Chef's table

[Crusing Cheryl]

Does Celebrity offer Chef's Table dinning on the Summit? If so, what has your experience been?

[Crusing Cheryl]

LOL, glad to see that others are interested in this as well...are you listening Summit?

[need2bespoiled]

Sorry you have not received a reply. In general, Celebrity will offer a chef's table on any cruise with enough interest (8 people) to warrant one or more if they can fill them. It's $250 a couple including a photo and a cook book. Ask the Maitre d ‘specialty dining and he should be able to book you in. It generally starts with a drink in a lounge like Cellar Masters then on to the galley on M-Class for your meal.

 

If you ask for other with interest on your roll call, and get interest in advance, ask the day you board you can often get it scheduled that way.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[WALKER1313]

It is a reasonably good time. $ 250 doesn't seem exactly the price, but to tell the truth it's been a few years since we did one. Paid for one, got one for free. We think the cookbook could be ditched for a better memento, just not sure what it could be.

[need2bespoiled]

We've done it a few times, once on Eclipse which is done in Murano, once on Constellation, up on deck, overlooking Marmaris at night, that was pretty special, once in the Galley on Constellation. That's the price. They'll give you $50 off (maybe) if you ditch the cookbook.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Project_gal]

Sorry you have not received a reply. In general, Celebrity will offer a chef's table on any cruise with enough interest (8 people) to warrant one or more if they can fill them. It's $250 a couple including a photo and a cook book. Ask the Maitre d ‘specialty dining and he should be able to book you in. It generally starts with a drink in a lounge like Cellar Masters then on to the galley on M-Class for your meal.

 

If you ask for other with interest on your roll call, and get interest in advance, ask the day you board you can often get it scheduled that way.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Jenna

 

Perfect answer yet again!

[Lois R]

Sometimes threads will get ALOT of views before anyone replies....who

knows why?:confused:.....I have been to a couple of different "Chef's Dinner's"

over the years....I think one was on Summit but it has been a long

time so I can't recall how much it was....we ate inside the galley....

it was in front of the area where the Chef's office was located.

I think there were about 10 people and they had an officer host it.

I had a good time...I do remember the head chef had his own station

set up and I want to say most everything was cooked right there by

him.....

Yes, it was sort of in the middle of the kitchen....wait staff was going

back and forth and you could see/feel the hustle bustle of the galley.

[bigreckster]

We did the chef's table about a year or so ago on Summit...four couples plus a member of the exec. crew. Think the cost was $220??? We started with wine in the Normandie "vault room" and then moved to a table in the galley. A noisy but interesting venue except for those with their backs to the "action" in the kitchen. The head chef made a "lame" effort to shuffle a few pans to cook our sauce for the entrée but was absent most of the time...food was prepared elsewhere in the galley and served with all the wine you could consume. The food was good but not as good as we had each evening in the Normandie. Yes, the cookbook is huge! Also got a group picture. The best part of the evening was the wonderful interaction among the 8 of us at the table...luck of the draw there..we would not do it again however. It seemed like an expensive outing with food that didn't live up to expectations.

[need2bespoiled]

We did the chef's table about a year or so ago on Summit...four couples plus a member of the exec. crew. Think the cost was $220??? We started with wine in the Normandie "vault room" and then moved to a table in the galley. A noisy but interesting venue except for those with their backs to the "action" in the kitchen. The head chef made a "lame" effort to shuffle a few pans to cook our sauce for the entrée but was absent most of the time...food was prepared elsewhere in the galley and served with all the wine you could consume. The food was good but not as good as we had each evening in the Normandie. Yes, the cookbook is huge! Also got a group picture. The best part of the evening was the wonderful interaction among the 8 of us at the table...luck of the draw there..we would not do it again however. It seemed like an expensive outing with food that didn't live up to expectations.

 

 

I don't disagree that the food is not much different, or special than other restaurants with a few exceptions. It is a nice experience, and hence why we have done it multiple times, each one was different (once on S-Class in Murano, once in the Kitchen, and once up on deck with almost all local ingredients). Company has always been good, and one of the best parts has certainly been all the new wines we've tried.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Crusing Cheryl]

Thank you to everyone who replied. Hubby is on the fence because we did this already on another cruise line so hoping that it will be available on our ship (he is a love, he will agree to go if I really want to).

[Lois R]

Thank you to everyone who replied. Hubby is on the fence because we did this already on another cruise line so hoping that it will be available on our ship (he is a love, he will agree to go if I really want to).

 

Hi Cheryl, just a bit of information. This is not offered on every cruise so

if it is something you really want to do I would ask about it after you

board the ship. They must have a minimum amount of people so if

that is not met? I doubt they would have it.

