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Seattle, June 2, 2009 — Jason Dady, executive chef and owner of The Lodge Restaurant of Castle Hills and Bin 555 Restaurant and Wine Bar in San Antonio, Texas, is scheduled to sail as part of the guest-enrichment program on the Sept. 26, 2009, segment of Holland America Line’s Grand Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific Voyage aboard ms Amsterdam. Dady will be on board Oct. 26 through 31.
The 32-day segment sails from Seattle, Wash, to Sydney, Australia, and calls at Vancouver, British Columbia; Los Angeles, Calif.; Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands; Papeete, Tahiti, Society Islands, French Polynesia; Moorea, Bora Bora and Raiatea, Society Islands; Rarotonga, Cook Islands; Pago Pago, American Samoa; Suva, Fiji; Port-Vila, Vanuatu; and Cairns and Brisbane, Australia.
During Dady’s cruise, the epicurean expert will perform cooking demonstrations for guests in the ship’s state-of-the-art show kitchen, conduct seminars and tastings, and participate in question and answer sessions.
After earning a B.A. in restaurant, hotel and institutional management from Texas Tech University, Dady moved to San Francisco, Calif., to continue his culinary education at the California Culinary Academy. Once graduating, he went on to Napa Valley and the Beringer Wine Estate where he perfected his wine pairing techniques and New American–style cuisine.
In October 2001, at just 24 years old, Dady, his wife, Crystal, and brother, Jacob, opened The Lodge Restaurant of Castle Hills. The Lodge Restaurant, named the most romantic restaurant by area food critics, has been praised in numerous outlets, including Food & Wine magazine, Texas Monthly, Southern Living, AAA Texas Journey, United Airline’s Hemispheres and San Antonio Express-News. It also was named best new American restaurant in San Antonio by Zagat Survey in 2006 and 2007.
Motivated by a personal desire to enjoy the food he loves in a contemporary environment, Dady opened BIN 555 Restaurant and Wine Bar in 2006. BIN 555 reflects Dady’s expanding culinary universe where he creates Mediterranean-inspired tapas and small-plate sensations from fresh, local and seasonal products. BIN 555 was named best new restaurant by the San Antonio Current in 2006, and in November 2007 the eatery was recognized as creator of the country’s best meatballs by Bon Appétit.
Dady’s hard work earned him “rising star” chef recognition and the cover of Restaurant Hospitality magazine in 2004, and in 2005, he was honored as a guest chef at the James Beard House in New York City.
Holland America Line launched its innovative culinary guest-enrichment program in 2005. Each of the line’s 14 ships features a Culinary Arts Center. A first-class “show kitchen at sea,” the Culinary Arts Centers presented by Food & Wine magazine resemble the elaborate show kitchens used by celebrity chefs on television cooking programs. The facilities offer culinary demonstrations, tastings and hands-on cooking classes aboard every Holland America Line sailing.
Each facility features a theater-style venue, with two large plasma video screens and a large cooking display counter where guests can learn from the masters. In partnership with Food & Wine magazine, Holland America Line has scheduled approximately 60 celebrated chefs and wine experts to sail in 2009. On cruises that do not have a celebrity chef on board, classes and demonstrations in the show kitchen are scheduled with Holland America Line’s own expert chefs.
Holland America Line also offers a youth Culinary Arts Center activity program to teach kids and teens how to cook. The program incorporates dishes from breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in complimentary 45-minute-long classes. Kids under eight years old learn to make theme cookies, fruit roll-ups, ice cream sandwiches, salad people art and scones. Kids eight and over make soft pretzels, granola bars, pita chips and hummus, and saltwater taffy. Teens also can attend adult culinary demonstrations.
Besides the enrichment experience provided by the culinary stars on board, guests with Holland America Line can dine in a variety of venues, choosing from a quick poolside bite to a formal five-course affair. Every ship features an elegant main dining room, a sophisticated Pinnacle Grill where guests can enjoy steak specialties and fresh seafood, the casual indoor-outdoor Lido Restaurant and the Terrace Grill on deck for lunchtime fare.
Canaletto, a casual-dining Italian restaurant which was first introduced on ms Eurodam and is now open to guests on the ms Veendam, will soon be found on three more of the premium line’s ships by end of 2009: ms Oosterdam, ms Noordam and ms Amsterdam. Canaletto comes to life for dinner when a section in the Lido restaurant is transformed each evening into a specialty restaurant with glass partitions and an Italian ambience. Besides the Pinnacle Grill and Canaletto, guests sailing the ms Eurodam have one additional alternative dining choice, the Pan-Asian Tamarind restaurant.
For a full schedule of Holland America Line’s culinary guest program, visit http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruise-vacation-onboard/Enrichment.action and click on the Culinary Arts Center tab.
For cruise brochures or for more information, consult a professional travel agent, call 1-877-SAIL-HAL (877-724-5425) or visit www.hollandamerica.com.
Editor’s Note:
Photography available at http://www.cleanpix.com/cleanpix/portal/WhTS:eKT:Pxp.
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About Holland America Line [a division of Carnival Corporation and plc (NYSE: CCL and CUK)]
Holland America Line's fleet of 14 ships offers nearly 500 cruises to 320 ports in more than 100 countries, territories or dependencies. Two- to 108-day itineraries visit all seven continents, and highlights include Antarctica, South America, Australia/New Zealand and Asia voyages; a Grand World Voyage; and popular sailings to ports in the Caribbean, Alaska, Mexico, Canada/New England, Europe and Panama Canal. A 15th ship, ms Nieuw Amsterdam, is scheduled to join the fleet in 2010.
Fleetwide, the company features Signature of Excellence enhancements, a commitment totaling more than $525 million, that showcase the Culinary Arts Center presented by Food & Wine magazine - a state-of-the-art onboard show kitchen where more than 60 celebrated guest chefs and culinary experts provide cooking demonstrations and classes - Explorations Café powered by The New York Times, teens-only activity areas and all new stateroom amenities highlighted by flat-panel TVs and plush Euro-top Mariner's Dream Beds.
Worlds Leading Cruise Lines
The highest-rated premium cruise line in the world, Holland America Line is a member of the exclusive World's Leading Cruise Lines alliance, which also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Seabourn Cruise Line and Costa Cruises. Sharing a passion to please each guest and a commitment to quality and value, these lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. The World's Leading Cruise Lines offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world's most desirable destinations.