Windstar Cruises cooks up whole-food, plant-based menu

The offerings are not only plant-based but also prepared without added salt, oil and sugar and are gluten-free.

Windstar has begun training its culinary team on the new menu and plans to roll out the program fleetwide in June. Vegetarian options, as well as the line’s existing omnivore menu items, will continue to be served as usual.

Minimal processing

'The National Health Association points out that vegetarian and vegan diets are not always healthy, and for meals to be truly health-promoting, they also need to be minimally processed and prepared,' explained Windstar's Peter Tobler, director of hotel operations.

'We’ve seen an increased demand for whole-food, plant-based dishes from our customers, and we’re really excited to work with the NHA to bring them something that’s nutritious and delicious. As a side benefit, plant-based foods also reduce our environmental footprint — a major goal of Windstar’s — allowing us to tread more lightly on this planet.'

Sample dishes

Sample dishes from the new menu include daily smoothies at breakfast, roasted butternut squash velouté with baked pumpkin seeds, baked cauliflower croquettes with salsa verde and sautéed spinach and penne rigate pasta with crisp vegetables and espelette pepper sauce

Further choices include veggie enchiladas with black bean and cilantro sauce, chia seed truffles with dates and coconut sauce and tahini brownies with fresh strawberries.

Windstar 'knocks it out of the park'

NHA Executive Director Wanda Huberman worked closely with the Windstar culinary team to share expertise and discuss Windstar-developed recipes that meet the organization’s standards for an exclusive whole-plant food diet and lifestyle.

'The Windstar culinary team has knocked it out of the park in executing the specific requirements of our meals,' Huberman said. 'Every meal is absolutely delicious and served in a beautiful presentation with so much variety that no one will leave a meal feeling hungry or less than satisfied.'

Group business

The menu evolved from hosting several plant-based groups, which have become more popular since the start of the pandemic. Lisa McCarl, a former open heart recovery nurse turned travel advisor, has booked several plant-based groups on Windstar and said there is a huge demand for healthy travel options.

'More people are changing the way they eat to prevent and reverse diet-related disease. Why not make it easy for them to continue that healthy lifestyle while sailing on the trip of a lifetime? Windstar is doing a phenomenal job in making healthy cruising a reality,' she said.

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