Regent Seven Seas Cruises to introduce new menu in its Italian Sette Mari restaurants

Regent Seven Seas Cruises is planning to introduce a new menu inspired by the Puglia region of Italy across its six-ship fleet.

The new menu will initially debut aboard the Seven Seas Grandeur in November 2023 during her inaugural cruise season, and will then be rolled out across the fleet.

The menu will be exclusively available in the ships’ Italian Sette Mari restaurants.

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The menu has been developed by Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations Franco Semeraro and his culinary team, including Vice President of Food and Beverage, Bernard Klotz, and Senior Director Culinary, Wolfgang Maier.

Semeraro and his team visited a number of farmhouses on estates in Puglia, discovering what they described as century-old cooking techniques and local ingredients. They explored the cheese-making process of mozzarella, stracciatella and burrata, practiced the skill of olive oil production, fresh pasta making techniques, and more.

“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 here apply to their craft, which translates into a unique dining experience,” said Semeraro.

Regent Seven Seas released a YouTube video showcasing the Italian exploration that inspired the new menu.

The film captures the essence of Sette Mari’s dining experience, a celebration of the long, lingering family meal, with exquisite Mediterranean cuisine, enhanced by the company of loved ones in beautiful surroundings.

At centuries-old masserias in Puglia, the Regent chefs discovered traditional cooking techniques and local ingredients. They explored how mozzarella, stracciatella and burrata are made at Masseria Conte, and learned about olive oil production at La Montalbanese, which houses Italy’s oldest mill, dating back to the 1200s, and tasted a wide range of oils.

They studied pasta-making techniques at Il Capriccio and cooked alongside the family team behind Osteria Sant’Anna, a lesson in how to bring the family experience to the table. They also cooked a multi-course meal with freshly caught fish and seafood for friends and family at Lido Bizzarro and furthered their understanding of the Mediterranean style of ‘living and eating’ in Masseria Salamina’s outdoor kitchen.

Regent provided examples of the new dishes on the menu, which will be in Italian: bruschetta al pomodoro, zucchini 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.

Google translate wasn’t able to decipher all of that, but it appears to include dishes such as bruschetta with tomato, baked mussels au gratin, sweet and sour sea bass, almond pastries, and focaccia with cherry tomatoes.