Silversea Announces 20 Voyages in 2012 to Feature Relais & Chateaux Cooking School

Silversea enjoys the privilege of featuring the only Relais & Châteaux L'École des Chefs cooking school at sea. The innovative program -- which is offered completely free of charge -- provides guests with a special culinary curriculum, including hands-on instruction, and entertaining events hosted by Silversea culinary trainer David Bilsland, a former instructor at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in London. He presents a program developed in collaboration with Jacques Thorel, the owner of L'Auberge Bretonne and a consulting Grand Chef Relais & Châteaux.

The curriculum for each of these cruises is carefully designed to celebrate the cultural flavor of the ship's itinerary. Highlights include specialized workshops covering a range of topics from basic knife skills and kitchen terminology to sauces and baking; cooking demonstrations with wine pairings and interactive Q&A sessions; lively cooking competitions between Chef Bilsland and the ship's own culinary team; a "Lunch and Learn" event offering small groups of guests a chance to sample a delicious meal of specially prepared dishes; and inspired "Take It Home" recipes that will give guests an edge when entertaining at home.

Also offered on certain voyages, when the itinerary permits, is a "Market to Plate" experience that provides an escorted tour of a local market followed by a cooking class, and a "Culinary Outing," an instructor-escorted excursion to a local restaurant, hotel or other venue where guests can enjoy a unique culinary exploration.

Following below is a small selection of the L'École des Chefs voyages for 2012:

AFRICA & ARABIA

Voyage 2235: Silver Wind departs Athens November 12 on a 16-day sailing to Dubai with calls in Alexandria, Sharm el Sheikh, Aqaba, Safaga, Muscat and Fujairah. Silver Savings fares start at $8,958.

Voyage 2236: Silver Wind departs November 28 on a 7-day roundtrip sailing from Dubai with calls in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait City, Al Manama, Doha and Khasab. Silver Savings fares start at $5,198.

ASIA

Voyage 4208: Silver Whisper departs Bangkok March 26 on an 18-day sailing to Dubai (a segment of World Cruise 2012) with calls in Ko Samui, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Cochin, Mormugao, Mumbai and Fujairah. Silver Savings fares start at $9,598.

Voyage 3211: Silver Shadow departs Tokyo April 25 on an 11-day sailing to Shanghai with calls in Hiroshima, Busan, Jeju, Dalian and Tianjin (Beijing). Silver Savings fares start at $7,238.

CARIBBEAN

Voyage 4229: Silver Whisper departs November 1 on a 7-day roundtrip sailing from Barbados with calls in Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Isla Margarita and Grenada. Silver Savings fares start at $2,798.

Voyage 4230: Silver Whisper departs Barbados November 8 on a 9-day sailing to Fort Lauderdale with calls in St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Barts and St. Croix. Silver Savings fares start at $3,638.

NORTHERN EUROPE

Voyage 1218: Silver Cloud departs Copenhagen July 10 on a 16-day sailing to London with calls in Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Stockholm, Riga, Warnemunde (Rostock), Hamburg and Amsterdam. Silver Savings fares start at $8,398.

SOUTH AMERICA

Voyage 5204: Silver Spirit departs Buenos Aires February 12 on a 7-day sailing to Rio de Janeiro with calls in Punta del Este, Rio Grande do Sul, Santos (Sao Paulo), Parati and Buzios. Silver Savings fares start at $4,838.

Voyage 5205: Silver Spirit departs Rio de Janeiro February 19 on a 15-day sailing to Barbados with calls in Salvador de Bahia, Recife, Fortaleza, Belém, Tobago and Grenada. Silver Savings fares start at $7,598.

TRANSOCEANIC

Voyage 3227: Silver Shadow departs Vancouver September 6 on a 16-day sailing to Tokyo with calls in Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Kodiak, Kamchatka, Hakodate and Sendai. Silver Savings fares start at $7,798.

Click here for a complete list of L'École des Chefs voyages, or visit Silversea.com and click on Life Onboard/Enrichment/Culinary & Wine Voyages/Relais & Châteaux L'École des Chefs.

Fares listed above are per person, based on double occupancy for a Vista Suite. Silver Savings is a capacity-controlled program and subject to availability.