What is the primary problem with Curtis Stone in the MDR

[lolabarola]

Thank you. So l'm looking forward to trying his menus on our next Princess cruise......lol ;)

[HleeCruiser]

I'm afraid Princess has hooked their wagon to the wrong star. We have been on one cruise with CS entrees available and not one of them was an A List candidate. However the regular menu was very nice and we experienced very good to excellent food each and every evening. I really do not mind the CS menu additions but I do regret the downgrading of the Always Available menu. I.E. deletion of the beef medallions.

[Aus Traveller]

Maybe l'm the only one who doesn't know - and I do lead a quiet life ! - but who is Curtis Stone? :)

Curtis Stone is an Australian chef, but I would not call him a 'Celebrity Chef'. He does TV food advertisements for Woolworths, a large supermarket chain. As far as I know, that is his only claim to fame - other than designing dishes for Princess. Personally, I think he should have stayed with Woolworths.:)

[GUT2407]

Curtis Stone is an Australian chef, but I would not call him a 'Celebrity Chef'. He does TV food advertisements for Woolworths, a large supermarket chain. As far as I know, that is his only claim to fame - other than designing dishes for Princess. Personally, I think he should have stayed with Woolworths.:)

 

I thought it was Coles.

[GUT2407]

Curtis Stone is an Australian chef, but I would not call him a 'Celebrity Chef'. He does TV food advertisements for Woolworths, a large supermarket chain. As far as I know, that is his only claim to fame - other than designing dishes for Princess. Personally, I think he should have stayed with Woolworths.:)

 

I thought it was Coles.

 

Not doing a real good job is he, as one of us has him linked to the wrong chain.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Curtis Stone is an Australian chef, but I would not call him a 'Celebrity Chef'. He does TV food advertisements for Woolworths, a large supermarket chain. As far as I know, that is his only claim to fame - other than designing dishes for Princess. Personally, I think he should have stayed with Woolworths.:)

 

Actually he's the "face" of Coles. not Woolworths.

 

He appears on MasterChef each year as a guest chef, and this year he also appeared on My Kitchen Rules. Probably because Coles are major sponsors of both shows.

 

He's based in Los Angeles, where he has a restaurant called Maude, which seems to get mostly good reviews.

[Aus Traveller]

I thought it was Coles.

Undoubtedly you are correct. Blame me for not linking him to the correct supermarket chain - I don't think it is his fault.

 

I have a habit of not really looking at ads. Sometimes this annoys my husband when he expects me to know what he is talking about when he refers to the ads. :D

[elliair]

Brains=sweetbreads. My mother used to try to feed us that, too. They can be purchased at just about any grocery store in the US.

 

Which reminds me, I had to look twice at this piece of meat in the store the other day. It was cows tongue. Yep, my mother boiled it and sliced it thin. Us kids wouldn't touch it - that and liver. I won't eat escargot either. I'm expecting cows tongue to show up on the CS menu.:eek:

Edited September 1, 2016 by elliair

[mrs and mrs]

C.S appears in a few celebrity chef programmes out of the U.S.

Without being offensive he has totally been reprogrammed for the t.v market.

 

What he does have a problem with is, chefing on all those ships,at the same time. plus t.v.

He is a very tired man.:rolleyes:

 

I have heard a rumour that Charlie and Britney, will be their next celebrity chefs. Cant wait for that one.

 

It was rumoured that The Charlie had made an appearance on a ship in Sydney Harbour, with 2 females,and 2 very heavy suitcases, alas it wasn't him.;)

[Astro Flyer]

It appears to me that Princess realizes that overall the Curtis Stone experience isn't going well.

 

I planned to try some of his MDR food but in April on the Crown his only items were the pork belly & the chicken pot pie on 2 different evenings. Share was scheduled to replace Sabatini's on the Coral in January but the change was cancelled. Passengers on the post-drydock cruise posted that the maître d' said it wasn't done because the change wasn't well received on the other ships. Princess has promoted the Curtis Stone Chef's Table which apparently hasn't been implemented on any ship & possibly because his MDR & Share food hasn't been successful.

 

He may be a wonderful chef however creating a menu that translates to serving thousands of meals at sea is much different than at a land based restaurant. Overall I've been very happy with menus created by Princess Executive Chef Alfredo Marzi & his staff. I think Princess should have given Alfredo the money to improve their menus instead of to Curtis Stone.

 

Changes can be good however not every change is an improvement which is the category I'd put the Curtis Stone experiment.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[TNTLAMB]

Actually he's the "face" of Coles. not Woolworths.

 

He appears on MasterChef each year as a guest chef, and this year he also appeared on My Kitchen Rules. Probably because Coles are major sponsors of both shows.

 

He's based in Los Angeles, where he has a restaurant called Maude, which seems to get mostly good reviews.

 

He also has several shows on Food Network, several New York Times best Sellers, 214,000 Instagram followers, 550,000 on Facebook, and 165,000 on Twitter. So I don't if that makes him B list or not, but pretty well known to foodies

 

Last year's guest Chefs for the Culinary cruise were Cat Cora and Top Chef Master Suzanne Tracht. Not sure who they have this year. So in any event they are all pretty well known.

[shredie]

It appears to me that Princess realizes that overall the Curtis Stone experience isn't going well.

...

 

Changes can be good however not every change is an improvement which is the category I'd put the Curtis Stone experiment.

 

I think you are right, and I hope that doesn't mean we hear more "opinions" from the CS fans (which too often has turned into hurling insults.) I know there are some who have eaten the food both in the MDR and SHARE and have enjoyed it, but I think the evidence shows that more people are not happy with the change.

[Astro Flyer]

I think you are right, and I hope that doesn't mean we hear more "opinions" from the CS fans (which too often has turned into hurling insults.) I know there are some who have eaten the food both in the MDR and SHARE and have enjoyed it, but I think the evidence shows that more people are not happy with the change.

I hoped that the CS items would be an improvement but only Princess truly knows about how it's been received by the majority of their passengers. However those examples I posted indicates to me that overall it's not succeeding.

 

I know that some passengers are happy with the changes but Princess decides what most of their passengers desire. Like so many things food opinions are very subjective but it's possible to disagree without being disagreeable. ;)

Edited September 2, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[moki'smommy]

I hoped that the CS items would be an improvement but only Princess truly knows about how it's been received by the majority of their passengers. However those examples I posted indicates to me that overall it's not succeeding.

 

You are correct that only Princess can possibly guess how the majority feels. I do know that on our November cruise, 3 out of 3 of the Curtis Stone entrees were sent back and replaced with something else...and there were only 4 people at the table. These were the US 3 items.

 

The Potato and Leek Pot Pie on the Australian/Japanese cruises was good.

[Astro Flyer]

You are correct that only Princess can possibly guess how the majority feels. I do know that on our November cruise' date=' 3 out of 3 of the Curtis Stone entrees were sent back and replaced with something else...and there were only 4 people at the table. These were the US 3 items.

 

The Potato and Leek Pot Pie on the Australian/Japanese cruises was good.[/quote']

 

I didn't try the pork belly entree and the chicken & leek pot pie was just okay but it lacked much of either ingredient & it's nothing that I would ever order again. I rarely feel that way about other Princess food but that's merely my subjective opinion.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[keithm]

1) the description of the food,

2) the quality and/or execution,

3) the presentation, or

4) the fact that CS dishes have displaced better and/or healthier choices?

 

We will be cruising for the first time since CS items have begun to appear in the MDR.

 

Some of the descriptions sound OK. Some sound like very cheap food dressed up with a celebrity name. I have only seen a few photos of the food. One dish, the mahimahi, looks awful: beige fish, beige cauliflower, beige plantains...maybe it tastes OK.(In general, I have noticed that the main dishes are not served with an appropriate amount of vegetables. We usually ask for some extra broccoli.)

 

If anybody has additional photos or insights on specific dishes this would be appreciated. What do you think are the best dishes currently offered on the always available menu? How long until the CS contract is up? Would it be better for Princess to spend its apparently limited food budget on quality ingredients rather than a celebrity name?

My partner tried 1 CS dish & it was ok. For myself, nothing of his appealed to me & I stuck with the regular menu & it was good. We're both in the food industry & foodies as well. CS menus I found to be quite boring in detail. The Chix & leek pie was the one my partner had & he liked it, but was not blown away by any means.

[keithm]

He's a chef at McDonalds's :eek: Sorry I could not help my self LOL :D

Tony

OH, COME ON!! Curtis is a LEGEND!!(well in his own mind anyways!)

[TNTLAMB]

There was actually quite a bit changed in the Corral's Dry Dock on the fly. Most of the decisions were based on the decision to permanently deploy the Coral for full canal transits using the old locks. Considering Share had been open less than three weeks when the Coral went into dry dock, the oft quoted Maire d story doesn't hold much water. It didn't open Officially on the Ruby until the Coral was in dry dock a couple of days. I was fortunate enough aboard the Ruby' at the grand opening.

[Aus Traveller]

Astro Flyer - your posts have been well-considered reasoning. :)

 

On our last cruise, when I mentioned SHARE, out waiter said that it had not been well received on the ships it is on and indicated that it may not be implemented on other ships.

