Australians are finally able to taste some of Aussie celebrity chef Curtis Stones’ tantalising menu at SHARE, his first local restaurant aboard the elegant cruise ship, Sun Princess.
Curtis says he is thrilled to finally share his food with Australians. The renowned chef is well known down-under but without a restaurant here, Australians haven’t been able to try his food, until now.
The Australian chef, who worked for the famed Michelin star chef Marco Pierre White, is known for his fresh approach to food. His cooking philosophy is “to keep it simple and cook with naturally produced ingredients just as ‘mother nature intended”. And he perfectly demonstrates this philosophy beautifully at SHARE.
Walking aboard the Sun Princess as a first-timer, I was worried it could be a little tacky but it felt like stepping board the set of the movie Titanic. A pianist was playing jazz music that echoed throughout the ship’s six floors and I was giddy with how much there was to explore: seven different lounges/bars, four pools and five whirlpool spas, a Japanese seafood bar serving freshly shucked oysters and champagne, an Italian cafe, health spas, an outdoor movie theatre… the list went on.
Yes, 80% of people there were above 60 years of age but as I looked around, some were in their slacks drinking coffee and reading books, and other people were dressed up enjoying the music sipping on cocktails. This is when I realised I could be whoever I wanted to be on this ship, which was both calming and exciting. The bedrooms were luxurious and cosy with a large window right next to the bed with a view of the ocean and a deep bath to relax in after swimming in the HUGE outdoor pool. What?! Why had I never been on a cruise before?
Located on the top floor of the ship, tucked away from everything else you could see just how much thought and love Curtis Stone had put into his new restaurant. Homely stuffed leather seating and hand blown hanging glass lights,
set the intimate cosy atmosphere perfectly. Scattered with Curtis’ personal memorabilia, one being the first recipe he ever wrote, kind of made me feel like I was eating at Curtis’s home by the seaside.
As the name ‘SHARE’ suggests, the menu is designed to encourage you to connect with people while sharing beautiful food. And the food… well beautiful is an understatement.
Think plates of truffle potato gratin, creamy Burrata, roasted crab with aioli and crispy pig skin crumble, beef cheek and mushroom pies, prawns with citrus salt and brioche… and then comes dessert!
There are a couple of dessert options but if you trust us to guide you, do yourself a favour and order the bread and butter pudding. The crispy exterior and fluffy interior of the bread with butterscotch sauce is so perfectly well balanced and ridiculously moreish that we ended up drinking the sauce right out of the pouring pot (sorry Curtis!).
You’d think that you would pay a fortune to eat this food but the prices shocked us (in the most pleasantly surprising way). With appetisers, main course, sides and dessert, a meal at SHARE will cost you only $39 (not including wine).
Although the atmosphere and decor is heavy with Curtis’s presence you will not often find the man himself on the ship – but he has left his baby in the capable hands of his executive chef Christian Dortch. And he is doing a fabulous job!
So, what are you waiting for?! It’s cruising time!
