Gourmet food river cruises: Charting a fresh course

By Brian Johnston
Updated May 28 2015 - 10:13am, first published May 24 2015 - 12:15am
Crusted rack of lamb is served for dinner on  an Avalon cruise. Photo: Avalon Waterways
Crusted rack of lamb is served for dinner on an Avalon cruise. Photo: Avalon Waterways
Crusted rack of lamb is served for dinner on  an Avalon cruise. Photo: Avalon Waterways
Crusted rack of lamb is served for dinner on an Avalon cruise. Photo: Avalon Waterways
Crusted rack of lamb is served for dinner on  an Avalon cruise. Photo: Avalon Waterways
Crusted rack of lamb is served for dinner on an Avalon cruise. Photo: Avalon Waterways
Crusted rack of lamb is served for dinner on  an Avalon cruise. Photo: Avalon Waterways
Crusted rack of lamb is served for dinner on an Avalon cruise. Photo: Avalon Waterways
Casual dining alfresco  on the Aquavit Terrace of a Viking Longship.
 Photo: Viking River Cruises
Casual dining alfresco on the Aquavit Terrace of a Viking Longship. Photo: Viking River Cruises
Cruise passengers check out  a market while on a Scenic Tours cruise in France.
 Photo: Scenic Tours
Cruise passengers check out a market while on a Scenic Tours cruise in France. Photo: Scenic Tours
Saint-Emilion among the vineyards of the Bordeaux region.
Saint-Emilion among the vineyards of the Bordeaux region.
passengers taste local snacks in Budapest on a tour with a Viking chef.
passengers taste local snacks in Budapest on a tour with a Viking chef.
Celebrity chef Luke Nguyen works with APT on the Mekong River. Photo: APT
Celebrity chef Luke Nguyen works with APT on the Mekong River. Photo: APT

When I was offered blue-cheese ice-cream on Uniworld's SS Catherine in France last year, it was a sign of how much river-cruise cuisine has changed over the last decade. There was a time when the food was cautious, bland and international, more suited to retired realtors from the American mid-west than travellers keen to experience local cuisines. Now river-cruise companies are offering increasingly sophisticated dishes, and occasionally even push the limits. For the record, blue-cheese ice-cream is surprisingly tasty. Uniworld's menus now challenge the adventurous palate with guinea fowl, escargots and sour-cherry soup.