To spearhead S.A.L.T., Silversea promptly turned to former Saveur magazine editor-in-chief Adam Sachs (a former colleague of this reporter) for more than just his passion for cooking, but vitally for all things conceptual and to continue to shape and manage its development ever since. Drawing on his vast network of chefs, libations gurus and food writers, Sachs and his small international team pan the world for flavors that reflect the ports at which Silversea ships call.
With the launch last year of the Silver Nova vessel, which was followed up last month with its Silver Ray sister, S.A.L.T. has become a major component of these first two ships in Silversea’s innovative Nova Class.
As essential as the inventive and cultural elements are to S.A.L.T. success, the program’s variety of locations and spaces in which to showcase foods and drinks, as well as to teach, are equally important in making the program shake, if you will. And, they have gone through an upgrade, literally right to the top of the ships. The S.A.L.T. Lab test kitchen and the intimate S.A.L.T. Bar were boosted from lower midship positions on earlier vessels all the way up to the Nova’s and Ray’s open and breezy upper Deck 10, and away from much foot traffic.
Not only does the Lab have spectacular ocean views for its intimate 18-seat dinners, but a whole patio-like space beyond the open floor-to-ceiling glass doors makes for a quasi-al fresco evening. Over multi-course meals, guests can mingle between courses and snap endless sunset photos. Since the Lab by day is a teaching venue, perhaps it’s better then to keep your focus downward as you chop.
On the Silver Ray’s mid-June launch sailing out of Lisbon, the S.A.L.T. Lab guest chef was the eponymous talent behind the Sála de João Sá restaurant, located not far at all from the Lisbon marina in Alfama. As S.A.L.T. visiting chefs do, João Sá treated guests to an evening of listening and learning while they savored his dishes that are informed in part by his family background in Angola from where his parents emigrated in the post-colonial era.
In the adjacent S.A.L.T. Bar, bartenders mix custom cocktails that are ever changing too to reflect the flavors of wherever the ships happen to be, with beer and wine selections as local as possible. You might order the Iberian summer Rebujito drink of a finosherry with mint and sparkling lemonade. Or, get introduced to Gin Mare, a brand full of botanicals and olives and basil, that’s distilled in an old Catalan chapel.
Currently on four Silversea ships, the S.A.L.T. Kitchen, which was already devoted to serving global cuisine, is now producing both what they call terrain and voyage menus depending on whether ship is at port or at sea. Never mind that chefs need to learn proper recipes and culinary techniques for the cuisine from a host of disparate cultures, the supply logistics must be mind boggling with the number of far-flung ports of call on each voyage.
The S.A.L.T. roster of advisors and guest lecturers who come on board continues to expand as well, like Nicholas Gill who co-wrote the quintessential The Latin American Cookbook cookbook (Phaidon Press, 2021).
Silversea flagship restaurants are evolving on the Nova Class as well. The premium La Dame restaurant with its Lalique glass works has included a plant-based tasting menu based on French chef Jean-Luc Rabanel’s “greenstronomy.” Silversea chefs have followed Rabanel in creating menus that will eventually be introduced across the fleet’s venues.
The intimate Silver Note has placed its entertainment even more at the center of the evening, literally putting the piano and vocalist in the middle of the small room, supper club style. While you dine, enjoy classics the way they should be heard (well, maybe not “Stormy Weather” onboard).
The Deck 3 Shelter bar which is open to the soaring central atrium on Nova Class ships is now serving premium Duval-Leroy Champagne vintages as selected by Silversea’s wine ambassador Lawrence D’Almeida who works closely with Adam Sachs on S.A.L.T. and with chefs across the fleet.
Silversea’s already wide selections of shore excursions include ever more dedicated S.A.L.T. themes as well. Over last month’s Silver Ray christening stop in Lisbon, passengers could choose to head about an hour away in the direction of the popular hilltop town of Sintra. With the coast and the Praia das Maçãs (Apple Beach) visible in the distance, guests took a tour and had a seafood lunch at a winery that bills itself as the westernmost vineyard in Europe.
Founded by a Lithuanian-born baron in the early ’60s, the Casal Santa Maria winery is based in a 300-year-old house whose granite foundations withstood the epic 1755 earthquake that destroyed Lisbon, while the grounds feature a gnarly 250-year-old dragon tree. It’s all narrated dramatically by the winery’s young team of excellent English speakers.
Another excursion took guests across the Tagus river to the cheese, wine and olive producing area of Azeitão (a name derived from olive oil) and to the Quinta de Catralvos wine estate. In addition to setting up a tour of the cellars and sampling of the wines, the S.A.L.T. team had arranged an outdoor lunch featuring a dynamic guru for all things fungi. José Maria Velhinho, who’s also happy to tell you about his spearfishing fanaticism, started his Ostra da Terra (that’s oysters of the earth) catering company to promote wild mushrooms and bring more fungus amongus. His team demonstrates how to prepare dishes like his shiitake gnocchi before you sit down to enjoy them.
To crib an old jingle: S.A.L.T., it does a body good.
This story was originally published on forbes.com.
Look back on the week that was with hand-picked articles from Australia and around the world. Sign up to the Forbes Australia newsletter here or become a member here.
