They are some of the most exclusive restaurants in the world, in that to dine in them, you pretty much have to be booked on an around-the-world, trans-Aatlantic or other cruise on the legendary Queen Mary 2.

Billed as the world's largest, longest and most luxurious liner when she took her maiden voyage in 2004, the 151,400-ton ship has a dozen restaurants, including Todd English (named for the celebrity American chef), that serve up to 2,500 guests at least three times a day.

And overseeing it all is chef Jean-Marie Zimmermann, whose title is executive chef and "Global Culinary Ambassador" for the storied Cunard line.

If you haven't had the chance to eat at dinner aboard at, say, Britannia, one of the biggest restaurants at sea, and perhaps especially if you have, you might be interested in the luscious taste of it provided by a new book by Mr. Zimmerman with food writer Jean-Sebastien Petitdemange and photographer Jean-Francois Mallet: "Queen Mary 2: Ocean Liner Cuisine."

Published late last year in Mr. Zimmerman's native France, the cookbook is available in French and English editions aboard the Queen Mary 2 and Cunard's Queen Victoria. (He also oversees cuisine on the other Cunard ships, including the Queen Elizabeth that is to enter service this fall.)

More suited for the coffee table than the kitchen shelf, the $50 book is a gorgeous depiction of cuisine at sea. In a style that is a bit promotional yet still informative and entertaining, Mr. Petitdemange leads us out of the general history of restaurants and into the bustling Britannia galleys, "with 150 staff preparing, cooking and arranging food on plates, which leave in their thousands to take part in the much larger show unfolding in the dining rooms."

And so on through the other restaurants (Italian, Asian, a British pub) and the rest of this elaborate floating food system, one that, on a six-day trans-Atlantic trip, serves 129 metric tons of edibles (including 20 kilograms of caviar) and 21,000 liters of drinks -- facts that are further and fascinatingly broken down in the text.

"Thirteen people," the book notes, "spend their whole time managing inventory in the store rooms and 21 fridges, as well as onboard procurement."

The wine "cellar" holds 40,000 bottles and, "Obviously there are quite a few bottles of Petrus -- on average a couple are sold on each crossing -- Romanee-Conti and Opus One."

Mr. Petitdemange profiles Mr. Zimmerman, who was born in France's Alsace and learned to cook at the hand of his grandmere. He cooked professionally across Europe before settling in London, where he made a name for himself at grand hotels before opening his own place in Berkshire, England. In the late 1980s, he served as president of Euro-Toques under the direction of the culinary movement's creator, Paul Bocuse (who writes the book's preface). In 1998 Mr. Zimmerman became corporate chef for Celebrity Cruises to embark on the floating part of his career, landing in 2004 on the QM2. Still, for him, it's all about top quality cuisine; we're told that he keeps locked in his cabin a first edition Escoffier.

The chef, the self-described "general in the galleys," is a warm interview in the book's extensive Q & A, which gives insight into him as a person and as manager of this super-complex work of feeding so many captive (and well-heeled) customers a mix of traditional and modern fare.

He tells us, "I do not have travel as much as some people think. But I have a secret trove. My chefs hail from about 20 different countries. I ask them all to create new dishes that reflect their culture, to introduce me to new flavours, surprise me, take me travelling across South Africa, Nepal, Japan, India or Russia. This cross-breeding is an incredible asset. ... [It] enables me gradually to create a Queen Mary 'taste' that is always in fashion."

In the end, he humbly acknowledges his "prize job," even though it keeps him at sea for all but two months of the year, which he spends with his wife and adult daughter and son on dry land near Bordeaux.

"I am not drawn by the sea, but by the cooking," he says. "I do not even know how to swim."

I felt a little over my head as I tried a few recipes in the book; not only are they all chef recipes -- these are all by Mr. Zimmerman -- but also all the ingredients and directions are metric. But for every fancy recipe, there is a more approachable one. For instance, the chef tells how they make not only Snails Maitre d'Hotel, but also Fish and Chips; Crepes Suzette but also Pancakes.

For the recipes on page 12, I did my own conversions using printed and online sources, not sweating it as precisely as one of Mr. Zimmerman's charges would, yet they turned out deliciously, and I enjoyed the challenge. I'll present the recipes mostly as they are in the book; if you know your way around a galley or other type of kitchen, you should have no trouble making and enjoying them, too.

Roast Pork With Cheddar Cheese

PG Tested

This dish, served in British-themed The Carvery restaurant on the Queen Mary 2, is something I'd never seen before. It was as doable as it looks and quite delicious, too. Chef Jean-Marie Zimmerman says they use fresh herbs and fresh bread crumbs and unsalted butter.

-- Bob Batz Jr.

