POINT OF VIEW

F​​​​​​ood has long been part of the way Regent Seven Seas Cruises^® connects travelers with the places they visit. Across the fleet, that experience extends beyond the table through the Culinary Arts Kitchens and the Epicurean Enrichment Studio, where guests can explore the techniques, ingredients, and traditions behind the world’s cuisines.

Kathryn Kelly, Executive Chef and Director of Culinary Enrichment, brings a global perspective to the experience, drawing on years of travel and a deep curiosity about the cultures behind food and dining. Through hands-on cooking classes, epicurean series, tours, and conversations aboard Seven Seas Grandeur^®, Seven Seas Splendor^®, Seven Seas Explorer^®, and Seven Seas Prestige^™, she shares the stories, skills, and traditions that make each cuisine distinctive. Here, she takes us behind the scenes.

“Guests would always ask us what we were doing that day while we were in port. So we created the Epicurean Enrichment Tours, where chefs take a group of no more than 18 people off the ship. We basically ask ourselves, ‘What would we want to do if we had three or four hours in this port?’ We go for tea in Japan, to an olive farm in Italy. One time we visited with a chef in Nova Scotia who won the Chowder Trail Award.”

“There are a lot of guests who don’t want to take a cooking class, but tell us they love having conversations with chefs. So we started chef demonstrations. When we were in the Caribbean, for instance, we did a demo on the 30 essential spices you need and what to buy when you go home. Then in 2025, we piloted the Epicurean Enrichment Series where you hang out with a chef. Now we’ve taken dedicated space in Seven Seas Mariner^® and Seven Seas Voyager^® and created Epicurean Enrichment Studios.”

“With these chef-led gastronomy lectures, we talk about the history of the region we’re traveling to from a culinary standpoint—their ingredients, how they cook, their celebrations. When I travel to South Korea, I could go to a cooking class and make japchae, but I also want to know how the cuisine evolved there. And if you’re on one of our world cruises, you’re traveling for 100-plus days and you can stamp your passport in every port where we have an epicurean enrichment event.”

“The Chef’s Circles are like a fireside chat with a chef—we all have such fascinating histories and people love to hear our stories. For example, Stephanie Hirsch, the first chef on Seven Seas Mariner, was Julia Child’s personal executive assistant for 15 years. People just want to hang out with her and learn about her story—she’s just been hired to write a book about her time with Julia.”