The Lineup
Atlas Ocean Voyages is expanding its culinary-at-sea programming for 2027, adding Food Network Triple G Grand Champion Crista Luedtke and Food & Wine Contributing Editor Anthony Giglio to a guest-chef roster that now spans eight culinary personalities sailing the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Adriatic. The announcements, made by President and CEO James A. Rodriguez, signal the luxury expedition operator's continued investment in immersive food-and-beverage programming as a primary revenue driver and differentiation tool in a competitive ultra-premium cruise segment.
Luedtke — the first-ever Triple G Grand Champion on Food Network's Guy's Grocery Games and a repeat Tournament of Champions competitor — joins World Traveller for an eight-night sailing from Las Palmas to Málaga on April 15, 2027. The itinerary threads through the Canary Islands, Morocco and Andalusia, giving her ingredient-driven, seasonal cooking philosophy a natural regional backdrop in Moroccan spice markets and Andalusian olive groves. Giglio, an author of 11 books including the annual Food & Wine Wine Guide and a longtime sommelier-educator, joins World Traveller August 20 for a nine-night Livorno-to-Dubrovnik voyage that moves through Tuscany, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Montenegro — prime Mediterranean wine country for his accessible, palate-first approach to wine education.
Returning Talent and Program Depth
The 2027 roster also brings back six culinary figures from prior seasons, each matched to itineraries that align with their specialties. Celebrity chef and Italian-cuisine authority Massimo Capra covers three sailings — Canary Islands, Las Palmas to Lisbon and a Monte Carlo-to-Lisbon run in October. Food Network champion Bobby Marcotte joins the Seville-to-Casablanca leg in April, pairing his contemporary American meat-forward cooking with Andalusian and Moroccan traditions. Hawaiian-Italian fusion chef Ippy Aiona sails Málaga to Nice and Nice to Naples in late April and early May. Argentine seafood specialist and Marine Stewardship Council ambassador Martin Gimenez Castro takes a Lisbon-to-Bordeaux Atlantic coastal voyage in May and an 11-night Athens roundtrip in June. Pastry chef Anna Wilamowska and Mamá Cacao founder Julieta Davey round out the program, with Wilamowska joining the August Livorno-to-Dubrovnik sailing alongside Giglio to present chocolate-and-wine pairing programming.
Why It Matters for Hospitality Operators
The Epicurean Expeditions format is a case study in premium F&B programming at scale — or, more precisely, at deliberate anti-scale. Each vessel carries fewer than 200 guests, a constraint that enables direct chef-to-guest interaction through cooking demonstrations, regional tastings, interactive discussions and the onboard Yachtsman Cook-Off competition. For the broader hospitality and foodservice industry, the model illustrates growing consumer demand for experiential dining tied to provenance and culinary tourism, a trend that land-based operators from hotel restaurants to culinary retreat operators are also chasing. The cruise segment's ability to bundle destination, lodging and curated F&B into a single premium package creates a direct competitive pressure on terrestrial culinary travel experiences.
The deployment of television-credentialed talent — multiple Food Network champions and a Food & Wine editorial voice — also reflects the continued commercial value of media-validated culinary personalities in driving premium hospitality bookings. As explored in our coverage of celebrity chef partnerships in hotel foodservice, operators across segments are leveraging recognizable culinary brands to command higher rate premiums. Atlas's multi-sailing commitments from returning chefs like Capra (three voyages) and Wilamowska (three voyages) suggest the program is generating sufficient guest demand to justify repeat deployments, functioning more like a recurring culinary residency than a one-off marketing activation. For foodservice professionals tracking the intersection of experiential dining and travel, the Epicurean Expeditions model offers a high-fidelity data point on how curated, chef-driven programming translates to premium positioning.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