 

Princess has poured a lot of money into the Curtis Stone restaurant and dishes in the MDR. I am sure they are monitoring how it is received.

 

I had the impression that they might have been aiming at a younger demographic that that usually found on Princess ships. Maybe that's why I didn't like the food. :( The problem was me (my age) not the food. ;)

[OzKiwiJJ]

I had the impression that they might have been aiming at a younger demographic that that usually found on Princess ships. Maybe that's why I didn't like the food. :( The problem was me (my age) not the food. ;)

 

Could be. The Aussie MDR dishes, at least, and those on the menu in Share on Sun, may be dishes that young folk these days rarely cook. Slow cooking, comfort food, heavier dishes. Perhaps they are targeting those people who usually toss together a quick pasta or stirfry.

[shredie]

Could be. The Aussie MDR dishes, at least, and those on the menu in Share on Sun, may be dishes that young folk these days rarely cook. Slow cooking, comfort food, heavier dishes. Perhaps they are targeting those people who usually toss together a quick pasta or stirfry.

 

That might be the case. The Aussie CS somewhat is different from the Los Angeles CS, maybe. Comfort foods sound like they would lend themselves more to the family style, sharing from the serving dish kind of thing Stone talks about in some of his Princess videos. The small plates concept on the other ships sounds like a different sort of experience to me. Are foodies different in Australia from the ones here in California?

[Pam in CA]

There's a couple of ways Princess can easily measure the success of Curtis Stone's menu items: # ordered and food gone to waste.

 

None of the Curtis Stone menu items appealed to me. Pork belly is not a menu item found in very many US restaurants. It's probably regional. I remember years ago while on a South American cruise on the Golden, a woman I was talking to was horrified at the "weird South American food" being served. When asked for specifics, she said, "You know, lamb."

[wishfulone]

That might be the case. The Aussie CS somewhat is different from the Los Angeles CS, maybe. Comfort foods sound like they would lend themselves more to the family style, sharing from the serving dish kind of thing Stone talks about in some of his Princess videos. The small plates concept on the other ships sounds like a different sort of experience to me. Are foodies different in Australia from the ones here in California?

Don't think so. Good food is beautifully presented, fresh produce, well cooked and tasty in any country. Pork Belly, Chicken & Leek Pie, evn Osso Bucco the way it's prepared under CS are very 'English' in origin. There was a short period of popularity for pork belly here in Australia but it's not really our sort of food. Much too fatty for our outdoors lifestyle. Young people do like something new and trendy but they're also very health conscious and into fitness. Comfort food doesn't really factor too highly in their diet. Unless it's a secret visit to Maccas :D

 

__________________

Edited September 2, 2016 by wishfulone

[Ron the Rev]

There's a couple of ways Princess can easily measure the success of Curtis Stone's menu items: # ordered and food gone to waste.

 

None of the Curtis Stone menu items appealed to me. Pork belly is not a menu item found in very many US restaurants. It's probably regional. I remember years ago while on a South American cruise on the Golden, a woman I was talking to was horrified at the "weird South American food" being served. When asked for specifics, she said, "You know, lamb."

Agreed Pam, The maître d', I'm sure, keeps an eye on the "returns" and reports back. Having had it's trial run, it's time for Princess to think again.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Are foodies different in Australia from the ones here in California?

 

I wouldn't think so. We have such a wide range of cuisines available in Australia, and superb produce. Modern Australian cuisine often has touches of fusion in it too. I'm sure California would have similar, but not the same, of course.

 

With the Australian ships menus it's almost as if Curtis Stone is stuck back in his childhood in the 1980s.

 

Chicken and leek pot pie - cooking 101. A simple chicken stew with a pastry top. So simple I don't even bother with a recipe - although I do cheat and use bought pastry (Careme brand which is to die for). The stew needs to have body. It should not be chicken soup with a pastry top as it was on our last cruise.

 

Osso Buco - OK, maybe not everyone in Australia knows how to cook this. Again, it's fairly basic but some people are intimidated by cooking meat on the bone. Serving it en bianco (without tomatoes) is risky as if the balance is wrong the dish can be too acidic. When DH tried it I could tell by the way it smelt that it wasn't balanced properly. The wine was overpowering.

 

Pork Belly was trendy several years ago, and isn't easy to cook. I wouldn't expect a cruise ship galley to serve perfect portions all the time, and if it isn't perfect it isn't worth eating. Mine was far from perfect. Dry meat, lots of fat, and soggy skin. In other words it was cooked at too low a temperature, so the fat didn't render out and the skin didn't crisp, for too long so the meat dried out.

 

I haven't tried the Share offerings yet but they are similarly uninspiring.