Head chefs, pastry chefs and food prep

[Optotronics]

Does flavor of food vary much from ship to ship...i.e. Does the chef have any say on ingredients or techniques used or is it the same chef to chef and ship to ship?

Reason I ask as one of the few disappointments we had on our first princess cruise earlier this year on the regal was the deserts. In all the videos we watched before the cruise showing these fantastic looking deserts and pastrys, their taste was a real let down compared to how great they looked and were presented. Not that I was spitting them out, but they all kind of tasted bland or the same with just changes in texture and shape. Not sure if they are not using real butter or chocolate or what.

A few were good, but not many.

Is this the case fleet wide or does it change much from ship to ship and chef to chef?

We have another cruise in November coming up, this time on the royal and we're hoping for a little better this time around.

[casofilia]

Have you ever compared the photos of food and the actual food that is available at the fast food joints!!? If you give 5 chefs the same ingredients and a photo of what they are to prepare will what they prepare look the same? If you have the same meal every day on the ship would they look exactly the same? Be prepared for slight differences, day by day; ship by ship; chef by chef.

[AF-1]

most ships get their marching orders from home office. Their is a executive chef for the cruiseline who works in the home office and they come up with menus for the ships; ships will serve entrees and desserts based on what country or area of the country they are in. They have strict dietary ingredients; meaning they have to make sure all the ships in the fleet are serving same type food and desserts; however the head chef on board can tweak the flavor a little. They are really not allowed to deviate too much from the recipe they get from the home office. Since you are cooking for thousands; not everyone has same taste buds. If you make a dish; you have to make sure it appeals to the masses. Nothing is too spicy or too sweet. Hope this helps

[geocruiser]

I know in Regal buffet they have some lee way. I got this info from one of the chefs.

[wheezedr]

In general we find the desserts less than overwhelming, but love the cookies. Sometimes skip dessert in the MDR but find something tastier at the IC.

[Optotronics]

Have you ever compared the photos of food and the actual food that is available at the fast food joints!!? If you give 5 chefs the same ingredients and a photo of what they are to prepare will what they prepare look the same? If you have the same meal every day on the ship would they look exactly the same? Be prepared for slight differences, day by day; ship by ship; chef by chef.

Hi Mike, thanks for replying.

Not sure where fast food came into this, usually fast food looks great in their pictures/ads and looks very different when they prepare it and taste will vary. I don't think princess is going to just give a list of ingredients and a picture, I think there is a great deal of training involved.

Their desserts/ pastries look wonderful and just like any picture or video I've seen, their presentation is great. We just found their flavor lacking.

[Optotronics]

most ships get their marching orders from home office. Their is a executive chef for the cruiseline who works in the home office and they come up with menus for the ships; ships will serve entrees and desserts based on what country or area of the country they are in. They have strict dietary ingredients; meaning they have to make sure all the ships in the fleet are serving same type food and desserts; however the head chef on board can tweak the flavor a little. They are really not allowed to deviate too much from the recipe they get from the home office. Since you are cooking for thousands; not everyone has same taste buds. If you make a dish; you have to make sure it appeals to the masses. Nothing is too spicy or too sweet. Hope this helps

Yes, thanks.

I know they try to. Ask them appealing for the masses. To us I don't think it was a sweetness thing, some items were sweet and some less so. We just felt the croissants should have a hint of butter and maybe chocolate items have a taste of chocolate in them. In my opinion maybe they didn't use real butter or chocolate or cream, I don't know what was missing. It was kind of like if I were to taste the items with my eyes shut, they all had about the same taste just different textures.

Maybe we're just spoiled by my wife's great baking;)

[XBGuy]

I have posted several times here on Cruise Critic that I have experienced a wide variation in the quality of service and meal preparation in the various rooms on the Princess ships. I have attributed this variation to senior management--i.e., the Maitre d' and the Executive Chef.

 

I agree with the previous poster that the ingredients and the recipes are pretty consistent between the ships. So, the difference has to be quality assurance. If the Maitre d' does not insist on top level service, it does not take long before that nonchalance trickles down to headwaiters and, then, to servers and, then, to runners. Similarly, in the kitchen, why should the kitchen staff--sous chefs, line cooks, pastry chef--exert maximum effort if the Executive Chef does not demand it?

 

My two-cents worth.

