Dining
Gourmet cuisine by world-renowned chefs
All of our expeditions feature innovative menus inspired by each destination’s culture and surroundings
An appetite for adventure
At Aqua Expeditions, we work with award-winning chefs to elevate the onboard experience and take guests on world-class culinary journeys. Our menus are authentic to each destination and each dish uses freshly sourced local ingredients. Our expert chefs are able to cater to a variety of dietary preferences, ensuring that everyone can enjoy the finest tastes of the region. While sailing with us, you’ll have the opportunity to attend cooking demonstrations and embark on guided market visits with our chefs.
East Africa and the Arctic Circle
Michelin-starred Chef Karime López presents her culinary vision aboard Aqua Lares, our newest luxury expedition yacht.
Drawing inspiration from the regions Aqua Lares explores, Chef López’s menus balance Mediterranean influences with coastal Creole flavors, while honoring Aqua’s sustainability ethos through the use of locally sourced ingredients. Guests will savor ocean-fresh seafood and regional delicacies such as the Zanzibar-spiced ribeye and Creole shrimp curry with fried plantain. Additional highlights include glazed short ribs with smoked carrot puree and lobster tagliatelle finished with caviar.
Chef López has built a decorated career leading kitchens in restaurants across Italy, Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Japan, and became the first Mexican woman to earn a Michelin star at Gucci Osteria Florence in 2018. Her accolades also include Chef of the Year in Italy (2018), the Best Chef Art Award (2022), and Best Outstanding Chef Abroad by CANIRAC (2023).
Galapagos and the Peruvian Amazon
A pioneer of rainforest-to-table cuisine, renowned Chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino delivers the exceptional menus on our Galapagos and Amazon expeditions.
On Aqua Mare, Chef Schiaffino presents a dining experience inspired by the region’s dramatic landscapes and the Peruvian Nikkei style. Aboard Aqua Nera and Aria Amazon, the dishes make use of native Amazonian ingredients and showcase the best of Peruvian cuisine using a sustainable rainforest-to-table approach.
Pedro Miguel Schiaffino was the chef and previous owner of Malabar and ámaZ, which used to be two of Lima’s most cutting edge and innovative restaurants prior to their closure. He is also part of the Executive Committee of the CIA’s Latin Cuisines Advisory Council and founder of the catering company Schiaffino Gastronomika.
East Indonesia
Guests onboard Aqua Blu are treated to an immersive dining experience designed by award-winning Australian Chef Benjamin Cross, showcasing a rendition of flavors from across Indonesia’s fabled sea spice trade route.
Drawing inspiration from Indonesian, European, and Mediterranean cuisines, Chef Cross presents dishes made using the freshest, sustainably sourced seafood and local produce which Indonesia has to offer.
Hailing from a small village from Australia, Chef Benjamin Cross began his career over 20 years ago at the award-winning Byron Bay boutique hotel and restaurant Rae’s on Watego’s. He honed his craft under some of the top icons of Australian cuisine: Janni Kyritsis from the former MG Garage, and Neil Perry as part of the re-opening team of XO.
Over the years, Cross has also made his presence felt in the USA and Spain at Tom Colicchio’s Craft in New York, Seamus Mullen’s Tertullia New York, and Santi Santamaria’s three-Michelin star restaurant Can Fabes in Sant Celoni, Catalonia.
