Cruise Featuring World Renowned Chefs Sailing From Florida Next Year

Calling all foodies and Food Network lovers! We just heard about a new foodie cruise that will be making waves next year. One thing that every cruise goer looks forward to is the food on board. And many cruises like Royal Caribbean and Virgin Voyages are known for their fine dining options. Well imagine setting sail on a cruise with world-renowned chefs and every night is a foodie experience.

The cruise is called Chefs Making Waves and it sets sail from May 5-9, 2025 out of Miami to Cozumel on the Norwegian Cruise Line. There will be so much to see and do on this cruise (other than eating). Not only are you vacationing with some of the most popular chefs in the world, but you can experience live demonstrations, curated dining opportunities, themed parties, wellness opportunities, autograph sessions, and more!

On this cruise you can meet, learn from, and dine with some big names in the culinary world. Any Food Network lover would love this experience. Some chefs joining you on your voyage include: Richard Blais, Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant, Robert Irvine, Antonia Lofaso, Geoffrey Zakarian, and many more!

The best part is the onboard restaurants will be taken over by the celebrity chefs nightly for dinner service. Each restaurant will be paired with a celebrity chef (or chefs) and have its own specially curated menus, with various course options.

Much like any themed cruises, the prices can be a little steep. But they offer some flexible payment plans. The total cost for 2 guests for an interior room (paying in full) is about $3,400. But think about how much money you'd pay to travel and dine at just ONE of these chef's restaurants when you could dine with multiple for 4 nights. Click here for all pricing plans.

Some say Tampa isn't a foodie city, but I'd respectfully disagree. Tampa is a melting pot of different cultures and cuisines, making it a foodie paradise. Some Tampa chefs have even made one (or multiple) appearances on The Food Network and its most popular shows like Chopped, Guys Grocery Games, and more.

Shows on The Food Network have become some of my favorite programs to watch. And it's even more exciting to watch when I have a local Tampa chef to root for. The Food Network has brought many shows to the Tampa Bay area like Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Man vs. Food Nation, FoodNation with Bobby Flay, and more. Currently I'm binging all the new episodes of Wildcard Kitchen and 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing.

Not only have professional chefs competed against some of the best in the country. But even a Tampa Bay teen competed on Chopped Jr. just a few years ago. Virann Welbourn competed in 2019 on the popular Food Network show. She took home the grand prize of $10,000. Virann was only 13 at the time of her win. I hope she's still killing it in the kitchen and looking into starting her own restaurant one day.

Tampa has been making some splashes in the culinary world recently. 6 Tampa restaurants were added to the Michelin Guide in 2024. Supernatural Food & Wine, Predalina, Streetlight Taco, The Pearl, Ebbe, and Kōsen were all added to the guide. In 2022, Tampa's first-ever Michelin stars were awarded to Rocca, Koya and Lilac.

Are you a Food Network fanatic? Know any Tampa chefs that competed on any shows we missed? Feel free to shout them out on social media!

Chef Johnathan Rodriguez is the most recent Tampa chef to compete on the Food Network. He recently competed on Season 6 (Episode 5) of Supermarket Stakeout. Host Alex Guarnaschelli gives 3 chefs $500 to spend on groceries, but needs to last 3 stake outs and dish up a continental breakfast. This episode airs May 15 at 9pm.

Chef Jada Vidal is not only a Chopped champion, but she's appeared on "Guy’s Grocery Games" (and won $20,000) and "Beach Brawl." You can try her delicious meals at Noble Rice. You can stream Jada's Chopped episode (season 56 episode 721) on Max.

Ronicca is the owner of the Shiso Crispy food truck and restaurant. She's competed multiple times on the fan favorite Guys Grocery Games. She won her first competition and came back and competed against other champions in the Summer Games. I just recently watched her episode and it's hilarious watching her run around the set compared to her other competitors. She recently opened up the Shiso Crispy restaurant in Downtown St. Pete, more info on that location here.

Chef Brenda Villacorta is a Tampa local who was professionally trained in New York. She competed on season 4 of Halloween Baking Championship, and on Cake Wars Christmas. She's even taken home top prizes from these competitions. Brenda opened up Sucré Table in 2020, you can see her at 4048 W Kennedy Blvd.

Chef David Benstock appeared on the popular cable network show “Beat Bobby Flay,” in 2019 and did just that. His episode ended up airing way later thanks to the pandemic. You can try his delicious Italian cuisine at Il Ritorno in St. Pete.

Another Tampa chef to compete (and win) on Beat Bobby Flay is Michael Buttacavolli (Chef at Cena). He beat Bobby Flay with his famous meatball recipe, which you can still try at Cena in Downtown Tampa.

Chef Rosana Rivera made history by being the first Latina chef to win Beat Bobby Flay. She competed with her husband Chef Ricardo Castro back in 2019 and the episode aired back on December 26.