HOLLAND SETS TUTU LECTURE, ADDS NEW DISHES

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the former archbishop of Cape Town, is scheduled to lecture on a segment of Holland America Line’s 2014 Grand World Voyage on ms Amsterdam. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate will sail March 28 to April 2, 2014, from Durban to Cape Town, South Africa.
Tutu will address guests at two speaking engagements on board about his role as the first black African to serve as archbishop of Cape Town and about his work forging racial equality throughout the world

• Celebrity chef Elizabeth Falkner's dishes will be featured on the main dining room menu of the line’s 15 ships. Among them are Cajun-inspired Shrimp, Andouille and Grits served with braised okra and roasted poblano peppers, or the Asian influences in the Vegetable Curry with Forbidden Rice and Soft Shell Crab Pad Thai. Falkner has been on "Next Iron Chef” and “Top Chef Masters.” Currently she’s at Luis Gonzalez’s new Upper West Side restaurant, Corvo Bianco.

• Last year, Holland America debuted a new alternative dining option exclusively aboard ms Rotterdam called “Taste of De Librije” featuring the cuisine of Michelin Three Star Chef Jonnie Boer. Now that has been extended to ms Eurodam. Named after Boer’s restaurant in the Netherlands, the menu showcases a selection of starters, soups, entrees and desserts from his land-based eatery. Once per cruise the Pinnacle Grill is transformed for dinner with service staff wearing the uniform livery from De Librije, the restaurant’s table set-up is replicated and the wine list highlights a selection of labels from the Lady De Librije collection. Reservations can be made for “Taste of De Librije” for a $69 surcharge per person including wine pairings.