News20 April 2023

JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs announces partnership with Swan Hellenic to create Maris

JRE partner Swan Hellenic, trip Antartics

Maris – an entirely new dimension in gastronomic discovery by sea - raises the bar for high-end cruise gastronomy, bringing a different internationally-acclaimed chef on board for each exceptional voyage of discovery.

JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs announced partnership with Swan Hellenic to create  Maris , a unique experience of exceptional dining and discovery through the senses, lived with the gourmet organisation’s world-famous chefs.

Maris  brings a different JRE chefs aboard in a series of exclusive cultural expedition cruises on Swan Hellenic’s elegant designer ships SH Vega and SH Diana. The JRE chefs take guests on a parallel voyage of discovery, exploring the celebrated culinary creativity that has made their name, driven by a passion for tradition, sustainability and quality local ingredients.

Serving a different characteristically astonishing  signature dish  every night, the  JRE  chef builds to the climax of an extraordinary  Gala Dinner  created to showcase their creativity and skills. What’s more, the  JRE  chef also puts on a  cooking show  that reveals select secrets of their art and leads  gastronomic excursions  ashore to explore the local culinary traditions and specialities.  Maris  weaves the insights of the specialist lectures on board with shore excursions in which guests explore and savour local hunting and fishing, farming, foraging and culinary traditions and cultures in the company of world-famous chefs, benefiting from their expert perspective. And, of course, every  Maris  chef also mixes and socialises with guests throughout their voyage in the Swan Hellenic cultural expedition cruise tradition. It is this extraordinary combination that makes  Maris  an irresistible new experience in high-end cruise gastronomy.

The JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs star chefs lined up for the first series of  Maris  sailings include, in order of sailing,  Sabina Repovž  from Slovenia (together with husband Grega, awarded Best Sommelier Slovenia 2021 by Gault & Millau – SH Diana),  Edwin Soumang  from the Netherlands (Michelin Star – SH Diana),  Michael Ammon  from Germany (also Michelin-starred – SH Diana),  Andreas Hillejan  from Germany (again Michelin-starred – SH Vega),  Manfred Kofler  from Italy (SH Vega),  Manu Núñez  from Spain (SH Vega),  Arjan Kuipers  from the Netherlands (SH Vega),  Tomaž Bratovž  from Slovenia (whose restaurant is his country’s first in The World's 50 Best Restaurants - SH Vega),  Carles Ramon  from Spain (SH Vega),  Daniel Lehmann  from Switzerland (SH Diana),  Clément Bidard  from France (Michelin-starred for 9 years – SH Diana),  Borja Marrero  from Spain (Michelin Green Star in 2023 – SH Diana) and  Luca Marchini  from Italy (also Michelin-starred – SH Diana).

“We are delighted to partner with Swan Hellenic. This is a unique opportunity for us to bring our international gastronomic expertise to discriminating connoisseurs on exceptional voyages around the world”

Daniel LehmannPresident, JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs

“Swan Hellenic and JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs are united by an uncompromising quest to share experiences of the exceptional. So we’re both delighted with how our Maris cruises are set to take the explorations of Swan Hellenic guests into new territory of gastronomic and cultural discovery. We’re confident that Maris is going to exceed all expectations and can’t wait to hear our guests’ reactions.”

Andrea ZitoCEO, Swan Hellenic

Chef and sommelier pairing  Sabina and Grega Repovž  set  Maris  in motion on the 15th of April, when they boarded Swan Hellenic’s newest and largest purpose-designed ship, SH Diana, for the cultural expedition cruise Mysteries of Carthage and the Moors.

But the official launch will be celebrated with a sumptuous Gala Dinner aboard SH Diana as part of her Christening Ceremony Events in Amsterdam on Thursday the 4th of May. Three JRE-Jeunes Restaurateurs chefs will showcase the extraordinary creative variety of Maris gastronomy to mark the occasion:  Edwin Soumang  (Restaurant One, The Netherlands),  Daniel Canzian  (Ristorante Daniel Canzian, Italy), and  Michael Ammon  (Gasthof Jakob, Germany).

Explore Maris

See the full program and list of chefs