Inside SeaDream's Plant-Based and Raw Food Ship Kitchens

SeaDream I carries 112 passengers, and its kitchen is built around a clear idea. According to Bon Appetit, the ship's Norwegian founder, owner, and chairman is Atle Brynestad, who has not eaten meat in over thirty years.

The author boarded SeaDream I in San Juan, Puerto Rico. During the week, she and her son visited the British Virgin Islands and St. Barthélemy. Her cabin was a 195-square-foot Yacht Club Stateroom.

Food on board reflects Brynestad's habits. In 2011, SeaDream Yacht Club built a dedicated plant-based menu. Brynestad eats 70% raw food, and the company's two yachts are the only ships at sea with raw food menus.

Brynestad was inspired by a visit to the Hippocrates Health Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida. That experience is part of the background to the raw food focus on the ships.

Each morning, two lattes are served in bone china from Porsgrunds Porselænsfabrik. The cups are a small detail of the daily routine on board.

For Northern Europe sailings, ingredients come from Brynestad's organic farm outside Oslo. On the farm, Brynestad and his wife, cookbook author Linn Stokke, grow more than fifty varieties of vegetables.

The kitchen is led by fleet executive chef Tomasz Kozlowski, who leads a culinary brigade of twelve. The galley measures 1,430 square feet, and it prepares four five-course menus daily.