Chef's Table on Celebrity??

[Wisconsin Travelers]

One of the best "excursions" we've ever experienced was the Chef's Table on a Princess cruise. They offered the Chef's Table twice on this particular cruise (it is often only offered once) for something like $100 per person with a limit of 12 passengers. It included 6 appetizers with the captain, maitre 'd, and executive chef in the kitchen (with free flowing champagne), followed by a several course meal with different wine for each course at our own table in the dining room with the chef himself preparing one course tableside. The food was phenomenal and it was a wonderful splurge.

 

Is something like this offered on Celebrity? How do you go about signing up for it? We'd love to have another evening like that one!

[Lois R]

One of the best "excursions" we've ever experienced was the Chef's Table on a Princess cruise. They offered the Chef's Table twice on this particular cruise (it is often only offered once) for something like $100 per person with a limit of 12 passengers. It included 6 appetizers with the captain, maitre 'd, and executive chef in the kitchen (with free flowing champagne), followed by a several course meal with different wine for each course at our own table in the dining room with the chef himself preparing one course tableside. The food was phenomenal and it was a wonderful splurge.

 

Is something like this offered on Celebrity? How do you go about signing up for it? We'd love to have another evening like that one!

 

Hi,:) there have been different "special dinners" offered. I have been

to 2 different ones before. One was in the galley, the other was

in the dining room.

 

I am not sure they offer either one on a regular basis or not.......

As to finding out if your particular cruise is offereing some type of

special dinner? After you board the shipI would suggest finding

one of the Maitr'ds and speaking with them about it.

I do know the one in the galley had the Chef near us cooking

tableside. There were not 6 appetizer's offered though.

And I think we were about 10 people.

 

I am sure others who have done this one will chime in.....I can't

remember the exact price but you get a BIG, HEAVY cookbook

to take home.

[Project_gal]

The Chef's Table is offered on every Celebrity cruise provided there is sufficient demand BUT because of the limited availability [max. 8, I think] it is not widely advertised. It is a great evening so, if you are interested, you need to speak to the representatives of the Specialty Restaurants as soon as possible after you board. There is usually at least one table at embarkation selling specialty restaurant resevations.

 

The price is higher than you quoted for Princess but includes a copy of the Excite the Senses cook book per cuople.

 

Sue

[cruisetexas]

Thanks, everyone for your help.

 

We are also interested in experiencing the Chef's Table, and wondered if there was a way to reserve this adventure before boarding.

 

Sounds like we must wait to arrive onboard.

 

Susan

[BosoxI]

Last week as we were finishing our meal in the USS United States, the head waiter offered us the opportunity to attend a special meal on the next night. Cost for two was $270, as I recall. Only three or four couples would attend. It sounded very similar to Princess' Chef's Table which we've done several times. His offer came at precisely the wrong time, at the end of a large meal when the next night's meal was the last thing on our minds.

[Wine-O]

We did the Chef's Table on Equinox last year. Not worth it in my opinion. It was held in the wine room in Murano, and the menu was pretty much the Murano's menu -- nothing special food wise other than the free flowing wine during dinner. The cost of $279 per couple, including their huge cookbook, was way overpriced.

[meredy]

We had a wonderful experience on the Noordam - with just 20 people & the Chef cooking in front of us. As we boarded the Equinox, last Sept, we decided to book the Chefs Table. It was held at a regular table in Murano. The food, as "Wine-O" said "nothing special". We did not receive a cookbook.

[Lois R]

Thanks, everyone for your help.

 

We are also interested in experiencing the Chef's Table, and wondered if there was a way to reserve this adventure before boarding.

 

Sounds like we must wait to arrive onboard.

 

Susan

 

You can't order it on line because it is not something that is always

offered.

Sometimes they might have it, sometimes not.

[begood2me]

We did the one on Millie last month and it was held in the galley. It was a nice experience.

[Tagsalong]

Chef's Table on X is more than twice the price of Princess and not nearly as good. On the Millie, we were invited by the HD, who we got to know quite well after 5 B2Bs. We could not refuse even after finding out it would cost us over $300. The dinner was in the galley, very noisy, and the hustle & bustle of the servers was distracting. Only two wines were offered, one red and one white. Don't remember the labels but they were good. Food was good but not spectacular like Princess and presentation was no where near as good as Princess.

 

As you already know, Princess does a galley tour with champagne/wine and appetizers and then goes into the dining room for the main meal. They serve a wine pairing with each different course. The tall food presentation was the best we have ever seen. We only paid $75 each, but that was two years ago and I think the prices have gone up to $95.

 

Not saying don't try it, but it will not compare to Princess or Royal Caribbean, especially on the Allure and Oasis unless, of course, they have changed it significantly since we did it on the Millie.

Edited May 22, 2013 by Tagsalong

[luvtravel88]

We did the Chef's Table on Princess last November and the cost was $95 per person including wine and $75 per person if you didn't want wine.

It also included a Princess Cookbook. It was one of the best meals we had ever eaten. We were in the galley or at our table for 3 1/2 hours!

 

I am disappointed that Celebrity doesn't have something more similar. $300 for dinner on a cruise where you have really already paid for your dinner should be an occasion you'll never forget but I'm glad to get feedback from those that have done this. It has allowed me to take this off my "to do" list.