[Wine-O]

Hi Cheryl, just a bit of information. This is not offered on every cruise so

if it is something you really want to do I would ask about it after you

board the ship. They must have a minimum amount of people so if

that is not met? I doubt they would have it.

 

That's true. If they really want to go, they might want to drum up support on their Roll Call to get 4 couples to participate.

 

We did one on Equinox back in 2012, and they had it in the Wine Room in Murano. We were disappointed because the menu wasn't anything special -- most of the items came off the regular menu. For the cost, I wouldn't do it again.

[Project_gal]

I don't disagree that the food is not much different, or special than other restaurants with a few exceptions. It is a nice experience, and hence why we have done it multiple times, each one was different (once on S-Class in Murano, once in the Kitchen, and once up on deck with almost all local ingredients). Company has always been good, and one of the best parts has certainly been all the new wines we've tried.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Jenna

 

I love the idea of holding the Chef's Table on deck. What type of cruise was this, please?

 

Hi Cheryl, just a bit of information. This is not offered on every cruise so

if it is something you really want to do I would ask about it after you

board the ship. They must have a minimum amount of people so if

that is not met? I doubt they would have it.

 

Conversely, they held at least 3 [perhaps 4, my memory is a little hazy] on our last TA. However, Sean, the specialty restaurant maitre d' on that cruise was a wiz at marketing!

[Adidas4fun]

hmmmm, okay, goaded by Lois R @ post #7 I have viewed this thread a number of times so I will finally make a response just for the hell of it.

 

I have yet to sail a celebrity cruise but have done the chefs table on other cruises. Every single one has been outstanding for the company of the people at the table - other people similarly motivated to spend some extra dollars enjoying some food and wine. The extras by way of interaction with chefs etc pale in comparison.

[need2bespoiled]

Jenna

 

I love the idea of holding the Chef's Table on deck. What type of cruise was this, please?

 

Conversely, they held at least 3 [perhaps 4, my memory is a little hazy] on our last TA. However, Sean, the specialty restaurant maitre d' on that cruise was a wiz at marketing!

 

On the Turkey / Greek Isles cruise aboard Constellation previous to the TA we shared this past November we were in Marmaris until midnight. This seemed to be all Sean's doing and agree he was quite a "wiz". It was a bit cold, so blankets were provided but they brought a charcol grill up to the space above the new deck 11 cabins, and held the meal on the back of the ship on Deck 12 overlooking the "city". They chef sourced a number of local ingirdients (I remember sardines). They said it had been done on deck one other time on Reflection for VIPs and C executives when it was first launched and it was something they were planning to experiment with across the fleet. I would love to see later departures in the Caribbean, say on Eclipse and Summit as they often have short sailings between islands, as it would allow for more options like this as I think it is often too windy underway. I think they leave so they can open the shops and casinos.

 

While I have not heard about it again, it is so small (8 guests) it is possible it hasn't happened again. Maybe it was connected to testing the local sourcing of ingirdients for the suite restaurant, who knows, but I think it was more Sean. We have a number of overnights on our Asia cruise this Nov/Dec where I could see this working and could see it as an option for Bermuda too where Summit is there for 3 days.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Project_gal]

On the Turkey / Greek Isles cruise aboard Constellation previous to the TA we shared this past November we were in Marmaris until midnight. This seemed to be all Sean's doing and agree he was quite a "wiz". It was a bit cold, so blankets were provided but they brought a charcol grill up to the space above the new deck 11 cabins, and held the meal on the back of the ship on Deck 12 overlooking the "city". They chef sourced a number of local ingirdients (I remember sardines). They said it had been done on deck one other time on Reflection for VIPs and C executives when it was first launched and it was something they were planning to experiment with across the fleet. I would love to see later departures in the Caribbean, say on Eclipse and Summit as they often have short sailings between islands, as it would allow for more options like this as I think it is often too windy underway. I think they leave so they can open the shops and casinos.

 

While I have not heard about it again, it is so small (8 guests) it is possible it hasn't happened again. Maybe it was connected to testing the local sourcing of ingirdients for the suite restaurant, who knows, but I think it was more Sean. We have a number of overnights on our Asia cruise this Nov/Dec where I could see this working and could see it as an option for Bermuda too where Summit is there for 3 days.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Jenna

 

Sounds wonderful!

 

Sean is great too. Would love to meet him again on a cruise but he seems to want to stay with Connie and our next three cruises are not on her.

[Pilot70D]

We have done the Chef's Table four times on Celebrity cruises - twice on the Connie, once on the Century and most recently on the New Year's cruise aboard the Eclipse.

 

The first three were pinnacle experiences and worth the $200+ cost and yes, if you already have the cookbook you do get about a $50 discount if you turn down the book. The Chef's Table while on the Eclipse was a bust and in IMHO a rip off.

 

On the Century and the Connie the Chef's Table was held in the galley and was hosted by one of ship's senior officers. On the Eclipse it was held in the wine cellar room of Murano's was hosted by no one. The executive chef put in a brief appearance then said he had to attend to some things but that he would return. He didn't. The maître 'D started us off and said that he would be taking care of our Chef's Table. He too disappeared and never returned. During the meal the hubby of one of the couples fell ill and left. No one noticed and they continued to bring out the various courses even though the wife told them he would no longer be participating. We often had to wait thirty minutes or longer after finishing one course before the next course appeared. Wine glasses and water glasses remained empty through multiple courses and seldom did anyone from the ship come by where we were.

 

In fairness we have to keep in mind that this was a New Year's cruise and the ship was packed. This also meant that all resources like Murano's were at or near capacity virtually every night. Still at over $200 per couple there was no excuse for the poor service that we experienced.

 

OK, the good points. The company was a lot of fun and we sort of partied on left to our own devices. The food was really good but not appreciably better than that available in Murano's. There was nothing served at our Chef's Table that wasn't a regular menu item in Murano's. This was in stark contrast to what we experienced on the Century and the Connie where the chef really strutted his stuff. The wines served were really good wines which we really enjoyed.

 

Will we do another Chef's Table? Well, maybe but not without asking how, when and where the Chef's Table will be conducted. If it's like the first three we attended we would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

My goal in writing this post is to make sure that people know what they're getting. Don't blindly trust that it will be a pinnacle dinner just because of its price.

 

Everyone have a great day out there and enjoy that next cruise.

:cool::):cool:

Edited July 5, 2014 by Pilot70D

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Pilot70D, your experience on Eclipse was in stark contrast to our 2 Chef's Tables on Eclipse and Equinox, both on New Years cruises. On Eclipse the table was hosted by 2 ships officers and on Equinox the food and beverage manager hosted the dinner. Both were held in the wine room in Muranos and the head chef, maître 'D, cellar master and others stopped by during the meal. We had off the menu items at both dinners and wine was poured freely. We'd book a chef's table again on the S class ships and are hoping to experience one on our upcoming Millennium cruise.

 

Mary Lou

[Crusing Cheryl]

Thank you again for the replies. I have posted on my roll call thread but no bites yet there, will inquire once we are on the ship and will be sure to ask where they are holding it and when.

[need2bespoiled]

Thank you again for the replies. I have posted on my roll call thread but no bites yet there, will inquire once we are on the ship and will be sure to ask where they are holding it and when.

 

Except for a quick Bahamas cruise on Century, our Summit roll call has been very slow so I am not surprised yours has not had any bites yet.

 

I hope you do and get a great table of folks to join you! The experience is fun and we feel worth it, even if the food isn't all that special.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Aussie_Kiwi_Family]

We have done one on RCL - loved it. The food/ company/ service etc was amazing. On our upcoming cruise on Solstice we are really hoping to be able to book a chefs table if one is on offer.

[Kevnzworld]

I did the Chefs table on the Millennium in 2012.

Unfortunately all of Celebrity's menus are set, so the menu was Murano's ( the same restaurant but with a different name on the other ships ).

There is some wine pairing and the book. The " chef " , ( head cook ) sits with your table for an hour or so.

I liked it for a change, but it wasn't great and I wouldn't do it again.. It's not like a real restaurants Chefs table.... There isn't a Chef.

[Lois R]

To the original poster.....as you can see, there are several different

replies to your question. So looks like there is not one specific dinner or

set menu.

We have all had different experiences:)....as for having the same menu

as is in Murano? I have been to 3 different dinners over the years.....

(thought I went to 2 but looking back I remember 3)....I do not recall

having the same menu that the restaurant offers. I remember the

first one I went on...it was in 2009 on Mercury out in Alaska......

OMG....had seafood purchased when we docked in Juneau.

Now that was FABULOUS:)

 

Anyway, you will have to check with the Maitr'd after you board the

ship to see if they are having one on your cruise:)

Edited July 6, 2014 by Lois R

[rjwex]

We did this our last cruise on the Equinox. I hadn't heard of this before - it's amazing how inconsistent the marketing is from cruise to cruise. Our butler was new in the role, and we shared that any special events are something to share.

 

We had the food & beverage manager, the exec sous chef and one other. We had a couple of items on the menu I wish I could get again, and some really nice wines. Those cookbooks are a nightmare to lug home:eek:

 

We started in the wine cellar, got a tour of the kitchens and ended in Murano wine room. Loved it. We had one couple who were something else, but fun to talk about later.

[MoyCoy]

We have done one on RCL - loved it. The food/ company/ service etc was amazing. On our upcoming cruise on Solstice we are really hoping to be able to book a chefs table if one is on offer.

 

Do you have to wait to book it while on board?