• 15 grams parsley
• 5 grams thyme
• 5 grams rosemary
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1.2 kilogram pork sirloin, boned and rolled (I used a pork loin)
• 250 grams butter
• 200 grams breadcrumbs
• 500 grams white cheddar cheese
• 50 grams Dijon mustard
• 2 egg yolks
• 2.5 centiliters Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Chop parsley, thyme and rosemary. Mix well.

Saute the chopped garlic in a frying pan.

Season the meat with salt and pepper, then brown it all over in a very hot frying pan.

Mix butter, herbs, garlic, breadcrumbs, cheddar, mustard, egg yolks and Worcestershire sauce.

Coat the meat with a layer of this mixture roughly 1 centimeter thick.

Roast the pork in the oven at 160 degrees C. [320 degrees F.] for 35 minutes.

Leave to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8 to 10.

-- "Queen Mary 2: Ocean Liner Cuisine" by Jean-Marie Zimmerman with Jean-Sebastien Petitdemange and Jean-Francois Mallet (Glenat, 2009)

Citrus Fruit and Chocolate

PG Tested

This fancy confection, served in the Queen Mary 2's elegant Princess Grill, is basically a three-layer, pudding and homemade Jello parfait. Keep that in mind if you are iced by the idea of cooking with hard-to-find gelatin sheets. It's even harder to confidently convert such sheets to easier-to-get Knox gelatin powder. After spending way too much time consulting good cooks and other sources, online and otherwise, and learning about the varying "bloom strength" of various grades of gelatin, and after careful calculation, I winged it. I had envelopes of about 7 grams of powder, and used just less than 1 envelope per 2 sheets of gelatin, presoftening it in cold water rather than melting it in the bain-marie, or water bath, counting on heat later in the directions to melt it. I also used pasteurized eggs for the yolks, and did not make a cocoa-coated sausage of the top dark layer, opting instead to just pour it into the wine glasses I used.

(Note: I learned later by e-mail from chef Jean-Marie Zimmerman that his chefs use gold gelatin sheets weighing 1 gram each.)

My "jelly" might have been slightly thick, but the mousse was just right, and the dessert was luscious for the eyes and the taste buds.

As a bonus, I carefully saved the peel from the 6 blood oranges that I juiced and turned them into candied blood orange peel, which made a fanciful garnish.

-- Bob Batz Jr.

• 3 sheets gelatin
• 2 centiliters cold water
• 25 centiliters blood orange juice
• 75 grams sugar
• For the Yogurt and White Chocolate Mousse
• 40 grams sugar
• 2 sheets gelatin
• 2 centiliters cold water
• 2 egg yolks
• 110 grams white chocolate
• 1 yogurt [an 8-ounce cup]
• 7.5 centiliters whole milk
• 17.5 centiliters whipped cream

• 40 grams sugar
• 1 sheet gelatin
• 2 centiliters water
• 1 egg yolk
• 75 grams dark chocolate
• 12.5 centiliters whipped cream
• 10 grams cocoa powder

Soften the sheets of gelatin in the water, then transfer the recipient to a bain-marie to melt the gelatin. Pour the orange juice into a saucepan, add the sugar and simmer gently to dissolve the sugar. Take off the heat and add the gelatin. Mix well.

Pour the jelly into 4 martini glasses, filling the first third. Chill the jelly in the fridge.

Put the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil on medium heat. Simmer till the mixture turns syrupy. Set aside.

Soften sheets of gelatin in water, then transfer the recipient to a bain-marie to melt the gelatin.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks and syrup till the mixture starts to stiffen. Melt the white chocolate with the milk. Add to the egg syrup mixture the melted white chocolate mixture, yogurt and gelatin. Mix gently then fold in the whipped cream.

Add a layer of this mousse to the martini glasses, on top of the orange jelly, and return to the fridge.

Put the sugar and [equal amount of] water in a saucepan and bring to a boil on medium heat.

Simmer till mixture turns syrupy. Set aside.

Soften the sheet of gelatin in 2 centiliters cold water, then transfer the recipient to a bain-marie to melt the gelatin.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolk and syrup till the mixture starts to stiffen. Add the melted dark chocolate and gelatin. Mix gently then fold in the whipped cream.

Chill this mousse in the fridge for 2 hours.

Using 2 soup spoons dipped in hot water, shape 4 mousse sausages. Roll them in cocoa to coat them all over.

Remove the glasses from fridge and lay a mousse roll on top of the white chocolate mousse. Decorate, if you like, with a few red berries and mint leaves.

Serves 4.

-- "Queen Mary 2: Ocean Liner Cuisine" by Jean-Marie Zimmerman with Jean-Sebastien Petitdemange and Jean-Francois Mallet (Glenat, 2009)