Thomas Keller Is the Latest Chef to Get Reeled In by a Cruise Line

Seabourn, the Seattle-based luxury cruise line, has announced that it is scaling up its dining game by partnering with Thomas Keller, the multiple Michelin-starred chef behind the highly acclaimed restaurants Per Se, Bouchon, and The French Laundry.

Keller proved long ago that his success is no fluke, and he is looking to remain perched atop the American culinary scene with this daring move aweigh from brick-and-mortar establishments, according to Marketwatch. Keller, it a-piers, will school the kitchen staffs on several of Seabourn's ships — Seabourn Odyssey, Seabourn Sojourn, and Seabourn Quest  —  while developing entrees, appetizers, desserts, and revamping the current menus.

This scampi what the culinary world expected from Keller, the only man to hold two different three-star Michelin ratings for different restaurants, simultaneously. But don't expect mere fish and ships from the James Beard-award winning chef; he's given every indication that he will put all of his mussel into this new enterprise. New menus are expected as early as this fall, so Keller won't have much time to mullet over.

Cynics will say that Keller is simply angling for a payday, but others venture that the accomplished cook is just looking to tackle a new challenge, not just make crappie representations of his signature seafood. "There is really no chef more accomplished or held in higher esteem than Chef Keller, and we are both honored and delighted to have a restaurateur of his stature take our onboard culinary offerings to an even higher level," said Seabourn President Richard Meadows.

Some will claim Keller is a little lake to be getting into the cruise ship game: Jamie Oliver accepted a reely high profile oppor-tuna-ty with Royal Caribbean last year that is, so far, managing to keep its head above water. Carnival Cruise Lines hooked Guy Fieri in 2011, and has tide in his Guy's Burger Joint with many of their ships' restaurant offerings.