After Easter, there will be a change in Viking Line’s á la carte.
Jean Leon wines are on Viking Line’s á la carte until Midsummer. Tuukka Ervasti
It is rare to think about menu changes in the restaurants on Swedish ships in the same way as is done now.
It all started with wine. And in this case, you can say that also about the winemaker.
Viking Line’s restaurant manager Janne Lindholm was visiting a Spanish winery and heard about the founder of the farm Jean Leon life story. In addition to the wines being excellent, Leon’s life made a big impression on Lindholm.
– I thought that this is exactly what I’ve been looking for, Lindholm tells Iltalehte.
Born in Spain in 1928, Leon eventually ended up in the United States and Hollywood, where he opened the La Scala restaurant in the mid-1950s. The restaurant was soon popular with star actors. Among its regular customers were, among others Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando.
Leon founded the winery in 1963 in his native Spain. The goal was to make perfect wine for the demanding customers of the La Scala restaurant.
Janne Lindholm is responsible for Viking Line’s food supply. Tuukka Ervasti
– We decided to build the menu around Jean Leon wines. We proceeded in an unusual order, because we first chose the most interesting wines and only then did we start thinking about the dishes, says Lindholm.
Lindholm and his team were helped by La Scala’s menus from the 1950s. The menus of that time were characterized by the breadth of the menus. According to Lindholm, the menus of Hollywood’s golden age were really long and varied.
– We have not copied La Scala’s really long menu, but have taken ideas that suit us.
Pepper steak Janne Lindholm makes a hit. Tuukka Ervasti
In Viking Line’s á la carte in spring and early summer, there are more oysters than before in Hollywood style, and the pepper steak popular in the 50s has made a return to the favorite dishes of the 2020s as well.
The number one wish of cruise customers, i.e. the seafood platter, remains on the menus. Pastas are a rare sight on the menus of Viking Line’s à la carte restaurants, but the Italian-inspired theme brought them on offer now. The menu includes, among other things, ceviche of whiting and perch, charred cod cheek and linguine pasta finished with crayfish.
According to Lindholm, this is the biggest investment in food and wine that he remembers being in á ala carte for a while. He emphasizes the importance of wine:
– All in all, the actual idea of the menu is in the combination of the wine and the food portion built around it. If, for example, a certain wine emphasized the acids of a portion too much, we adjusted the recipe accordingly.
Lindholm advises that particularly interesting poms are Leon’s GigiVinya Gigi Chardonnay named after the daughter and served at the Hollywood restaurant VInya La Scala Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva.
The wines for the Jean Leon menu have been selected from the winery’s 3055 series and the Single Vineyard series, where the wines are made from grapes from a single vineyard.
Pasta is a rarity in the ship’s á la carte. Tuukka Ervasti
An interesting detail is that the 3055 wine series is a tribute to Leon’s early days in America. The number 3055 refers to his taxi driver’s license in New York.
Over the years, Leon’s wines have received international recognition. For example, Wine Magazine has chosen his Cabernet Sauvignon wine as one of the eight best wines in the world.
Jean Leon’s wines have also been served in the White House. Leon and Ronald Reagan were friends even before Reagan’s presidency. At the inaugural dinner in 1981, Vinya La Scala Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva and Vinya Gigi Chardonnay were served.
This dessert combines cream, banana and chocolate. Tuukka Ervasti
In 1994, Jean Leon transferred his winery to the Torres family, knowing that he was suffering from cancer. Leon died in 1996.
You can read about the phases of Leon’s colorful life from the website of the winery.
The Jean Leon menu is available from 9 April to 24 June.