WASHINGTON — Every day, Derek Brown pours sherry and shakes up cocktails on the same street where chef Marjorie Meek Bradley smokes her mouthwatering pastrami.
And come January, they’ll be mixing drinks and mincing meat on the same ship.
Brown and Meek Bradley are two of four D.C. chefs scheduled to set sail on a Caribbean-bound Celebrity Cruise ship Jan. 28 through Feb. 4. Mike Isabella and David Guas will also be on board — and the theme for the week is D.C. eats.
Celebrity Cruise’s Philip Jacobs says the luxury cruise line has always been culinary-focused (it even partners with Bravo for a “Top Chef” voyage), but the DC Celebrity Chefs cruise is the first trip to highlight talent in an East Coast city.
“And you and I both know that there are some amazing restaurants and personalities in D.C., specifically,” Jacobs said.
Celebrity tapped The List Are You On It founder and “Foodie and the Beast” co-host Nycci Nellis as the culinary ambassador for the trip, and it was up to Nellis to curate the list of chefs.
The D.C. chefs cruise will take place on Celebrity’s newest ship, the Reflection, and the group will be limited to an intimate 100 guests. (The total number on board the ship is closer to 2,800.)
Events with the chefs include a one-hour cocktail reception, a private tour of the ship’s kitchen and wine tower, a beach barbecue in Cozumel and cooking demonstrations.
Meek Bradley has already been in talks with Brown about partnering up for a booze- and food-fueled demo.
“If I do it with Mike [Isabella], he’s just going to make me do all the work,” Meek Bradley jokingly said about her decision to opt for Brown over Isabella, her former boss.
She’s also put some thought into the local proteins and produce the group will use for the beach barbecue.
When the chefs aren’t leading demonstrations or cooking for the guests, they’ll be hanging out by the pool and exploring the various ports.
“It just seems like a fun opportunity to do something different — do a little bit of traveling, have a little bit of fun,” Meek Bradley said.
“Chefs have such boisterous personalities. I might be the quietest of this group, but we have a lot of fun together, so I think it will be cool for people to have the opportunity to hangout with us and get to see a different side of what we do.”
All-inclusive prices for the seven-day DC Celebrity Chefs cruise start at $1,706.83.
Editor’s Note: Nycci Nellis is a regular food contributor on WTOP; her show “Foodie and the Beast” airs on WTOP’s sister station WFED.
