Bon Appetit Culinary Center

During my time on the christening cruise of the new Oceania Riviera, my friend and sales manager from Oceania Cruises talked me in to taking a cooking class.  I agreed to do so in order to be able to better explain the concept to my travel clients.   Being one who does not cook I wasn't sure what to expect.  Not only did I greatly enjoy the class, the paella we made was delicious!  

As far as I know this is the only such program at sea.  The photos in this blog post show the classroom on the ship.  There are three rows of "cooking stations" where five or six teams of two in each row have their own utensils, heating unit and set of ingredients.  

Throughout the class, students move to the front of the room to observe the cooking instructor as he or she prepares the particular dish designated for the class.  Students then return to their own stations to prepare their own dish.  

For those sailing on the Riviera or Marina from Oceania Cruises, I highly recommend taking one or several classes through the Bon Appetit Culinary Center.  

Celebrity Chef Cat Cora welcomed us to the class.   She was on board the inaugural cruise as she is the godmother of Oceania Riviera.

Teams of two share a cooking station. 

At several times during the process, students move to the front of the room to observe the instructor's process.

Each team of two gets their own set of ingredients for their dish.

As each ingredient is added, the instructor explains the order and the method of preparation.

To further assist, a large screen monitor is located at the front of the room.

Yours truly creating his first paella.

Our finished product!

Each participant is given a "Bon Appetit Culinary Center" apron to wear during the duration of the class period.

Throughout the class, assistant chefs are on hand to help each individual team of two.