A surprise celebrity chef joined my Mediterranean cruise

Think of Julia Child, and it’s likely Meryl Streep who springs to mind. She memorably depicted the towering TV chef who made French cuisine doable for American home cooks in the 2009 film Julie and Julia (with her performance earning her a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination).

Child, a Cordon Bleu-trained chef and larger-than-life personality (as well as being a physical presence at 188 centimetres tall), died just two days short of her 92nd birthday in 2004. Stephanie Hersh, a trained chef who became Child’s executive personal assistant for 15 years, was devastated.

Julia Child on the set of her cooking show, The French Chef. Credit: Fairchild Archive/Penske Media/Shutterstock

I know this because I meet Hersh aboard an Oceania Cruises ship on the eastern Mediterranean’s popular Athens-Istanbul route over 10 nights. What she misses most about her high-voiced former employer, she says, is her sense of humour. “One of my favourite Julia quotes is, ‘Stephanie tells a lot of jokes – sometimes she’s actually funny’,” Hersh recalls. Meeting Hersh is not a random encounter – she’s a chef instructor at the ship’s Culinary Centre, which not only runs cooking classes but co-ordinates a program of food-focused shore excursions.

Passengers never know before boarding who their on-board chef instructor will be (a team of 11 is led by the line’s executive chef Kathryn Kelly), but there’s every chance they’ll find someone as fascinating as Hersh buttoned up in chef’s whites and demonstrating how to wield a knife like a pro, among other things. She’s aboard Oceania Riviera (this 1250-passenger ship plied the Mediterranean last Euro-summer, but in 2025 it is shuttling around the Pacific Northwest and Alaska before heading to Asia and Australia). Some 800 staff will also cater to our whims.

The top of Lycabettos Hill, Athens.Credit: Getty Images

Before boarding, there’s time to explore Athens, which is as hot as Hades. To see anything of the Greek capital in any degree of comfort, I’m up at the crack of dawn to climb Lycabettus Hill near our hotel. While this limestone hillock, prickling with cacti, is just 277 metres above sea level, as Athens’ highest point it grants a glorious view of the distant Acropolis. At the hill’s summit, there are only a few tourists at this hour. Soldiers raise the national flag, and a woman mops the marble entry to the tiny whitewashed St George chapel. Cats strut around like they own the place.

Later, at the Port of Piraeus, I settle into my own patch – a portside stateroom on the ship’s ninth deck with a muted grey and white palette and Bulgari toiletries in the bathroom; snacks and drinks are also available down the corridor within a concierge lounge.

View of Oceania Riviera from Santorini’s soaring cliffs.

Not that there’s much chance of ever being hungry. Food is found around every corner of the ship, from specialty restaurants and the ever-changing buffet to casual burger joints and the ice-cream bar (which is, admittedly, struggling to keep its exotic flavours, such as cassis sorbet and black sesame, frozen under the Mediterranean sun’s glare). Usually, it takes time to discover a favourite nook on a ship, but by next morning, anchored within sight of Santorini’s soaring cliffs, I’ve found one. I instantly adore breakfast outdoors at the ship’s stern, in an intimate space beyond the buffet that offers exhilarating in-your-face views at our various ports.

It’s a brief moment of serenity as it turns out because whitewashed, blue-domed Santorini – far too picturesque for its own good – is overrun with tourists squeezing through Oia’s narrow alleyways and past donkeys put to work in the oven-like heat (our guide urges us not to ride them and instead take the cable car to reach our ride back to the ship at the end of the day).

Breakfast with a sea breeze on Oceania.

More enjoyable is visiting Boutari Winery, where we sample the well-regarded white wines and learn about the island’s unusual grape cultivation method called kouloura, in which vines are pruned and curled into a “basket” on top of the dry volcanic soil. The vines not only absorb humidity from overnight fog but protect the cradled fruit from harsh sunlight and the Aegean’s fierce seasonal Meltemi winds.

On Mykonos, I skip the crowds to board a ferry bound for Delos – a rocky islet once considered the “greatest commercial centre of the whole world”, as well as the birthplace of twin gods Apollo and Artemis. Although Delos was looted and gradually abandoned, it’s now World Heritage-listed thanks to archaeological riches such as intricate mosaic pavements and the Terrace of the Lions.