[ccruzer123]

On the Island Princess this May, we noticed a change in the buffet desserts compared to past Princess cruises. They had quite a large number of desserts displayed but 1/3 of them were sugar free, 1/3 of them were gluten free and 1/3 were the normal desserts. I understand the concept of providing everyone with items they can eat but when you take out 2/3 of the desserts that doesn't really leave much of a choice. Also we noticed that they had the same desserts 3 days in a row.

[KristyMisty14]

I'm going to also say that where the ship is (itinerary wise) can impact some tastes / flavors. Where they are re-loading their supplies while in different countries and ports of call will mean different brands of shortening and milk and things that will make baking taste different. Looks totally agree with the above comments, if I can ever get mine to look like the recipe on Pintrest I feel like I've won the lottery LOL

[Kartgv]

I'd have to agree that many of the desserts look much better than they taste. Some are too sweet for our taste, some are bland or the texture is off. I want chocolate to taste dark & rich, pastry to be crispy rather than soggy, cake to be moist, etc. The squiggly gelatinous decorations on the plate in the dining rooms don't impress me. Unless something sounds really special I usually stick to ice cream or sorbet, or fall back on the always reliable Volcano (children's menu small banana split that they're happy to bring anyone who asks!).

[RNGALNG]

We tend to go for the cookies or pies in the buffet. The others have too much whipped cream and stuff on them. In the main dining room, we enjoy the ice creams they make every day. So much better than the creamy things.

[easyboy]

most ships get their marching orders from home office. Their is a executive chef for the cruiseline who works in the home office and they come up with menus for the ships; ships will serve entrees and desserts based on what country or area of the country they are in. They have strict dietary ingredients; meaning they have to make sure all the ships in the fleet are serving same type food and desserts; however the head chef on board can tweak the flavor a little. They are really not allowed to deviate too much from the recipe they get from the home office. Since you are cooking for thousands; not everyone has same taste buds. If you make a dish; you have to make sure it appeals to the masses. Nothing is too spicy or too sweet. Hope this helps

 

 

Very well said. The Executive Chef In an Alaska cruise also told me their menu are provided by the LA office, including inventory supply for ingredients.

 

 

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[Thrak]

We had a cruise with very "meh" food in MDR. Mid cruise the wait staff told us the "regular" head chef had returned to the ship. The food suddenly became much more flavorful. Whether or not the info about the head chef was accurate there was a definite improvement in the food. It went from very bland to flavorful.

[FritzG]

We still love the rolls in the dining rooms, and the cookies are generally pretty good. However, a couple of years ago they stopped using real butter in the pastries and croissants, and now they taste like frozen goods.

 

Most of the time we order ice cream or creme brulee for dessert which are still very good.

[Colo Cruiser]

most ships get their marching orders from home office. Their is a executive chef for the cruiseline who works in the home office and they come up with menus for the ships; ships will serve entrees and desserts based on what country or area of the country they are in. They have strict dietary ingredients; meaning they have to make sure all the ships in the fleet are serving same type food and desserts; however the head chef on board can tweak the flavor a little. They are really not allowed to deviate too much from the recipe they get from the home office. Since you are cooking for thousands; not everyone has same taste buds. If you make a dish; you have to make sure it appeals to the masses. Nothing is too spicy or too sweet. Hope this helps

 

 

This! :)

 

Not to mention provisions are ordered months and months ahead of time through vetted suppliers at locations all over the world.

[dchip]

I have always thought the desserts looked and sounded much better than how they tasted. That being said, the oatmeal cookies are the best!! No matter what ship, they always taste scrumptious to me.

 

Cheers, Denise

[Optotronics]

We still love the rolls in the dining rooms, and the cookies are generally pretty good. However, a couple of years ago they stopped using real butter in the pastries and croissants, and now they taste like frozen goods.

 

Most of the time we order ice cream or creme brulee for dessert which are still very good.

That would explain it all.

By about the 4th day of our 2 week cruise, we went to only eating the cookies, pies and goodies with no creme fillings or chocolate.

I wonder how much they really save by not using real butter or whipping creme?

I'm sure it was a chef or anyone who knew anything about how it affects the taste of the food that made those decisions. With the pride they put into the presentation of those beautiful desserts you would think they would do the same with what they put in them...

[Optotronics]

I have always thought the desserts looked and sounded much better than how they tasted. That being said, the oatmeal cookies are the best!! No matter what ship, they always taste scrumptious to me.

