Le Cirque Questions

[Colfireman]

Not only will guests have the opportunity to dine on unique Le Cirque dishes including Lobster Salad “Le Cirque,” Sweet Corn Soup and Côte de Boeuf, they also will be able to learn how to cook a dish or two during special Le Cirque demonstrations in the on-board Culinary Arts Center.

 

 

 

 

Additional enhancements to the program include screenings of the HBO documentary “Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven” on in-stateroom television, as well as the opportunity to purchase a Le Cirque crème brûlée dish and Le Cirque founder Sirio Maccioni’s book, “Sirio: The Story of My Life and Le Cirque.”

The quote was taken from the Holland site for this venue, and i have a couple of questions regarding this.

 

 

 

Q1. if you have booked Le Cirque, do you get priority seating or tickets to this demonstration or is it opened up for first come first serve? Has anyone done this? Thoughts?

 

 

 

Q2. Where does one purchase the dish and book? Crème brûlée is my absolute favorite dessert. Does anyone ever have seconds? :D

 

Greg

[Silverwing]

We have been to several "Le Cirque" dinners on different ships. All have been excellent. It is quite a limited menu, but we prefer it to the regular Pinnacle dinner. We have booked again during our Ryndam cruise in May.

 

The only demonstration I have attended was of the lobster starter, which was delicious. We were told that it costs $39 in the restaurant in New York, that makes the $39 cost of the whole dinner on board very good value. The demo was just one listed on the daily programme with no advance booking or anything special for passengers with a "Le Cirque" booking.

 

I watched the documentary in our cabin last year, so they've been showing it for a while. I think I saw the book for sale alongside the towel creations one in the Explorations Cafe. Didn't see the dish though.

 

Hope that helps.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have the Le Cirque quite a few times on various ships and love it.

The cooking demonstration is a separate activity -- held on a sea -- usually around 10:30 or 11 AM. At the demonstration they show how to make the Lobster Salad. Sometimes you get a taste sampling -- sometimes you don't -- all depends on the ship. This is a free demonstration.

As for Le Cirque -- it is held one evening in the Pinnacle Grill.

We always pre-book it online at HAL's site.

[spacepotatoes]

There are no tickets needed for the cooking demo. It's a separate event that anyone can attend. It's held earlier in the week than the Le Cirque night and they use it as an opportunity to plug the dinner. On the Zuiderdam in July, we got samples of the creme brulee. We also got recipe cards for both the creme brulee and lobster salad. It was interesting.

[Krazy Kruizers]

 

Le Cirque Menu -- it is $39 per person -- held in the Pinnacle Grill -- can be booked online, on the ship or through Ship Services at 1-800-541-1576

Appetizers:

Lobster Cocktail - poached lobster with haricot vert and citrus

Le Trio - caviar, smoked salmon and Pate foie gras

Caesar Salad - interpretation of the classical salad

 

Soup:

Butternut Squash with Huckleberries - with sage chantilly

Chilled Yogurt and Mellon - with shrimps

 

Main Courses:

Seared Alaskan Black Cod - leek, red wine beurre rouge

Rack of Lamb - goat cheese panisse, artichokes and arugula

Chateaubriand - horseradish flan, sweet and sour baby beets

Three Cheese Ravioli - fresh basil tomato

Chicken Under a Brick - sauteed vegetables ginger honey jus

 

Dessert:

Creme Brulee Le Cirque

Chocolate Souffle - traditional chocolate souffle with vanilla gelato

Napoleon with Fresh Berries

Assortment of Sorbets

[Krazy Kruizers]

 

 

 

[Colfireman]

Thanks for your replies everyone, I have gone ahead and booked our "Le Cirque" night. We will watch for the information on the Demo in the explorer.

[PathfinderEss]

Have a great dinner at Le Cirque, I think you will enjoy your dinner. We've eaten there many times and it is very good.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for your replies everyone, I have gone ahead and booked our "Le Cirque" night. We will watch for the information on the Demo in the explorer.

 

I don't think you will be disappointed.

[absolutboy20]

Does anyone have any comparison of the dining experience on board compared to the actual restaurant in quality of food/ambiance? I've never been to the one in NYC, but have been to the one in Las Vegas at the Bellagio. We were walking by and just dropped in so didn't correlate that it was the same restaurant as the one in NYC. I thought the food was very well done. Obviously $35.00 per person up charge compared to the actual restaurant is a steal IMHO.

[Typhoon1]

There is no deviation from the menu. What is offered on the ship is mandated by the contract HAL has with Le Cirque.

[RandyinDEN]

We were on the NA for a 2 week B2B cruise in December and the original owners of Le Cirque were on board. They cooked a few dishes, signed books, and were there all week around the ship. It was fun to talk to them and hear their different stories of running a restaurant.

 

As far as dinner went, it was wonderful. We went twice in the 2 weeks. Everything we had was cooked perfectly and tasted wonderful.

 

I would recommend it at least once if you can.

[SeaBands]

can be purchased at a discount from ecookbooks.com

[geoherb]

I attended both the cooking class and Le Cirque dinner last month on the Westerdam. At the end of the cooking demo, they brought out small demitasse portions of the creme brulee. There were more people than they anticipated at the demo and ran out. They ended up giving out full size portions as well to the people who missed out on the smaller portions and had some extra full size portions that some of us who had already tasted the smaller portions got to enjoy. DH wasn't with me at the demo, so he ordered the creme brulee at the dinner, and I ordered the chocolate souffle. We got an additional berry napolean to share.

 

DH said it was one of the best meals he'd ever had. He had the chateaubriand for his entree and I had the lamb. The chateaubriand was better, but I can't stand beets.