Part of that involves transforming Regent's main restaurant, Compass Rose, into what Montague calls 'the largest specialty restaurant at sea.' The menus have been revamped to offer unlimited customization and choice. Regent hosted travel and food writers for lunch aboard Seven Seas Mariner in New York on Tuesday to let them order and taste for themselves.
People today want to eat exactly what they want, according Franco Semeraro, svp hotel operations for Regent, so the line decided to 'revolutionize the entire [menu] concept.'
Instead of one fish or seafood option, for example, 'You can have anything you want, from lobster to Dover sole to scallops to shrimp, with any sauce and any sides,' Semeraro said.
One side of the Compass Rose menu lets passengers fully customize their dinner, while the other side features the executive chef’s nightly specials as well as a multi-course menu degustation and a Canyon Ranch selection. For the customizable part of the menu, diners can select from entrees that include seafood items and fish, or specialty cuts such as New York strip steak, filet mignon, lamb chops and veal medallions.
Diners then choose the preparation—grilled, baked, broiled, poached or roasted—and select from sauces such as Madeira-truffle, creamy herb, hollandaise, green peppercorn or hickory barbecue, to name a few. Among the more than a dozen sides are Lyonnaise potatoes, potato gratin, sweet potato fries, jasmine rice, sautéed spinach, Brussels sprouts, string beans and asparagus.
'A lot of guests prefer a lot of vegetables,' Semeraro said. 'The trend is changing. People used to want a big piece of meat and not so many vegetables.'
Adding to the variety, the ship’s executive chef prepares a list of special appetizers and entrees for the dinner service. Since Compass Rose is the main dining room, the dinner specials will change nightly with sample entrees that include veal medallions Oscar, braised turbot fillet, Cornish hen, roasted duck Beijing-style and seared mahi mahi. A pasta and risotto are always offered, too.
Capping the meal is a dessert menu with different offerings each night such as Tanzanian chocolate cake, almond croquant, bananas Foster and Viennese apple strudel. The menu always includes a selection of international cheeses offered with a glass of port wine, assorted crackers and French bread, along with a variety of handmade premium ice creams and sorbets.
Regent's senior culinary director, Bernhard Klotz, said the chefs have always been able to prepare special requests with advance notice. The new menu provides so many choices that guests with special requests no longer need to ask in advance. 'Our chefs can prepare whatever their heart’s desire a la minute,' he said.
'On Regent you could always customize,' Montague added. 'It wasn't well-known. Now we're just institutionalizing it.'
There's a new lunch menu, too. Compass Rose on Seven Seas Navigator, Seven Seas Voyager and Seven Seas Mariner will offer selections from the three specialty restaurants on Seven Seas Explorer: Prime 7, Chartreuse and Pacific Rim. As with the dinner menu, the lunch menu will be updated daily and features entrées such as croque-monsieur from Chartreuse, aromatic duck from Pacific Rim and yellowfin tuna salad from Prime 7.
A selection of fine red and white wines are included, with featured wines listed on the menu, along with special reserve wines that can be purchased.
The Compass Rose decor, place settings and the wait staff's uniforms are being transformed, too.
'Every single aspect of this restaurant will be touched,' Montague said of the refurbishment program.
When it comes to place settings, for example, they'll switch to customized Versace china made exclusively for Regent. The pattern debuted on Seven Seas Explorer.
Seven Seas Navigator's update was completed in April, Seven Seas Voyager is due to emerge from its Marseille drydock Nov. 9 and Seven Seas Mariner will undergo its work at Grand Bahama Shipyard in April.
'By spring 2017 not only will we have the most luxurious ship, we'll have the most luxurious fleet in the entire industry,' Montague said.
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