You probably know him as the face of Coles supermarkets, but Curtis Stone is now a cruise ship restaurateur. The Melbourne-born foodie – now a global culinary celebrity – this week officially launched and opened ‘SHARE by Curtis Stone’, his first eatery on a Princess Cruises ship sailing in Australia.

Cruise Advice joined dozens of special guests and media in Sydney yesterday for the launch onboard the 2,010-passenger Sun Princess, which included a delicious sampling of many of the fine dishes you can now enjoy at the restaurant.

Ever the patriot, Stone’s personally designed menu is available on two Princess ships sailing in Australia – Sun Princess and the soon-to-arrive Emerald Princess. As the name suggests, SHARE by Curtis Stone is designed to foster communication between travelling parties, groups and even strangers by bringing people together over fine dining. Guests can order as few or as many dishes as they wish, each charged on an a la carte basis.

Alternatively, for $39 per person, a minimum number of dishes from each part of the menu can be selected for a set price.

If you’re cruising in North America, you can also enjoy SHARE on Ruby Princess, which is based in Los Angeles and cruises south of the border to Mexico each week.

Stone’s partnership with Princess Cruises and the look of SHARE was described by the celebrity foodie, now based in LA, as “a labour of love”. He told diners yesterday the menu took him around two months to finalise, utilising the help of the Princess culinary team.

“I have a very specific vision of how I want my restaurants to look and feel as well as taste. With SHARE, I’ve shared personal family photographs for the walls and even selected the books on the shelves – they’re the same books you will find in my living room at home. It’s the personal touches that are really important to me,” Stone said.

Yesterday’s menu began with a Charcuterie Platter colourfully assembled with Hungarian salami, green olives, cheese and crusty bread. This was followed up with a Prawn Salad, served with Lemon Gel, Turnip, Citrus Salt and Brioche.

For main courses, we were served a delicious plate of juicy and tender Roasted Crab Legs. Like other main courses selected from this part of the menu, it was served with a hot potato gratin. As an added bonus which other passengers will not be able to experience, this dish also saw Stone himself visit each table to personally add some white truffle shavings on top, which enhanced the dish with a permeating aroma.

The meal service concluded with an extraordinary comfort food – a personal Cruise Advice favourite – warm Bread Pudding with freshly made toffee sauce poured right at the table.

Since its soft launch earlier this year following a refurbishment in Singapore, thousands of Aussies have enjoyed SHARE onboard Sun Princess, with the most frequently ordered dishes being Roast Chicken with Bacon Slab & Onion Slaw as well as the aforementioned pudding.

To whet your appetite for a visit to SHARE, take a look through this photo collage of Curtis Stone’s personal favourite dishes (and try not to lick your screen).