Chef Benjamin Cross expands his role across Aqua Expeditions’ fleet
Aqua Expeditions has named Chef Benjamin Cross as Consulting Chef for Aqua Mekong, extending the Australian chef’s culinary reach from Aqua Blu in East Indonesia to the brand’s river expeditions through Cambodia and Vietnam. It’s a natural progression for a chef whose career has moved fluidly between fine dining rooms and the produce markets that inspire them—and it signals a deeper investment in Aqua Mekong’s dining program as the ship enters its next chapter.
From a surf town in Australia to the Mekong Delta
Cross’s path to this appointment reads like a tour of contemporary Australian and Southeast Asian gastronomy. He got his start at Rae’s on Wategos, a beachfront restaurant in Byron Bay—the laid-back surf town on Australia’s east coast, roughly midway between Sydney and Brisbane—before relocating to Sydney itself, where he worked alongside Janni Kyritsis at MG Garage and across Neil Perry’s influential Rockpool Group, with stints at Wokpool, XO, and Rockpool. A period in Spain followed, then more than a decade in Bali, the Indonesian island long favored by discerning travelers for its blend of fine dining and natural beauty, where Cross served as Executive Chef of KU DE TA and Mejekawi. In 2018, he founded Brett Hospitality Group, building out a stable of restaurants including Masonry Canga, Masonry Uluwatu, Fishbone Local, Bar Vera, and Chop House.
That resume—equal parts fine dining pedigree and wood-fired, ingredient-first instinct—has underpinned his work with Aqua Expeditions since 2019, when he joined as Consulting Chef for Aqua Blu. In that role he has developed more than 160 recipes drawing on the East Indonesian spice route, threading a destination-driven narrative through the ship’s dining rooms.
What changes aboard Aqua Mekong
Cross will work alongside Aqua Mekong’s onboard culinary team to direct menu development and refine execution, with the stated goal of keeping the ship’s dining program rooted in the flavors and traditions of Cambodia and Vietnam rather than diluting them for a broader palate. Guests should start to notice the shift progressively from late 2026, and Aqua Expeditions has flagged Chef-Hosted Sailings with Cross aboard Aqua Mekong from 2027, with further details to come.
Aqua Expeditions Founder and CEO Francesco Galli Zugaro framed the appointment as recognition of Cross’s history with the brand: “Benjamin has been an integral part of the Aqua family for many years, and I have long admired the care, curiosity and creativity he brings to his work. He has an intuitive understanding of the places we explore and a remarkable ability to translate that sense of place into an immersive dining experience our guests. I can think of no one better to help guide this next chapter for Aqua Mekong.”
A chef who cooks by listening
For Cross, the appointment is as much about people as produce. “For me, the most memorable dishes tell a story, and that story comes from spending time with the people who know a place best,” he said. “I’m looking forward to learning from local producers, cooks and communities, building on the strong foundations already in place aboard Aqua Mekong, and bringing the extraordinary flavors of Cambodia and Vietnam to the table for our guests.”
Small ships, big appetites
The move fits a broader pattern in the small-ship expedition space, where dining has become as central to the itinerary as the excursions themselves. Aqua Expeditions—part of Ponant Explorations Group—operates a fleet capped at 16 to 40 guests per vessel with a 1:1 crew-to-guest ratio, spanning the Peruvian Amazon, the Mekong Delta, East Indonesia’s Komodo National Park and Raja Ampat, the Galapagos, and, since Aqua Lares joined the fleet in February 2026, East Africa and Svalbard. For travelers who choose these ships precisely because the food is meant to taste like the place they’re sailing through, Cross’s expanded remit is one to watch.
About the Author: Jason Kerr
