Thomas Keller B

[jwscfa1]

We are on Odyssey sailing from Barcelona to Lisbon.  Last evening we ate in the TK Grill for the first time this cruise. I had eaten there on previous cruises but my companion had not. She had the same impression that most people on this cruise have had,  that it’s ok but no better than any other dining venue. The strange part occurred at the end of our meal when she requested that she take the remainder of her ribeye to the suite for breakfast the next day.  We were told that our refrigerator  was just a “cooler” and would not properly store the left overs. We were told it was fine for any other of the dining venues but not the Grill. We were however welcome to take the stale after dinner cookies back to our suite.

 

I’ve not heard a bigger BS story in a while. I’m not sure we will use our second reservation this trip due to the arrogance of the TK Grill wait staff. I wonder how long Seabourn will continue to promote a dining venue whose menu never changes and is rapidly becoming stale.

[florisdekort]

If you don’t enjoy it, don’t dine there and leave the place to those of us that love the experience. If demand starts running low, I’m sure they’ll make changes. If it doesn’t, well, you’ve got plenty of other dinner options to chose from.

[jenidallas]

Have you been allowed to carry back dinner leftovers to house in the in-room beverage fridge before?  I have not.  (Not that I recall trying, but I've not seen others do it either.)

 

This sounds less like a TK arrogance issue and more like a safe food handling issue.  Given that the galleys of all the restaurants have very strict cook/hold/discard times due to sanitation concerns with food-borne illness, I'd be surprised that they'd allow guests to skirt the regulations they follow.  These are not just about upsetting one guest's digestive system... individuals with gastrointestinal distress can create additional health/safety concerns for staff and other guests once they come in contact with the infirm guest.

 

A quick internet search on mini-bar/mini-fridge temperatures and safe food handling suggests to me that allowing guests to store food leftovers in the fridge would not be within the safe food handling standards Seabourn otherwise so carefully follows.  If this is truly only the TK restaurant that has such stringent standards, then kudos to them.

[happy cruzer]

Do a search on coolers on different cruise critic cruise boards and you will find that most people report that the cruise lines provide coolers vs. refrigerators.  I think they probably use less energy and are quieter.  But I am no authority.  A rare piece of meat might be the difference regarding safety vs. cheese or other items from the buffet.

[raphael360]

Seabourn and TK may be right.  If one took food out from TK and did get sick eating it the next day, the blow back would be very bad for both Seabourn and TK.  I know TK food and procedures are fixed in stone.  For example; they serve a TK burger at the Patio Restaurant from time to time.  I asked once to order it without onions, answer, nope, the TK burger cannot be changed because waite staff are not allowed to make any changes to TK food dishes.  I was OK with that and ordered the regular Seabourn burger which is fantastic on it's own.

 

Here is a suggestion: if TK fried chicken is ever offered in the Colonnade Restaurant, order it.  It's the best fried chicken we've ever had -ever :)

[MalbecWine]

They are not fridges on any line we have cruised on they are chillers.  Bacteria forms quickly when not at the proper temperature and bacteria starts forming.  I don’t think one wants to risk getting sick.  That would be fine if the temperature was close to 35 degrees in the fridge but that is not the case with these small fridges.  Why chance it?

[SLSD]

The idea of chiller vs refrigerator makes sense to me.  And, I think the request to take food back to the suite is unusual.  After all, there is an abundance of food offered at each venue.  

[rols]

3 hours ago, SLSD said:

The idea of chiller vs refrigerator makes sense to me.  And, I think the request to take food back to the suite is unusual.  After all, there is an abundance of food offered at each venue.  

 

I agree the thing in the cabin is not really a fridge. However I do understand the request especially at the TK venue where we found the portions larger than other venues and somewhat hard to finish. I can understand someone wanting not to waste a good piece of meat. I wish the TK portions were a little smaller. 

[SLSD]

I wish the portions were smaller too!  

[wripro]

4 hours ago, SLSD said:

I wish the portions were smaller too!  

Have you tried asking for smaller portions?

[SLSD]

Great idea wripro!  I'll do that next time! I do ask for smaller portions all the time when dining out in Dallas.  

[Keith1010]

Even if it was a refrigerator I would not be taking meat back to the room or most foods I can think of.

 

You have to think how long it was siting out, how well it is being wrapped and if any bacteria has started to grow.  Would she be eating it cold the next day?

 

Seems very strange to me.

