Bordeaux has some of the best markets in Europe, claims Graeme Cockburn, and depending on the day of the week, there’s one right along the quay where your yacht docks. “I can spend two, three hours just walking those few hundred yards, tasting the local delicacies,” says Windstar’s Executive Chef, who also spends time searching out what he calls the city’s “backstreet restaurants” that only serve a dozen or so people per meal. “These boutique places are really cooking off the cuff,” he elaborates, “creating menus from whatever comes in fresh that day, bringing in different flavors. They expose you to the French thought process about food.” So, how do the French view food? Graeme sums it up in a word: “Life. Their life is all about good food, a nice glass of wine, family and friends … It’s just a completely different culture.”
               
That cultural shift is experienced each day of this culinary-focused voyage, from tasting crisp ciders in Honfleur and freshly shucked oysters on Belle Ile, to pintxos (Basque tapas) hopping around Bilboa’s Old Town and enjoying a smoky, decades-old port or spicy chouriço sausage in Porto. “You get to see all the flavors and textures changing as you head deeper into the Mediterranean,” says the chef. Back on board, Windstar guests enjoy what the ship’s chef bought in port that day, creating a sense of continuity that lasts long after the cruise ends. “It’s all in the memory,” says Graeme. “Those culinary experiences are captured in the brain. You’ll always come back to those memories.”