Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based cruise company Holland America Line plans to increase its purchases of seafood through an expansion of its fresh fish program and new partnerships with celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto, who will prepare several new seafood dishes for cruise guests to enjoy, and food home delivery company Vital Choice.
Holland America’s global fresh fish program now features 80 types of fresh fish, boasting locally sourced ingredients and destination-inspired menus.
“The ability to source and prepare so many types of fish globally is a testament to our outstanding culinary team,” Holland America Line President Gus Antorcha said. “From yellowtail snapper in the Caribbean to barramundi in Australia, the variety of fresh fish we offer is unrivaled in the cruise industry.”
The cruise line is also a consistent purchaser of Alaskan seafood, and it recently became the first cruise line to earn Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) certification for all six of the cruise line’s ships that travel to Alaska.
“Holland America Line has shared Alaska adventures with our guests for 75 years, and supporting sustainable fishing and local business is an important commitment for us,” Antorcha told SeafoodSource. “We’ve pledged to buy and serve only local, sustainable, fresh seafood on Alaska voyages.”
As part of the program’s continual expansion and dedication to offering guests unique seafood experiences, Holland America named celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto as the program’s ambassador and revealed that he will bring his “signature style to curated dishes served in the main dining room, as well as in a pop-up restaurant to be introduced fleetwide by early 2024,” the company stated.
“I chose to partner with Holland America Line because we share a commitment and passion for fresh and regionally inspired foods, and you will see that come to life in the special dishes and pop-up experience we’ve created together,” Morimoto said.
Morimoto’s culinary creations that cruisegoers can enjoy in Holland America’s main dining room include fresh black cod yuzu with yogurt miso pickled vegetables, kimchi eggplant, and fried rice; lobster tails with lemon foam and seasonal vegetables; and fresh halibut with vegetables, dried shrimp, and scallop sauce.
To expand its seafood sales beyond its fresh fish program, Holland America is also partnering with Vital Choice, a wild-caught fish and gourmet food e-commerce supplier that shares the cruise line’s commitment “to serving fish that is flavorful and responsibly sourced,” Holland America said.
The e-commerce company sources products from a network of approximately 60 fisheries that meet Holland America’s “rigorous standards for quality and sustainability. This includes sourcing exclusively from fisheries certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, and other [certifying bodies],” a spokesperson for Holland America told SeafoodSource.
The partnership allows consumers to order three dishes developed by Holland America Line chefs through Vital Choice’s website or its catalogs, and they will also be available on Holland America’s ships in the Caribbean and Alaska, featuring Alaska halibut, Pacific king salmon, and Chilean sea bass.
“Holland America Line and Vital Choice share the belief that fish should taste great and be sustainably sourced, making this an ideal collaboration for our guests and Vital Choice customers,” Holland America Vice President of Food, Beverage, and Guest Services Michael Stendebach said in a press release. “Our team of chefs developed recipes that perfectly highlight the varieties of fish we will serve in Lido Market [the cruise line’s casual onboard food marketplace] and are featured in the Vital Choice catalog, and we look forward to debuting the dishes on board.”
Just as Holland America expects its partners to source from sustainable, responsible sources, the cruise line stated that it holds itself to the same standard, sourcing from Alaskan halibut and salmon from Seattle-based Peter Pan Seafoods; Clackamas, Oregon, U.S.A.-based Pacific Seafoods; Juneau, Alaska, U.S.A.-based Taku Fisheries; and Ketchikan, Alaska, U.S.A.-based ED Phillips and Son.
San Diego, California, U.S.A.-based San Diego Seafoods supplies sea bass for ships departing from San Diego, and for ships leaving from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.A., the company buys its sea bass from Quality Seafood Distributors in Miami, Florida, and Star Fish and Seafood in Miami.
Photo courtesy of Holland America Line
