With its 500 cruises a year and its own Culinary Council of world-renown chefs, Seattle-based Holland America lines is expanding its salmon offering aboard some of its 14 vessels.
Its giant new cruise ships, Nieuw Amsterdam and Koningsdam, are slated to serve much more salmon in the vessels’ Tamarind restaurants, as master LA-based sushi chef, Andy Matsuda, is welcomed into the council. Matsuda’s Sushi Chef Institute in Los Angeles has trained over a thousand chefs, and new chefs are understood to be manning some the vessels now steaming to 400 ports worldwide.
Holland America is a division of NYSE-listed Carnival Corp. and is now spending USD 300 million in “brand enhancements” like sushi bars. Other upgrades are food aficionado cruises where salmon is on the regular restaurant menus.
Aboard one ship, the Nieuw Statendam, Matsuda’s creations will be served at Nami Sushi, the new sushi bar inside the Asian-fusion Tamarind, the ship’s restaurant already serving Matsuda’s signature rolls. His sushi selections on the dinner menu include Volcano Roll with sesame-marinated salmon and Thai chilis along with Nigiri Sushi with tuna, salmon and ebi shrimp.
Matsuda reportedly began delving deeper into food and health when he struggled through a battle with cancer.
“He then parlayed that into becoming one of the world’s foremost sushi experts,” a statement from the company said.
