Say goodbye to Charlie Palmer

[writer100]

I imagine that Seabourn have to order ingredients and supply them on a centralised basis to all ships, and therefore do have to standardise menus to an extent; but it will be good to have some different dishes from the Charlie ones. Maybe Pascale and some of the SB chefs could get together to devise new dishes??

 

I don't think the cruise lines normally use fresh shellfish mainly because of possible contamination problems. Anyone know if this is the case?

Lincslady, I believe you are right--certainly on the first point, and probably on the second with respect to shellfish.SB chefs of varying nationalities (apparently) do offer "typical" dishes from their home cuisines--curry and sauerbraten come to mind, as referred to elsewhere on cc. But what is certainly missing are representative dishes from less stellar locales. On a Caribbean cruise you will not find--in my experience--either rotis or jerk chicken, conch fritters or goat stew, callaloo or an island souse. (Which I believe is rather different from the one that you and Marianh might be familiar with.) I am not suggesting that such dishes are "important" or in any way competitive with haute cuisine.But perhaps it would be interesting for passengers who shy from eating in local restaurants or highway stands or beach bars to get at least a sanitized taste of island foods.

[lincslady]

writer100 - glad you agree. By the way, the dish some of us on this side of the pond know (and do not necessarily love!) is scouse, not souse! Suspect they are very different dishes.

 

I do find that when the chefs cook up something from an unusual area they tend to make them a bit more bland that one would like, no doubt feeling that they are catering to the international taste. Like the curries, etc.

[JaneBP]

>" Like the curries, etc." You are right, but given free rein such as a planned lunch, the curries can peel your skin off. Had a luncheon on the Legend last year and it was horrendously spicy even for Captain Anderson who loves things hot.

 

I think we had a jerk chicken selection at lunch on the TA, but I didn't bother with it. Perhaps in December we will have some.

[wripro]

Personally, I do not believe that the quality of Seabourn's food is due to Charlie Palmer's menu design and administrative oversight. It is due to the talent and hard work of the individual executive chefs and their teams who, until now. have had to interpret his recipes and who now will be free to express themselves more creatively. I say goodbye, goodbye, goodbye to lobster, lobster, lobster!!!!1

[Chairsin]

Flamin June,

Sorry -- I for one will not give Charlie Palmer credit for the quality of the food -- it was good BEFORE he signed on.I also had the misfortune to eat at one of his restuaurants. IMHO, the Seabourn chefs have done a great job rising above the contraints of the Palmer menus in the past few years.Maybe now that they are being unleashed we will see the high quality of the food further improved by individual creativity.

[my crow's nest]

With all of the negative posts, I thought I'd give Charlie some support and wish him well in whatever new venture he may undertake. Luckily, I am able to enjoy his restaurants. Had a great meal a few weeks ago at Dry Creek Kitchen and another great dinner at Aureole here in New York. Always eat in the Swan Room in Las Vegas every year also. That said, I look forward to sampling the new menus on the Quest in December. Charlie, thank you for sharing your talent with us on Seabourn!

[JaneBP]

I am most interested in a new variety of menu options, I don't care who does it. Palmer could do it, but as someone said, end of 'Lobster, lobster, lobster'! Naturally I assume they will keep the breadsticks,

[MillieMeter]

I can think of worse chefs than Gordon Ramsay, say Paula Deen or Heston Blumenthal!

If you like salt, sugar, and grease--what's wrong with Paula Deen????

I'm southern and her recipes are even a bit much for me!!!:)

[JaneBP]

Well, I wouldn't turn down some 'Gooey Butter Cake' for dessert, that's for sure!