Dinner begins with a delicate jumbo crab cake. That’s followed by a fresh wild mushroom cream soup and a sorbet to cleanse the palate before an intricately assembled and deliciously tender filet of Boeuf Charolais in a merlot wine sauce.
The beef is from the district where the AmaKristina is docked in Avignon and it comes with young vegetables, braised shallots and herb mashed potatoes. And the meal concludes with a luscious dessert and freshly made chocolate truffles. Heavenly.
But we’re only getting started. This isn’t the gala dinner or even the gourmet Chef’s Table grand bouffe. On AmaKristina, these were the chef’s recommendations for dinner the first evening of the cruise and things got even more interesting from here.
While other cruise lines might have taken a break during the pandemic lockdown, AmaWaterways used the time to reinvent their already luxury brand. And highlights of every day are meal times that have been elevated to experiences.
AmaWaterways has long been known for its cuisine, being the only river cruise line to be a member of the international gastronomic association La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs. The local ingredients on this French river cruise are all freshly delivered each day and AmaWaterways has eliminated buffets, making every meal from breakfast through dinner a course-by-course performance.
This late fall Rhone River cruise on AmaWaterways was a celebration of the harvest and gourmet specialties of Provence and the beautiful French cities we’re visiting. And it’s lubricated by complimentary wines of the famed wine regions we’re sailing through: Tavel, Chateauneuf du Pape, Beaujolais and Cotes du Rhone. This Rhone itinerary is so popular that AmaKristina is scheduled to continue to sail week-long cruises, including a number of specialty wine themed cruises from March through December in 2022 and 2023.
At lunch nibbles while you peruse the menu–Photo by Wallace Immen
The cruise began with AmaKristinia docked just outside the ornate ancient walls of the city of Avignon, France, famed for its bridge and historic papal palace. During a week making our way north to Lyon, we did daily excursions to explore the locales that inspired Vincent Van Gogh, follow a sniffer dog nosing out valuable truffles in oak forests, and visit medieval hill towns and venerable wineries pressing out the last of the harvest. Each day we could absorb the breath-taking scenery of Provence by our choice of bus, walking tour or bicycles.
Each day starts with a breakfast more elaborate than you’ll find on most river cruises. AmaWaterways has done away with buffets and instead there’s a multi-page menu of options from omelettes to waffles with fresh fruits. A delightful innovation is a daily breakfast bowl, an artistic combo of plant-based ingredients that are as tasty as they are eye catching. A particularly memorable one contained slivered almonds, sliced bananas and fresh fruit on a base of chocolate mousse.
After a morning spent exploring, it’s back to the ship for lunch that can be served either in the restaurant or from an abbreviated menu in the lounge. I enjoyed the performance in the restaurant where the waiter delivers the extensive menu along with a selection of hors d’oeuvres that might also include chicken wings or calamari to nibble along with breads while you make your choices.
An afternoon might include a wine tasting aboard or a tour to a winery or historic attraction ashore and back to the ship in time for a complimentary happy hour in the lounge, where the drinks flow feely and a talented piano man keeps the ambience lively. There’s a brief presentation of the next day’s itinerary during the event, but there’s still plenty of time to mix a mingle with fellow guests before dinner.
The menus at all meals cover a range of dietary options. AmaWaterways has long had a reputation as a line of choice for vegetarians and vegans and the new menus have expanded the choices of creative plant-based and gluten-free options. That’s part of a fleetwide AmaWaterways’ Wellness Program, including recent additions such as vitamin-rich breakfast smoothies and a detox water station.
The vegetarian selections are memorable. One day after we visited truffle farm, a vegetable ravioli with fresh truffles was so popular that it seems everyone in the restaurant ordered it.
Each meal is accompanied by complimentary pairings of local wines from the regions we’re sailing through. AmaWaterways Co-Owners Rudi Schreiner and Kristin Karst were inducted as members of La Connétablie de Guyenne—a prestigious wine brotherhood in Bordeaux and their choices include many small production wines you’re unlikely to find at home. If you’re a beer drinker, you can opt for a pint of a fine draft as well.
Every menu combines artistry of presentations on each plate with exquisite tastes on the palate. And the evenings seemed to get more gala as the cruise continued .
As though the main restaurant isn’t gourmet enough, there’s a complimentary six-course experience to enjoy one evening by reservation. The Chef’s Table is a panoramic glass-enclosed room at the stern of the ship that accommodates about two dozen guests each evening for what becomes a culinary exhibition. The chef and a team work in a show kitchen preparing menus from locally sourced ingredients with each course paired with a fine local vintages. The menu’s courses each have themes such as Tease the Senses, Get the Taste, Country Spirit and dessert is From Heaven.
In a cruise filled with highlights, there was one dessert that was definitely inspired by Heaven, it’s the Moelleux au chocolate—a chocolate lava cake with berries ragout and ice cream we had one evening. I’ll remember it for a long time and hope it will become a signature on AmaWaterways cruises.
Story by Wallace Immen, Executive Editor, The Cruisington Times
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