Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is broadening its culinary offer with two new concepts developed by Corporate Executive Chefs Timon Lohrengel and Marcel Jücker: an innovative vegetarian caviar menu at the redesigned Pearls restaurant on EUROPA, and a new pop-up fish restaurant, Le Petit Poisson, on the line’s three expedition ships.
As part of EUROPA’s modernisation, Pearls now features 15 new dishes built around plant-based “caviar” created using spherification – a technique associated with molecular gastronomy that transforms flavoured liquids into small pearls resembling traditional caviar in texture and appearance. Ingredients include yuzu, saffron tapioca and chilli pepper. The dishes are offered in three seven-course menus, each of which can be prepared vegetarian or vegan, effectively reimagining classic caviar cuisine with contemporary methods and presentation.
On the expedition fleet, Le Petit Poisson will operate as a four-night pop-up restaurant on voyages of 14 days or longer. Hosted within each ship’s specialty restaurant and seating around 35 guests, it will serve dishes such as lobster surf & turf, turbot à la Marseille and king crab, with menus reflecting fresh, regionally inspired seafood in some of the world’s most remote cruising regions.
Lohrengel and Jücker oversee gastronomic development across all five ships in the fleet, from the luxury vessels EUROPA and EUROPA 2 to the HANSEATIC expedition trio, drawing on experience in Michelin-level kitchens and senior on-board roles. Their brief covers menu design, product innovation and consistency of culinary standards across both luxury and expedition operations, with the new concepts aimed at aligning the line’s gastronomic offer with evolving guest expectations around plant-based fine dining and specialist seafood.