Popular Seattle-based Chef Ethan Stowell is joining Holland America Line’s Culinary Council, Holland America President Orlando Ashford told Travel Agent and other media attending this year’s Alaska Media Roadshow. Stowell will work with the line’s culinary team to develop dishes based on the flavors of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest for the entire Holland America fleet, including the upcoming Nieuw Statendam, which sets sail December 5. Ashford made the announcement at the event’s closing reception.
Stowell is the executive chef and owner of Ethan Stowell Restaurants in Seattle. He has developed popular Seattle restaurants including Tavolata, How to Cook a Wolf, Staple & Fancy Mercantile, Ballard Pizza Company, Rione XIII and others. He also opened the Goldfinch Tavern in the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle, and has also consulted for MLB's Seattle Mariners.
Several venues on Holland America ships will serve menu items by Stowell, including New York Pizza. He will also revamp the Distant Lands Italian station in the Lido Market, develop seven tossed salads for the Wild Harvest station, and create an appetizer and main course for the Culinary Council menu in the dining room one night on each cruise.
Holland America Line’s Culinary Council is a team of experts that have partnered with the cruise line to enhance its culinary experience. Stowell joins fellow Council members Jonnie Boer, David Burke, Elizabeth Falkner, Jacques Torres and Chairman Rudi Sodamin.
This year will also see Holland America increase capacity in Alaska with the addition of the larger Westerdam, which will sail the line’s Glacier Discovery itinerary. Six more ships will also sail in the region this year: Amsterdam, Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam, Noordam, Volendam and Zaandam, which will sail the 14-day Great Land Explorer route.
Holland America has also debuted a new Denali Square complex at its property in Denali National Park, the McKinley Chalet Resort. Line representatives tell Travel Agent that the new complex serves as an area for guests to gather during their stay at the property, where they can check out a new restaurant with views of the mountain, an amphitheater for lectures and shows and an artist-in-residence cabin.
The Alaska Media Roadshow took place January 14 – 16 at the Westin Lake Las Vegas.
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