Le Cordon Bleu® 2005 Workshop Sailings

[bananajacks]

Has this been offered before? I am trying to find out information regarding this workshop which takes place on our Cruise from Auckland to Los Angeles 2005. On the RSSC website it gives a very brief description.

Is the workshop hands on? or are you merely watching.

If it is hands on is it merely simple kitchen techniques knife work, prep etc?

I'm looking to book it for my wife who is a trained French chef. If it was hands on I know she would love it.

 

Thanks

[gdlamberth]

Hi there! We're on the same cruise. I considered the Cordon bleu class for my wife as her birthday present. Our TA told us she had heard various reviews from her clients. It is "hands on" and there are activities including dinner(s) for those in the class. Here's some clips that might be helpful:

 

I did the Cordon Bleu class with ChatKat above on the TransCanal cruise - it was really fun and it was fun doing it with someone - probably won't do it again this particular time, but I would do it again. They will also have an open cooking demonstration that anyone can attend - the private events were fun like Kathy said, we had two private dinners, we also had two private cocktail parties as I recall (right Kathy?) It definitely needs to be booked ahead of time, I waited too long and ended up on a waitlist, but then when onboard they notified me I had gotten in, probably because of the reason Kathy mentioned above, they added some additional sections, and then I just traded with someone to be in the same section with Kathy. So I'd check with Ngaire as soon as possible.

 

 

I took the Le Cordon Bleu Workshop on the Atlantic Crossing. They are not offered on every cruise - especially port intesensive cruises. I booked mine through the travel agent at booking time. Have your agent check to see if their is a class and availability. I loved every minute of it. They did only allow 16 per session ; yet they had three sessions. I liked the smaller classes because each individual is truly involved in the preparation (and eating) process of the selected gourmet item. You also have a graduation dinner and other events only for those taking the class.

 

 

Well lets see, the first day we did an appetizer, it was crab in an asperagus ring, the second class we did filet mignons with some kind of sauce (Kathy, help me out here I can't remember) and the third day we did a dessert, flaming fruit crepes with a sauce, it was fun, each day I took mine up to the bar where my husband was and shared it with him!!! I don't remember what the chef cooked for the open demonstration.

 

No the special dinners were not the food we did in class, it was just a special menu that Fredrick, the Cordon Bleu chef decided on.

 

The filet was in a truffle and cabernet sauce, the Fruit Crepes were in a Sabayon sauce (I was making the sauce on the induction stove and Joann was making the sauteed fruit and crepes when the french trolly burst into flames and we had a fire alarm on board! - JoAnn ran off with the fruit otherwise we'd have not had any for our Sabayon sauce). We made French style baby vegetables in butter. I did nickname the class "Cooking with Butter and Cooking with more butter"

 

While I can't find any of the more "negative" comments at this time; the ones I heard centered around "all we did was chop vegetables."

 

I can see how two people could have the same class and yet have very different experiences/memories.

 

 

Hope this is helpful.

 

 

As an aside are you doing any "pre-cruise" in Aukland? Gretchen and I are going two days early to get in a little sight seeing.

 

PS Welcome to the Cruise Critic Boards!!!

Greg

[JDRMYS]

We've taken these classes 3 times and book them whenever they are offered on one of our RSSC cruises. They are great. There are 3 half-day classes, each on a day at sea. After a demonstration, each participant prepares his or her own dish. The ingredients are all set out for each student who is then responsible for the complete preparation, cooking and presentation of the dish. Some people do their prep work in teams. In general, the other students are a very intersting bunch.

 

We took the LA to Aukland cruise (and Cordon Bleu classes) on the Mariner in January, 2003. We loved it so much that we are booked for the Auckland to LA cruise in November, 2006. We hope the CB classes will be offered!

[smilin jack]

We are on the same cruise. Thought about that class for my wife for two seconds.....if she took it, she might have to cook something.:D

 

We are looking forward to the cruise.

 

Smilin' Jack

http://www.smilinjack.com

[ChatKat in Ca.]

Greg,

 

There was only one man in our class. Now I can put your name and face together. I did not know that was you in our class.

[gdlamberth]

Kathy,

While I do hope to meet you some day; I wasn't your man. We were on the Transcanal in March of 2003. I lifted these snippets from the discussion on LCT. I'm trying to convince my wife to take the class on our trip. She, like our OP, wants to make sure it's fun and worth her while (and money). She wants me to take the class, too, (as I do a lot of our "main course" cooking and she does all the fancy stuff and baking).

Greg