The daytime soiree began with a guided tour of the stunning ship, which was designed by iconic hospitality atelier Tihany Design. The vessel launched in 2016, but the event aligned with its long-awaited maiden call to the Magic City. Guests explored the many restaurants on-board, including the signature Solis, which serves cuisine inspired by Seabourn’s Mediterranean ports of call, and also got a peek the spa, casino, sun terrace, night club, Grand Salon, and the ship's central lounge, Seabourn Square. Everyone was decked out in resort wear, as demonstrated with particular flair by Miami vegan cookbook author Ellen Kanner, SAVEUR contributor Dinkinish O’Connor, and Miami native Chovitta Ariza, founder and CEO of Niche Carver Consulting.

After the tour, groups returned to the Observation Bar for sips and bites inspired by SAVEUR’s latest print issue. Wines included a lightly spicy, full-bodied Argentine organic malbec from Bodega Séptima and a delicate brut from Champagne Montaudon, the latter of which was also the perfect base for an elegant kir royale. 

A generous welcome breakfast spread, which guests enjoyed before and after their tours, offered parfait fixings, pastries, and egg sandwiches. During cocktail hour and the panel discussion, servers discreetly proffered trays filled with artfully composed bites, such as seared tuna with white asparagus salad and caviar-topped cauliflower panna cotta. Dessert included macarons, pineapple and passion fruit salad, chocolate toffees, McVities crumble trifle, and caramelized apricot tarts. In keeping with the fleet’s on-board restaurants, the fare was thoughtfully prepared to celebrate a range of global flavors.

Craddock had just completed a 19-day solo trip on the ship, visiting ports in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. She opened the conversation with her thanks and delight to be back in the United States by way of “sunny and delicious” Miami. Indeed, it was a cloudless 85-degree day, typical for springtime in the subtropical south, and the sky, a palette of azure, was a gorgeous backdrop to the occasion. 

Craddock then set the scene by introducing her interviewees: “Two people whose work captures everything we try to do at SAVEUR, which is to celebrate how food and travel and hospitality meet to convey a sense of place.” That proved true as the conversation ranged widely, from the nitty-gritty details of running a restaurant to the panelists’ most cherished food memories. The two professionals have vastly different properties to run—Boia De is a deliberately intimate restaurant, while a typical Seabourn ship serves two tons of caviar and 160,000 bottles of Champagne per year. But both Giangrandi and Putzhammer recalled fond memories from the natural world: Giangrandi recalled peeling oranges in the kitchen and Putzhammer reflected on foraging porcini mushrooms, each with the elders who taught them their first culinary skills. 

This subject led naturally into the lengths both leaders go to to serve their guests. In Giangrandi’s case, her customers have been known to grumble and even wear campaign T-shirts to revive a Boia De dish that has gone off-menu. Putzhammer also has a personal touch with passengers and often attends the popular shore excursion “Shopping with the Chef,” where the day’s in-port market gatherings are then used to compose a meal.

The magazine’s mission was as clear as the sky to the attendees, which included Dana Baran, founder and president of the PR firm The Dana Agency. “Today’s event was flavorful in every sense,” she said. “We explored the intersection of food and travel while connecting with old friends and new ones who share joy one bite at a time.”

James Beard Award-winning author Linda Gassenheimer confirmed that sentiment. “I was introduced to a great combination of elegant cruising and excellent food,” she said. Seabourn president Mark Tamis took the microphone at the end to thank the participants; he called Craddock “a great partner,” thanked Putzhammer for his “dedication to a high level of food and hospitality throughout the fleet and around the world,” and advised Giangrandi, “the hottest chef in Miami,” that he lived just down the block from the restaurant. 

Whether that will help him score one of Boia De’s famously hard reservations remains to be seen.