Oceania serves new Culinary Center classes, tours in Europe

The Bon Appétit Culinary Centers aboard Marina and Riviera will offer a hands-on class in healthy Greek food focused on the island of Crete. Participants will learn techniques that transform seasonal ingredients into fresh, healthy and flavorful dishes.

In a class on Turkish cuisine, participants will learn about the elaborate palace kitchens, unique ingredients and culinary traditions of the Ottoman Empire while mastering recipes for local delicacies.

Inspired by Culinary Discovery Tours in Marseille and Nice, the new 'Beyond Ratatouille' class focuses on the cuisine of Provence. It highlights favorite dishes of Oceania's own Jacques Pépin as well as Guy Gedda, considered the godfather of Provençal cuisine.

In Scandinavia the fresh, inventive dishes of restaurants like Noma and Geranium have changed the way the world views Nordic cuisine. Inspired by Baltic Sea destinations, a new class is devoted to regional recipes ranging from hearty meat dishes to desserts.

In addition, Oceania Cruises is introducing two new Culinary Discovery Tours for Cork, Ireland, and Palma de Mallorca, Spain. 

In Cork, participants will spend a day at a top culinary destination, Ballymaloe. This country estate has been converted into a world-renowned cooking school.  Participants will tour the culinary and herb gardens, explore the free-range poultry farm and watch a cooking demonstration of a traditional Irish meal before tasting seasonal dishes from the Cookery School Gardens.   

In Palma de Mallorca, participants will tour a bustling marketplace, sample varieties of olive oil at a country farm and have a lunch of Mediterranean-inspired dishes at El Faro, a restaurant perched above a horseshoe-shaped harbor.

The new Bon Appétit Culinary Center classes as well as the new Culinary Discovery Tours will be available aboard Marina and Riviera throughout the 2014 Europe season. Both can be purchased in advance of the sailing or on board the ship, with rates starting from $69 per person.

A complete list of classes can be found on the 'Explore Ships' tab, and more details on the Culinary Discovery Tours are on the 'Explore Ashore' tab at OceaniaCruises.com.