Holland America Line Introduces The Culinary Arts Center, Presented by Food & Wine Magazine

Top Chefs Offer Special Classes, Demos And More On-Board

Holland America Line, in a multi-year partnership with Food & Wine magazine, is launching an exciting new on-board culinary program that will provide guests on select Holland America Line cruises the opportunity to experience demonstrations and seminars conducted by top chefs, wine experts and leading cookbook authors provided by Food & Wine.

These selected sailings, which begin Fall 2005, are part of a broader Culinary Arts Center program which is offered on every sailing and serves as one of the marquee features of Holland America Line's $225 million Signature of Excellence program. An innovative theater-style venue, each Culinary Arts Center features a state-of-the-art show kitchen, large plasma video screens, and a large cooking display counter, where guests can learn how to prepare a variety of culinary treats. These Culinary Arts Centers are on half of the line's 13-ship fleet and will be in place across the fleet by mid-2006.

The Culinary Arts Center, presented by Food & Wine magazine, brings the pages of the epicurean magazine alive on dozens of sailings of the world's leading premium cruise line. "Guests will learn from and mingle with the world's most renowned culinary authorities in this extraordinary partnership between Holland America Line and Food & Wine magazine," said Rick Meadows, CTC, Holland America Line's senior vice president, marketing and sales. "Within our state-of-the-art show kitchens, these acclaimed experts offer our guests an enlightening perspective on the places we visit and the food and cuisine that make them so special."

"We are excited about the myriad possibilities of this partnership," said Julie McGowan, Food & Wine's senior vice president/publisher. "By pairing Holland America Line's stellar reputation and worldwide itineraries with Food & Wine's expertise and celebration of the epicurean lifestyle, we'll attract the most dynamic, sought-after talents in the world of food and wine."

Guests will learn tricks-of-the-trade from top professionals and can try their hand at preparing dishes and tasting wines representative of the specific ports-of-call. Food & Wine will also design and provide recipe cards and wine tasting notes that guests may take home along with copies of the magazine. Other opportunities might include book signings, question and answer sessions, market tours in ports of call, specially designed on-board menus and more.

Among the chefs who will be sailing as part of the program is Michelle Bernstein, who will sail on Holland America Line's ms Statendam to Alaska on Sept. 9, 2005. Bernstein just opened her signature MB restaurant at Grand Aqua in Cancun and is also a co-host of The Food Network's Melting Pot. Oceana's famed Neal Gallagher, who received the Food & Wine Best New Chef honor in 2003 will delight guests on the ms Westerdam's Caribbean sailing Nov. 13, 2005. Other chefs participating in the program include Aaron Sanchez and Charles Dale. Aaron Sanchez is a 2005 James Beard Rising Star Chef Award nominee and owner of critically acclaimed restaurants, Paladar, in New York City, and Mixx Restaurant in the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ. Charles Dale, widely regarded as a culinary visionary, is the founder of Aspen's renowned Renaissance, Range and Rustique restaurants. In addition to these chefs, Food & Wine will provide chefs, wine experts and cookbook authors who appear in the magazine's pages as well as those featured at the publication's premier culinary events, specifically the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colo., held in June.

"I am thrilled at the unique opportunity to celebrate cuisines from around the world with guests aboard Holland America Line's well-equipped ships," said Charles Dale. "The state-of-the-art demonstration kitchens provide the ideal environment for immersing oneself in the culinary traditions of the ships' destinations, and serve to enhance an already innovative and enriching guest program."

In addition to the robust program with Food & Wine magazine, Holland America Line offers additional chefs and demonstrations as a part of its Culinary Arts Center program aboard every sailing. For 2005, these include a dozen additional culinary demonstrations by regional and specialty chefs from the ports visited on Mexico, Alaska, Europe, and Asia/Pacific cruises. For example, Richard Sandoval, an expert on refined Mexican cuisine and owner and chef of several restaurants, sailed on the Apr. 28, 2005 ms Ryndam cruise to Mexico, and Tamara Murphy, a former Food & Wine Best New Chef and chef and owner of Brasa in Seattle, sailed on the May 9, 2005 ms Rotterdam Mediterranean cruise. Upcoming guest chefs include, Beatrice Ojakangas, an expert on Scandinavian cuisine and a cookbook author, who will sail on the June 6, 2005, ms Prinsendam cruise to the Baltic, and Ying Chang Compestine, an internationally recognized Asian healthy cuisine author, who sails aboard the ms Amsterdam in Asia on October 26, 2005, and on the December 22, 2005, Hawaii holiday sailing.

Food & Wine

Food & Wine is the modern, stylish, talent-seeking, trend-spotting epicurean magazine. Published by American Express Publishing, the leader in luxury lifestyle magazines, Food & Wine has a circulation of nearly 1 million. For more information on the magazine and other special events please visit http://www.foodandwine.com/.

About Holland America Line [a division of Carnival Corporation and plc ]

In 2005, Holland America Line's fleet of 12, five-star, premium ships are offering nearly 500 cruises from 27 home ports -- 17 in North America. Itineraries range in length from two to 116 days, visit all seven continents and offer the most extensive selection of ports the line has ever visited on cruises to the Caribbean and Panama Canal (175), Alaska (134), Canada/New England (18), and longer, exotic voyages to Europe (45), Mexico (43), Hawaii/Asia/Pacific (20), South America (17), and Transatlantic (8), as well as one Grand World Voyage. Recipient of the prestigious International Five Star Diamond Award from The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences and the Best Cruise Value Award from the World Ocean and Cruise Liner Society, Holland America Line excels at providing consistent gracious and attentive service.

As a part of its renowned Tradition of Excellence, Holland America Line is investing $225 million in the Signature of Excellence initiative providing unparalleled product and service enhancements to its fleet. The comprehensive enhancements focus on five areas vital to Holland America Line's guest experience: spacious, elegant ships and accommodations; sophisticated five- star dining; gracious, unobtrusive service; extensive enrichment programs and activities; and compelling worldwide itineraries. Enhancements have been started on all ships and will be completed by the end of 2006. For more information, consult a travel agent, call 1-877-SAIL-HAL (877-724-5425) or visit http://www.hollandamerica.com/.

World's Leading Cruise Lines

The highest-rated premium cruise line in the world, Holland America Line is a member of the exclusive World's Leading Cruise Lines alliance, which also includes Carnival Cruise Lines, Princess Cruises, Cunard Line, Seabourn Cruise Line, Costa Cruises and Windstar Cruises. Sharing a passion to please each guest and a commitment to quality and value, these lines appeal to a wide range of lifestyles and budgets. The World's Leading Cruise Lines offer exciting and enriching cruise vacations to the world's most desirable destinations.

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