The ancient terrace of the lions at Delos island in Greece.Credit: Getty Images

Between hopping around Greek and Turkish ports and islands, discovering another favourite ship nook (Baristas, a tiny coffee shop with a perch overlooking the pool), I get to know Hersh, who has lived in New Zealand for the past two decades.

At Turkey’s Kusadasi, she leads a “country casual” foodie excursion that takes us to a charming mansion-hotel, Kirazli Sultan Konak, to try our hand at making manti (perhaps the world’s tiniest meat-filled dumplings) and sarma (stuffed vine leaves) that we then enjoy for lunch.

Hersh isn’t scheduled to present her talk, “She Called Me Dearie”, on this particular cruise, but an unexpected port cancellation (another time, Chios) and a day at sea means passengers who don’t want to play giant jenga or make bracelets can listen to her rollicking tale of how she secured that dream gig with Child.

When it comes to audience questions, the first one, unsurprisingly, is about that movie, and Hersh pulls no punches when dishing the dirt on Julie Powell, the blogger who detailed her efforts over a year to recreate recipes from Child’s co-authored classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Instead of “adorable” Amy Adams being cast as Powell, Hersh says that perhaps Glenn Close – from her 101 Dalmatians/Cruella de Vil era – would have been more apt for the role (Powell died in 2022 aged 49).

Learn chefs’ kitchen secrets.Credit:

It’s juicy stuff – and Hersh, who would make the perfect dinner-party guest with her delicious anecdotes, also explains why Child never publicly discussed Powell after reading one of her sharp-tongued blog posts. It’s a different story with Jacques Pepin, Child’s co-star in the spin-off series, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.

“They adored each other,” says Hersh, who recalls the pair’s light-hearted banter about how Child always wanted to use ground white pepper on dishes because she “had this thing about flecks in her food” while Pepin preferred the flavour of black pepper. And with that, Hersh sails off-stage to prepare for a class. Bon voyage and, as Julia would say, bon appetit.

Three Eastern Med must-dos

Bozcaada
Charming Bozcaada, a port on a Turkish island of the same name, is so delightful it’s worth seeking an itinerary that includes it (such as Oceania’s 14-day Istanbul to Valletta cruise aboard Nautica in September). Find an oceanfront deckchair perched mere steps from the water or wander the pretty cobblestone streets lined with whitewashed houses, trellises and flowerpots.

Rhodes
With the World Heritage-listed Old Town so close to the port and offering so many sights, including soaring city walls and the Palace of the Grand Master fortress, it would be easy to skip an excursion. However, the Traditional Inland Villages tour includes visiting a women’s co-operative bakery that’s reviving old-fashioned recipes. Sample the melekouni – a sweet traditionally served to guests at weddings and christenings – made from aromatic thyme honey, sesame seeds, almonds and spices.

Istanbul
Allocate extra days before or after your cruise to explore this buzzy city at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Docking at Galataport, the newish cruise terminal, puts you mere steps from one of the city’s best hammams and the neighbouring contemporary art museum, Istanbul Modern. See kilicalipasahamami.com, istanbulmodern.org

The details

Cruise
Culinary Centres are aboard Oceania Cruises’ purpose-built “foodie ships” Riviera, Marina and Vista, and will be a feature of Allura, Oceania Cruises’ eighth ship, which will set sail on its maiden voyage in Europe in July. See oceaniacruises.com

Cook
Oceania Cruises’ program of 100-plus cooking classes includes new additions such as Pacific Northwest-inspired fish and seafood fundamentals, a dessert and drinks class that might pair lava cake with bubbles or crepes Suzette with a Grand Marnier spritzer, and a hearty brunch inspired by the chill of “snow days”.

Sail
Oceania Cruises offer a wide range of itineraries, with Vista and Nautica sailing the Mediterranean in 2025. Riviera, which was refurbished in 2022, is cruising Alaska and Asia this year before making its maiden call into Sydney in December.

The writer was a guest of Oceania Cruises.