Keith

 

 

[jenidallas]

One of my physician friends once told me "there are no benefits or status levels in The Clean Plate Club" so why strive for membership.  I thought that was sound advice.  No sense complaining about portions that are too large... just eat what is a comfortable portion for you. 

 

I also like SLSD/wripro's advice to ask for smaller portions... but if they aren't willing/able to oblige, I'm neither going to feel inclined to eat it all nor am I going to judge the quality of the restaurant.

[rols]

4 hours ago, wripro said:

Have you tried asking for smaller portions?

Yes I did. 

[wripro]

20 hours ago, rols said:

Yes I did. 

And?

[rols]

18 hours ago, wripro said:

And?

They politely declined and Mrs Rols and I negotiated for a while and split a steak that evening. Darned good it was too. 

I have no issue with the notion that a clean plate is not an end in and of itself. We both, despite being from opposite sides of the world, had it drummed into us from an early age that wasting food is a bad thing and if you order it/cook it you eat it. So we try to ensure that what we order is what we are actually able to eat. 

I know this makes no sense when food has been defrosted and portioned and if not eaten will have to be discarded, but we try anyway. 

One of the things we appreciate about Seabourn and the other luxury cruises is the reasonable portion sizes. If I'm still hungry after one I can have another, that pretty much never happens! 

 

[wripro]

At least they declined politely!!!!

 

I guess the best solution is to order one dish and split it.

[rols]

17 hours ago, wripro said:

At least they declined politely!!!!

 

I guess the best solution is to order one dish and split it.

They did, and if you read my last post, we split a steak that evening. The other time we dined there I was in fish mood and Mrs Rols, possibly after the excellent steak we split the first time, was in a meat mood so we did order separately and we struggled to finish, but we made it. We shared a starter that meal and skipped the sides and even that was about as much as we could have managed. 

Given that food comes all day long on a cruise, we like the fact portions are a little smaller in general in the restaurants, I feel those in the TK Grill are larger than they need to be on a cruise and people either waste food, which I think is bad, or absolutely stuff themselves which ruins the experience. 

[wripro]

6 hours ago, rols said:

They did, and if you read my last post, we split a steak that evening. The other time we dined there I was in fish mood and Mrs Rols, possibly after the excellent steak we split the first time, was in a meat mood so we did order separately and we struggled to finish, but we made it. We shared a starter that meal and skipped the sides and even that was about as much as we could have managed. 

Given that food comes all day long on a cruise, we like the fact portions are a little smaller in general in the restaurants, I feel those in the TK Grill are larger than they need to be on a cruise and people either waste food, which I think is bad, or absolutely stuff themselves which ruins the experience. 

In that case , the best solution, considering your priorities of not wasting food, is to avoid the TK Grill. There are plenty of people who gladly finish every bite on their plates there.

[rols]

7 hours ago, wripro said:

In that case , the best solution, considering your priorities of not wasting food, is to avoid the TK Grill. There are plenty of people who gladly finish every bite on their plates there.

No I don't think we're going to do that thank you very much. We'll dine there whenever we like, we will however plan our meals accordingly so we get to enjoy it. 

[wripro]

17 hours ago, rols said:

No I don't think we're going to do that thank you very much. We'll dine there whenever we like, we will however plan our meals accordingly so we get to enjoy it. 

That's a great plan. Dine at the TK Grill, then come on CC and complain about the portion sizes. Does complaining work off calories?

[Gercru]

That's a great plan. Dine at the TK Grill, then come on CC and complain about the portion sizes. Does complaining work off calories?

 

That is neither a helpful nor a polite comment.

Do you really  advocate wasting food?

[MalbecWine]

Gercru, exactly what I was thinking.

[wripro]

21 hours ago, Gercru said:

That's a great plan. Dine at the TK Grill, then come on CC and complain about the portion sizes. Does complaining work off calories?

 

That is neither a helpful nor a polite comment.

Do you really  advocate wasting food?

Of course I don't advocate wasting food. But the person complaining is aware of the portion sizes, complains about them being too large, yet will continue to dine there if he chooses. That's the waste of food, not advocating avoidance of a venue that is known to serve large portions. Your reasoning is false.

[Roxburgh]

I’m not sure what the problem is here. We all know that TK serve larger 

portions and we know that the MDR and other venues serve smaller ones. Some people like larger portions while others prefer smaller ones. Once again different preferences are catered to by Seabourn. 

 

If portion size size and food wastage are a particular concern the one has other options.