Currying favour in the galley

Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar has been getting his sea legs this week during a cruise to the Norwegian fjords on board P&O’s Ventura.
He had a good look round the galley as well, in preparation for the opening of his speciality Indian restaurant, Sindhu, which will be operating on on sister ship Azura when the vessel launches next April.
Kochhar, who runs the Benares restaurant in Mayfair, joins fellow Michelin star winners Marco Pierre White and Gary Rhodes in the pantheon of celebrity chefs masterminding menus on P&O ships.
While on Ventura, he cooked some sample recipes in the ship’s galley and gave cruise sales manager and fellow-blogger Justin Cohen some cookery lessons at the tandoor oven.
Atul said: “The opportunity to work in this way with P&O is like a dream coming true. For me, it is very important to have control over the quality of the food and the way it is presented to guests. Cooking the food is only half the battle, the quality of service and the overall dining experience is critical, too.”
Some members of the Ventura crew will be transfer to Sindhu after training at Kochhar’s shore-based restaurants, and staff from his London team have also expressed interest in working at sea.
All P&O ships have a popular curry-themed buffet each week, and there is invariably a curry dish on the lunch menu. Sindhu is likely to take the curry nights to a whole new level.