Chefs Michael Mina and Fabio Trabocchi Bring Firepower on Ritz Yachts

Two of my favorite meals over the summer were unexpectedly on a cruise. One: an Italian tasting menu without a strand of pasta and the other: Michael Mina’s favorite dishes from his Egyptian heritage – both on one sailing aboard The Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection’s newest vessel: Luminara.

The third yacht from the hospitality brand set sail from Monte Carlo in July, and I got a sneak peek in June. Dining on the luxury voyage is a departure from the buffets and communal dinners of mass market cruise lines, with new restaurants on board that – for better or worse – had me forgetting I was at sea. The headlining chefs, who’ve earned Michelin stars on land, bring their signature approaches to hospitality and their signature dishes to beautifully designed spaces: Mina’s Beach House and 2002 F&W Best New Chef Fabio Trabocchi’s Seta su.

Beach House is open-air with light and airy tones that serve as a comfortable backdrop for Mina’s vibrant dishes, like his mom’s ta’ameya (Egypt’s falafel-like street food made from fava beans). The dining room opens up to an infinity pool at the back of the boat, and on the right night, sunset views were magical over dinner here.

“I got into this business many years ago and I said, ‘I’m not going to open any whisper joints,’” Mina tells me over coffee one morning. “I’m not going to open the places where you feel like you have to whisper when you go to a restaurant, because that’s not what I love. I like to go to a restaurant that has energy and has fun and feels like you’re celebrating.”

Luminara guests will no doubt be celebrating booking the right meal on board, while the luxury cruise itineraries will likely host many milestone celebrations.

“You can do that without having to jeopardize anything when it comes to the quality of service in my opinion,” Mina says. “I love that style of hospitality where you come to a restaurant, and you feel relaxed, and you don’t really want to leave.”

While Beach House’s menu spans Egyptian, Greek, and Peruvian dishes, the yacht’s other destination restaurant, Seta su, focuses on Venice and the Mediterranean with dishes like Frittella di Baccala: a Venetian olive oil cod fritter with black truffle and Sturia caviar; and Scampi e Raddichio: olive wood–smoked Mediterranean langoustine with radicchio agrodolce, a citrus zabaglione, and 25-year-aged balsamic.

“There is a Venetian soul with patches of Asian and Greek ingredients and spices. That’s the main inspiration,” says Trabocchi, referencing the spice trade’s prominence in Venice, from 1100 to 1300, that informs the menu.

Tasting Trabocchi’s take on Italian was long overdue. I lived in Washington, D.C. in 2013, and have often regretted never making it into his flagship Fiola. The landmark Italian restaurant was by far the most frequent recommendation that locals gave – it’s a hallmark special occasion destination in D.C. But what many fans of the chef may not know is that Trabocchi made a name for himself at the Ritz-Carlton in the suburb of Tysons Corner, Virginia, where he was named a Best New Chef (and where I happened to work as well, at USA Today’s headquarters).

So Trabocchi’s outposts with The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection are no coincidence; the collaboration is a continuation, as is Mina’s. The Bay Area restaurateur has worked with the Marriott team for more than 25 years when he opened Aqua at the Bellagio in Las Vegas in 1998. Today he has 30 hotel restaurants and stays inspired traveling.

“Every time you go somewhere, you’re inspired by obviously the food, the product, everything else, but it’s culture,” Mina says. “It’s the culture of just going and seeing how people spend their day, how they spend their time.”

Trabocchi travels often between D.C., Florida, and Le Marche, Italy, where he’s from and maintains a home.

“I think there’s no life without traveling now more than ever,” he says, “in order to experience more things, to be inspired by more people, to get to know other points of view, other perspectives.”

The pair’s restaurants certainly offer a new perspective on cruise food and made my experience unforgettable on Luminara, which will bring The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection on its first Asia-Pacific voyages in December, including voyages to Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo.