Tell me about the Top Chef inspired meals in the MDR

[thebutlerdidit]

I understand that there are Top Chef inspired dishes being featured in the MDR this year. Does anyone know which night these dishes are featured on the menu? I'm booked in Aqua Class and may want to request seats in the MDR that night. What are the Top Chef dishes? Is there a featured appetizer, entree and dessert?

 

If you have tried any of these dishes - what did you think? Does anyone have photos of these dishes?

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Hi, I can try to help. I was on the Bermuda sailing, with the Top Chef program and wrote about it here: http://www.cruisecritic.com/blog/index.php/2014/08/01/live-from-celebrity-cruises-top-chef-at-sea-hits-and-misses.

 

On our cruise, the Top Chef night was Thursday. It was a port night, but not a formal night. Half of the menu was dedicated to dishes from the three chefs onboard. Each one put up an appetizer, a soup or salad, and an entree. We noticed that the appetizers were the same thing that we had made in our private cooking class.

 

I chose Ash Fulk's dishes because he had impressed me when I met him on the ship. It didn't disappoint. While he didn't actually cook the meal (the ship chefs do that), the flavors he put together were very innovative, and I thought the food was the best I had in the MDR the entire trip. The appetizer was spaetzle, the soup was an extremely delicious potato-leek vichyssoise, served cold;and the entree was short ribs with grits.

 

The desserts were not from our featured chefs. One was from Yigit, who won Top Chef Desserts. I forget the other. You can, of course, mix and match Top Chef courses with ones from the regular menu.

 

I asked Celebrity how Top Chef night works when the chefs themselves aren't onboard. Essentially, the ship's culinary staff has a repertoire of recipes from the program's chefs that they cycle through. So while our cruise featured Angelo, Spike and Ash, your sailing may have a totally different line-up.

 

Hope this helps!

Edited August 10, 2014 by Cruise Critic Chris

[thebutlerdidit]

Thanks, Chris. That makes me wonder if they might continue cycling through the same 3 chef's dishes until the next Top Chef theme cruise sails and then pick up the dishes from the new chefs. This really has me curious now. With so many returning cruisers I'm hoping for more input regarding which dishes were featured during their sailings.

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I was told that they cycle through ALL of the Top Chef dishes that they have, so no week is exactly the same. I agree, it will be interesting to see how true that is.

[DebbieMacG]

My daughter just returned from the Silhouette, the top chef night was the second night of the seven night cruise and she had the BBQ chicken, macaroni and collard greens, which was the top chef meal. She said it was disgusting, so bad infact she didn't go back to the MDR for the entire cruise, eating in speciality restaurants the rest of the week. :eek:

[Lois R]

My daughter just returned from the Silhouette, the top chef night was the second night of the seven night cruise and she had the BBQ chicken, macaroni and collard greens, which was the top chef meal. She said it was disgusting, so bad infact she didn't go back to the MDR for the entire cruise, eating in speciality restaurants the rest of the week. :eek:

 

They had a Top Chef cruise on a European itinerary? Is that normal?

As for what they served.....I love good BBQ (I live in the south) but

that sounds really odd to me:eek:.....that was a dinner served in the

main dining room and it represented Top Chef?

[Cruise Critic Chris]

They had a Top Chef cruise on a European itinerary? Is that normal?

As for what they served.....I love good BBQ (I live in the south) but

that sounds really odd to me:eek:.....that was a dinner served in the

main dining room and it represented Top Chef?

 

EVERY ship now has one Top Chef menu night, regardless if it's one of the special sailings. At least that's my understanding (would love to know if that's not right).

 

One of the four special Top Chef cruises, where the chefs are onboard, does take place in Europe.

 

Now I'm wondering which chef's BBQ recipe they are using!

[thebutlerdidit]

My daughter just returned from the Silhouette, the top chef night was the second night of the seven night cruise and she had the BBQ chicken, macaroni and collard greens, which was the top chef meal. She said it was disgusting, so bad infact she didn't go back to the MDR for the entire cruise, eating in speciality restaurants the rest of the week. :eek:

Thankfully, those aren't menu items I'd choose to order for dinner, but I wish your daughter had asked for alternate dishes to replace those she thought inedible. There was no need for her to walk away upset and hungry.

[Lois R]

EVERY ship now has one Top Chef menu night, regardless if it's one of the special sailings. At least that's my understanding (would love to know if that's not right).

 

One of the four special Top Chef cruises, where the chefs are onboard, does take place in Europe.

 

Now I'm wondering which chef's BBQ recipe they are using!

 

Oh...wait, every ship has a Top Chef Menu? Every sailing? No matter

what the itinerary?..guess that tells you how much I read the website:eek:

I had no clue.....but even so, I am quite surprised they would have

BBQ chicken and collards......that is really a southern menu. I mean

they can be delicious but you really need to know how to cook that

style of food.

[greeneg]

How do you screw up BBQ Chicken, Mac and Cheese, and Collards? Someone had to work pretty hard.......

[Lois R]

How do you screw up BBQ Chicken, Mac and Cheese, and Collards? Someone had to work pretty hard.......

 

Hi Ed:).......well, you can overcook chicken, make a BBQ sauce that

doesn't have a good flavor, over or undercook collards....don't put

enough salt....too much salt.......and as for Mac and Cheese......

you really want to know how to mess it up? The old Blue Box:eek:

[DebbieMacG]

Thankfully, those aren't menu items I'd choose to order for dinner, but I wish your daughter had asked for alternate dishes to replace those she thought inedible. There was no need for her to walk away upset and hungry.

 

I wish she had too, she was sailing alone with our six year old grand daughter and didn't want a fuss. She said the service wasn't brilliant either at MDR dinner, (they did Qsine the first night) I said she should have asked for a change of table and spoken to the maître D but she was more than happy with going to Lawn club, Qsine and Tuscan and it was the only blip on an otherwise fantastic cruise :)

[Host Jazzbeau]

How do you mess up Bar-B-Que? Just move from one State to another in the South. Your great recipes will all be considered rubbish!

[Kteacher]

My daughter just returned from the Silhouette, the top chef night was the second night of the seven night cruise and she had the BBQ chicken, macaroni and collard greens, which was the top chef meal. She said it was disgusting, so bad infact she didn't go back to the MDR for the entire cruise, eating in speciality restaurants the rest of the week. :eek:

 

I had the exact same experience on the Reflection-I was hopeful, but the BBQ chicken was greasy, and the macaroni and cheese was hard as a rock with no taste. My dessert choice was a tres leche cake, and what was served was nowhere near what tres leche cake is :( . The entire meal was really disappointing.

[thebutlerdidit]

I had the exact same experience on the Reflection-I was hopeful, but the BBQ chicken was greasy, and the macaroni and cheese was hard as a rock with no taste. My dessert choice was a tres leche cake, and what was served was nowhere near what tres leche cake is :( . The entire meal was really disappointing.

 

I have no doubt that the original chef's dish was tasty, but it sounds like Celebrity's onboard chefs have not mastered the execution. Or perhaps the dumbed-down version lost something in translation. Who is the head chef on the Reflection, and why has he allowed these dishes to be served? I'm sailing on the Reflection in November and sincerely hope that the BBQ chicken / Mac & cheese / collard greens has been removed from the rotation by then. Surely the feedback has been lousy enough and enough plates have been returned uneaten that they need to rethink continuing to prepare it.

[hcat]

Do diners get the regular menu choices as well? Or is this a night with fixed menu from the Top Chef picks? Mac and cheese reminds me of hot lunch menu at school!

 

glad we are in BLU and hope they do not extend this there!

Edited August 11, 2014 by hcat

[thebutlerdidit]

No, as always there are choices in the MDR.

 

Maybe recent cruisers will post a photo of the Top Chef night's menu on their cruise.

[LisaSp]

Just off the Aug 1-8 Solstice to Alaska and I don't recall which night was the Top Chef menu (maybe Tuesday?), but all of the items on that night's menu, in each category, were recipes from different Top Chef contestants (and of course the standard selections were available as well). None of the chefs were on board. I intended to snap a pic of the menu, but I forgot--oops! Some of the other chef's names I remember seeing included Marcel, Carla, Hosea, and Stefan. There were only a few names I didn't recognize (I started watching in season 3).

 

I remember I had the tuna tartare appetizer (Hung's recipe) and it was one of the best things I ate all week. And I actually had the bbq chicken, collard greens, and mac and cheese because I was in the mood for comfort food that night, and I really enjoyed it (cannot remember which chef's recipe it was). Chicken was moist and flavorful, greens were zingy and the mac and cheese was good too. I was not overly impressed with any of my MDR meals, but I did like the food that night.

 

I don't recall what I had for dessert that night, I just know it was not tres leches cake because that was Heather's recipe and I really disliked Heather as a contestant lol.

 

Hope that helps!

[Kteacher]

We had the same menu, and I was hoping for some decent comfort food like you,

but other than the collard greens, my dinner was almost inedible. I think my DH

had a short rib dish that he really liked that night. The best word to describe

our MDR experience is inconsistent.

[lynbee]

If Celebrity consider mac and cheese and bbq pork to be high class meals in the MDR then I'll stick with the buffet!

[iHeartGlaciers]

We had a Top Chef menu night on the Infinity to Iceland/Norway Fjords last month and the meals were very good that night. I loved the flank steak so much that I special ordered it to have again another night. There was also a really good "gourmet" Mac and cheese as a side to one of the dishes that was good.

[thebutlerdidit]

 

I don't recall what I had for dessert that night, I just know it was not tres leches cake because that was Heather's recipe and I really disliked Heather as a contestant lol.

 

Hope that helps!

This cracked me up because it's something I'd do. "Take that Heather, I didn't order your dish!"

Thanks, this was very helpful!

[andrew cooper]

Just back from the Eclipse where they had this Top Chef menu on the last night . Personally I thought there were some interesting choices . I think it adds to the dining experience when more experimental food is available and I actually had the much maligned chicken in barbecue sauce - it was fine . Here in the UK it is the current craze to try new recipes and introduce alternative forms of food presentation and so carry on I say . That's why we like Qsine !

In any case anyone who did not fancy the Top Chef choices could always choose from the regular menu which was available every night in the MDR .

 

:):):)

[shoelover536]

Are there any top chef choices being offered in AQ?

[LisaSp]

This cracked me up because it's something I'd do. "Take that Heather, I didn't order your dish!"

Thanks, this was very helpful!

 

I know I am a goofball but somehow it felt like revenge at her for being awful!!