Koppert Cress will grow veg on cruiseship

Koppert Cress is going to grow its vegetable sprouts on the water. To do this, the company has entered a collaboration with the Holland America Line. The ms Koningsdam is the first ship on which the seedlings will be grown. The vegetables will be grown in a glass greenhouse in the Culinary Arts Center on the ship and then added to the dishes by chefs in an open kitchen. This includes watercress, cress, and also cress with drop-cress, mustard and garlic flavour.

"Instead of garnish, the sprout vegetables by Koppert Cress are ingredients in their own right in our recipes," says Michael Smith, Senior Vice President for Guest Experiences and Product Development. Rob Baan is enthusiastic about the collaboration: "It is a new adventure for us to grow our seedlings on a cruise ship and we are very excited about the collaboration with a well known company like Holland America Line."

The Koningsdam is the newest acquisition of the Holland America Line and is to be officially launched in May. The cruise ship has space for 2,650 passengers and will have Rotterdam as its home port from 2017.