Carnival Cruise Line has announced its new celebrity chef partner for the upcoming Mardi Gras: New Orleans-based chef and restaurateur Emeril Lagasse. Lagasse will helm Emeril’s Bistro 1396, which will be located in the heart of the ship’s French Quarter zone.
Carnival teased the introduction of a new celebrity chef partnership for a restaurant in the French Quarter zone, which aims to capture the spirit of the New Orleans, when it announced details on the new ship’s design of six themed zones back in January. The neighborhood will also include a two-deck-high promenade leading to a traditional New Orleans jazz club, in addition to Lagasse’s restaurant.
Named after the ship’s hull number at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland, Emeril’s Bistro 1396 will serve a menu of Creole favorites with daily specials. Notable dishes will include muffaletta sandwiches, Emeril’s signature barbecue shrimp, fresh seafood ceviche, roasted duck & Andouille sausage gumbo, jambalaya, and complements such as Creole potato salad with diced scallions, and red beans and “jazz-man” rice. Breakfast offerings will feature shrimp and grits and a shrimp Creole omelet. The New Orleans classic Bananas Foster and lemon ice box pie will be available for dessert.
The Mardi Gras is the first of Carnival’s new XL class of ships, which will be the largest ships ever built for the brand. In addition to the French Quarter, the other areas of the ship will range from Grand Central to La Piazza, Summer Landing, Lido and The Ultimate Playground, which will host the ship’s signature roller coaster at sea.
The Mardi Gras is scheduled to enter service in Europe on August 31, 2020, before repositioning to New York for a series of voyages. Starting in October 2020, the ship will homeport in Port Canaveral, sailing year-round seven-day Caribbean cruises.
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