 

Cheers, Denise

I totally agree, the oatmeal cookies were my go to dessert/ snack by about the 3rd day:)

[Lucky TGO]

I have always thought the desserts looked and sounded much better than how they tasted. That being said, the oatmeal cookies are the best!! No matter what ship, they always taste scrumptious to me.

 

Cheers, Denise

I totally agree with you.

Tony

[Loonbeam]

How it works (as partially already covered above)

 

A menu is prepared by corporate that all ships must follow. Those menus may vary by region. This includes the MDR, buffets, specialty dining etc (with two exceptions and one wiggle area, see below).

 

When these menus are rolled out there is an extensive training program as well as specific documentation etc.

 

The vast majority (98 percent) of provisions are pre-ordered by corporate based on bookings, however depending on where the ship is sailing, certain items may be sourced differently. For example, in Alaska they may source the salmon locally for obvious reasons. Only foodstuffs from certified providers can be brought on board, for sanitation and pricing reasons.

 

I mentioned 2 exceptions - one of those is the buffet. In the event that consumption does not meet projections, the EC has some discretion on how to use overages to avoid spoilage and/or wastage, the same holds true if an item is expended early, something can replace it.

 

The second is chef's table. ECs have some input into the menu for their particular ship (with approval from corporate which still sources the items), this is also where the wiggle room applies, EC's have the ability to purchase small quantities of products on their own to bring their own personal touch into the CT. In addition, they have some small flexibility to make emergency purchases to deal with a dietary requirement (an example given to me by an EC was running to Walmart in FLL for a back to back passenger for passover Matzoh.

 

With that in mind, the EC can still have a great deal of influence on the food, not just preparation, but presentation and service, as does the MD. I have often given the example of the Island and Coral princesses, 2 identical ships, same galley, same menus. Met the EC on both. One ran his kitchen like a military POW camp, and I couldn't tell you who the MD was. The other ran his kitchen like a team effort, and the MD was everywhere. Guess which one had substantially better prepared food?

[Thrak]

We still love the rolls in the dining rooms, and the cookies are generally pretty good. However, a couple of years ago they stopped using real butter in the pastries and croissants, and now they taste like frozen goods.

 

Most of the time we order ice cream or creme brulee for dessert which are still very good.

 

Cookies are good. :) I generally order the Creme Brulee for desert. :hearteyes: It's larger than I get anywhere on land and is better than most places on land as well. I know many people rave about the little souffles but I find them bland and fairly tasteless. Perhaps I'm just unlucky but it has been my experience every time I've ordered them. My wife usually gets the ice cream offering. I do, however, like the Norman Love items and the good old standard the Love Boat Dream. I once ordered the Volcano but it's too much for me. I am thinking of trying the Flourless Chocolate Cake on our next cruise as so many say it's great. With 28 days of dinners I can likely give it a go.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I've definitely noticed differences in quality in the MDR food on our four Princess cruises to date.

 

On our first cruise, on Sun, the food was excellent. Far better than I expected.

 

On our second cruise, on Dawn, the food was very disappointing, particularly the soups which were heavily salted. If this had been my first Princess cruise I may never have booked a second one.

 

On our third cruise, on Golden, the food was very good, as was our most recent Princess cruise, on Sun.

 

I can only asssume that the Executive Chef on Dawn at the time was not doing proper quiality control checks and/or was deviating from the standard Princess recipes.

[AF-1]

Cookies are good. :) I generally order the Creme Brulee for desert. :hearteyes: It's larger than I get anywhere on land and is better than most places on land as well. I know many people rave about the little souffles but I find them bland and fairly tasteless. Perhaps I'm just unlucky but it has been my experience every time I've ordered them. My wife usually gets the ice cream offering. I do, however, like the Norman Love items and the good old standard the Love Boat Dream. I once ordered the Volcano but it's too much for me. I am thinking of trying the Flourless Chocolate Cake on our next cruise as so many say it's great. With 28 days of dinners I can likely give it a go.

Crème Brulee is good on any ship

[FritzG]

That would explain it all.

By about the 4th day of our 2 week cruise, we went to only eating the cookies, pies and goodies with no creme fillings or chocolate.

I wonder how much they really save by not using real butter or whipping creme?

I'm sure it was a chef or anyone who knew anything about how it affects the taste of the food that made those decisions. With the pride they put into the presentation of those beautiful desserts you would think they would do the same with what they put in them...

 

That's what I've often said. How could a pastry chef feel any pride in a product that he knows is being made with vastly inferior ingredients that affect not only the taste but also the quality of the product?