Bermuda Adds New Flavor to Seabourn Food/Wine Fest

Jason · June 21, 2006

MIAMI, June 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The ultra luxury Seabourn Pride will host its fourth annual Great American Food & Wine Festival this autumn as the intimate, all-suite ship sails from New England to the Caribbean. But this year, the recipe has been changed to include an overnight stay at Bermuda.

The 12-day cruise departs October 29, 2006 from the picturesque fishing port of Gloucester, MA, just a short way from Boston's Logan International Airport via a complimentary Seabourn transfer. Aside from Bermuda, ports of call include Norfolk, VA, Charleston, SC, and Amelia Island and Port Canaveral, FL. The cruise ends in Nassau, Bahamas on November 10.

Along the way, guests will enjoy tastings, cooking demonstrations and signature dishes by renowned chef and cookbook author Paulette Mitchell, as well as specially-created culinary excursions in ports of call, wine tastings and culinary events on board.

The author of twelve cookbooks, Chef Mitchell is also a popular speaker and cooking instructor, whose two most recent books are "A Beautiful Bowl of Soup" and "The Spirited Vegetarian," the first vegetarian cookbook to use wine or spirits in every recipe.

Another special Dress Circle guest will be professional photographer Nancy Bundt, who has a particular interest in culinary subjects. She will present images of foods traditional to the Atlantic seaboard of the U.S., as well as giving guests tips on digital photography to enhance their photographic diaries of the voyage.

Famous for its pink sand beaches and genteel style, Bermuda is a culinary melting pot, strongly influenced by its British colonial past and trade with the distant Caribbean islands. Bermudian chef Judith Wadson (an alumna of Alice Waters' Chez Panisse) will demonstrate local delicacies and ingredients in an optional class at her restaurant, and tell you about her grandmother's childhood flirtations with Mark Twain.

In Norfolk, guests can travel to the village of Surry, Virginia, where the Edwards family has been curing award-winning, old-fashioned country hams for 80 years. Their tender country ham recently topped all others in a Gourmet magazine tasting. Guests will also enjoy a traditional luncheon and sightseeing in the picturesque and historic town of Smithfield.

At Charleston, Amanda Dew Manning leads a tour of "Lowcountry" culinary heritage, including a demonstration and luncheon. The free Exclusively Seabourn experience will be a ride by horsedrawn carriage to a traditional Southern tea in a 19th century Charleston home.

Amelia Island offers a luncheon at The Florida House Inn, Florida's oldest surviving hotel, in the Victorian-era Fernandina Beach Historic District.

From Port Canaveral, guests can visit the Kennedy Space center or "Follow the Wild Ocean Shrimp" on a boat tour of the Indian River Lagoon and a shrimp processor, then feast on local shrimp prepared in a variety of ways at the famous Dixie Crossroads.