[mandream]

We just did the Chef's table on the Infinity two weeks ago. It was fabulous. It was held in the Galley - we very much enjoyed sitting in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of the waiters serving dinner. Our dinner was hosted by the HD and Food and Beverage manager (this varies). The dinner began with a Champagne reception in the SS United States wine room. Then we moved to the Galley. Each course was served with a different wine. There were a total of 4 couples plus the two hosts.

 

Each couple received a copy of the "Excite the Senses" cookbook, and a picture taken of the group in the Galley. Cost was $270 / couple.

 

We have been on Galley tours many times, but those are usually held when there isn't a lot going on - for obvious reasons. This was very different and we really enjoyed it. Would certainly do it again.

 

Btw - we asked, and were told that they only have the dinner in the Galley on M Class ships. The S Class Galleys are laid out differently and can't accommodate it.

 

Mike

Edited May 22, 2013 by mandream

[neverbeenhere]

We've done the Chef's table a few times. Yes, it is too expensive. No, we didn't want a cookbook. Had a "bad" experience once. The rest have been great. Also, have received many perks from getting to know the chefs.

[bigreckster]

We did the Chef's table on Summit in Jan. The best part was the interesting people we dined with (a couple from England, a couple from Amsterdam and another couple from California). Nothing special about the meal itself....yes, it was in the galley next to the head chef's office but we were dissapointed that he actually didn't do any of the food preparation really. The wine started in the Normandie wine room and progressed course by course throughout the meal. The cookbook is huge...tough packing it away for the trip home. An interesting and somewhat pricey evening that I don't think we would do again.

[cl.klink]

Sounds like worthwhile on a Princess, but on Celebrity, I'll give it a miss.

[Wisconsin Travelers]

Thanks for all the responses. It sounds like the experience on Princess was hand-down a winner and the Celebrity counterpart was pretty much so-so. I was really looking forward to another great culinary adventure, but nearly $300 for a mediocre dinner (or one with the same food as in Murano, which I didn't think was exceptional in any way) is too pricey. BTW, the Princess deal also included their wonderful cookbook, autographed by the head chef, and a large photo of our group of 10.

 

So I guess I'd say it's a "don't miss it" event on Princess, but think hard about doing it on X.

 

Happy dining, everyone!

[POPDISPLAY]

My review for a Princess chef's table

 

 

3 friends and I participated in this event on the 4/5 sailing. We all met the day before with the maitre d for an allergy "screening" and to determine if anybody previously participated on another ship's chef's table; so that the menu wouldn't be repeated.

 

As has been reported in many other posts, the group meets in the dining room and is then ushered into the kitchen for a quick look at the operation. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres were served. The captain stopped by for photos and to have a glass of champagne.

 

The group is then returned to the dining room for dinner.

 

Many courses are served, each with an appropriate wine. Several courses were prepared by the head chef.

 

The focus with the chef's table, as with cuisine in general on a cruise ship is quantity in favor of quality. Much of the chef's table food was better than the offerings available elsewhere on the ship. But, let's be specific here, the chef's table food is miles away from that which one would receive at a fine dining, land based restaurant. Farther still from that which is offered at a chef's table in such a land based restaurant.

 

The head chef freely admitted that all meats, fish, shellfish and poultry are received frozen and then thawed for preparation. That being said, the meat course which consisted of veal, beef, and pork tenderloin medallions, were baked in a slow oven. Not a typical or even advisable preparation as the meats all lacked any degree of sear (and seasoning for that matter). Also, portions are far bigger than they ought to be; considering how many courses were served. From the initial crab "martinis" to the desserts, each course was enough for a stand alone meal. I'd much rather be served an appropriate portion that was better prepared, than a huge overflow of food that was lacking in attention to detail. Given the aforementioned, go into this "excursion" with your eyes open and your expectations scaled down a few degrees.

 

The service was better than a typical dinner in the dining room. And once again, both levels of ship based service are some distance from typical service in a top tier, land based restaurant. The meal ended with my least favorite aspect of MDR dining-- singing waiters.

 

Bottom line:

 

Was it worth $75 per person? Maybe yes as the evening was pleasant and despite a particular woman's drunken behavior (kept screaming Mangia, Mangia from beginning to end), we all had a good time. Based on the food, an additional $75 is pretty expensive for that which we received. The wines helped...

 

Would I do it again? No.

 

Would I suggest it to a friend- It depends....

 

If you're looking for a true "gourmet" meal, this isn't the place to find it. If you're looking for a pleasant way to kill 3-4 hours and you want to spend $75 to do so, you could do worse. Many of the ship's excursions cost more than $75 and fill less time.

Edited May 23, 2013 by POPDISPLAY

[Oz_Steve]

We dined at the Chefs table on the Solstice recently and enjoyed it. The wines that we had were fantastic (probably the main reason for the cost) and the food was a selection from the 3 specialty restaurants. It included a Galley tour during dinner service so you saw the kitchen when it was going flat out. There were 10 people attending and it was hosted by one of the senior officers. The exec chef spent a lot of time there as did other senior staff. You also got a book per couple. Whilst it was great not sure it was worth $279 per couple, I think they should have had a unique menu. We also did the chefs table on Radiance of the sea and it was significantly less expensive and overall a better experience as they did a completely unique menu.