Carnival Elation Chefs Table.....

[sandi1967]

Good morning,

 

Wondering if anyone has done the Chefs Table on the Elation?  We have signed up for it on our upcoming 6/24 cruise to celebrate our friends 20th anniversary.  It looks/sounds fun, so just looking to see what others have to say.

 

Happy Friday,

Sandi

[meanjean80]

Hi, Sandi.  Haven't done the Chef's Table on Elation specifically, but have many times on other ships.  It's a fabulous experience if you are food adventurous (which I am).  It is also a huge amount of food, so I recommend a very light lunch eaten very early.  Also, if anyone has any food concerns (ie, allergies) if you let them know they will accommodate that person's meal (one CT I was at, someone didn't eat pork, and they made amazing adjustments for that person.  The rest of us got our pork belly.)  The wine flows freely.  Each dish looks small, and then when you get to the seventh dish you begin to wish you hadn't had so much bread at the beginning.  

 

Have fun. 

[obx_fintoo]

We did the Chef's Table on the Elation last November.  It was very good.  In addition to the hints above, make sure everyone has closed toed shoes.  They will not allow you into the galley with flip flops or sandals.  I wore a nice pair of water shoes which ended up being a good idea because the floors can be kind of slippery.  We met on Empress, then went to the galley, then ended up in the Mark Twain Library for dinner.  I'm not sure if it is the Elation in general, our servers, or the fact that there were several people drinking sodas, but I had to ask for refills on my wine when I needed one.  I did make it to each course, but did not finish all of them.  You will be full for a while and should plan on this taking a full 3 hours.  Enjoy your cruise and your friends' anniversary dinner!

[sandi1967]

Thank you both for your replies!  Very much appreciated. 🙂  The one couple doesn't know, so I will somehow get her a pair of closed toed shoes.....as our plan to just bring sandals and flip flops.  Sounds delicious.

 

Thank you again,

Sandi

[indygirl76]

24 minutes ago, obx_fintoo said:

We did the Chef's Table on the Elation last November.  It was very good.  In addition to the hints above, make sure everyone has closed toed shoes.  They will not allow you into the galley with flip flops or sandals.  I wore a nice pair of water shoes which ended up being a good idea because the floors can be kind of slippery.  We met on Empress, then went to the galley, then ended up in the Mark Twain Library for dinner.  I'm not sure if it is the Elation in general, our servers, or the fact that there were several people drinking sodas, but I had to ask for refills on my wine when I needed one.  I did make it to each course, but did not finish all of them.  You will be full for a while and should plan on this taking a full 3 hours.  Enjoy your cruise and your friends' anniversary dinner!

Not sure if this is ship-specific (which doesn't seem like it would make much sense), or just not policed, but my gf and I did the Chef's Table on the Sensation last May in dressy sandals. We weren't knowingly breaking the rules; just wasn't aware of the requirement. I should go dig up my confirmation email from the maitre d' and see if it says anything about shoes...

[ProgRockCruiser]

2 hours ago, indygirl76 said:

Not sure if this is ship-specific (which doesn't seem like it would make much sense), or just not policed, but my gf and I did the Chef's Table on the Sensation last May in dressy sandals. We weren't knowingly breaking the rules; just wasn't aware of the requirement. I should go dig up my confirmation email from the maitre d' and see if it says anything about shoes...

 

I have seen the Chef's Table being done in the Library and in one of the other non-galley areas of the ship (a night club, maybe?).

 

So if you didn't go through/to the galley, that's why there was no restriction on footwear.

 

EDIT: Do all Chef's Table events include a tour of the galley?  I didn't realize that was standard...  So, yeah, close-toed shoes should be mandated.

Edited April 19, 2019 by ProgRockCruiser

[indygirl76]

58 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

I have seen the Chef's Table being done in the Library and in one of the other non-galley areas of the ship (a night club, maybe?).

 

So if you didn't go through/to the galley, that's why there was no restriction on footwear.

 

EDIT: Do all Chef's Table events include a tour of the galley?  I didn't realize that was standard...  So, yeah, close-toed shoes should be mandated.

I think they all do have the galley tour, yes. (Sensation hosts in the Library, but there's the tour first.) I pulled my reservation email, and there's no mention. The website just says "Cruise Casual / Cruise Elegant," unless and until you click that link, where there's a paragraph specifying that Chef's Table requires close toed shoes. I never clicked that until this thread, despite doing a CT last May and having another reserved for November. I just assumed it was the normal CC / CE code, and only clickable in case you didn't already know what those codes meant.

[meanjean80]

I've never seen this enforced, for the record.  I've always had something like a pair of ballet flats that I could wear, but I saw people with sandals.  To me a bigger no-no would be heels, closed toed or not.  The walk to and through the galley really calls for flats.

[pcvtmom]

We did the Elation Chef's Table.  Yes, it included a Galley tour at the beginning, after which we were escorted to the Library for the meal.  Eat very little during the day, because you will be STUFFED!!  It was an amazing meal, but we were all miserable afterwards due to the amount of food and wine consumed. 😲

[Suki_fry]

I took my mom on a cruise for her birthday in January on the Elation. We did the CT. It was our favorite part of the trip. If you are celebrating something special, let them know and they will make the dessert extra special. They wrote "Happy Birthday" in chocolate on my mom's plate. She loved it! 

Added note....my husband and and I did CT on Magic in September 2018 and it was also awesome. Different menu. Both were spectacular experiences. 

Edited April 19, 2019 by Suki_fry

[metromover]

I cannot speak directly about the Elation, but did a CT in February on the Sunshine.  I have done CTs on several lines and always have a great time.  I don't feel that I have to "clean" each plate, since it is a good amount of food.  On Sunshine we had to ask for wine refills and they were pouring one sparkling, one red, one white.  Definitely nothing special or "paired".  We also started in the galley and no shoes were forbidden.  It is not really a galley tour, but a walkthrough of the plating area where we had our appetizers and then on to the pastry area where we got the recipe for the chocolate melting cake.  Yummmm!  It was chaos back there and I was so impressed with the ability of our waiters to handle special requests from the MDR.  These people work so hard.  Our dinner was held in the Library and (IMO) worth the extra $$$.  Just an FYI....JiJi's food is the best on the ship.  For a $15 charge, I will never skip it again.  First experience on Sunshine.  Also did the Cucina Capitan and thought it was only OK.

Have a great time!

[MistyRo76]

We just did Chef's Table last week on the Paradise and it was a great experience! 

 

We met our group in a reserved area of the Lobby where they served us Champagne. Once everyone had arrived they took us up to the galley where we got a short tour (not of the full galley) and they served up four different appetizers. They described each one in detail and often didn't tell us what we were eating until after we tried it! The first one looked just like an egg yolk on a rice cake. We were told to put the whole thing in our mouth and bite down. It turned out to be a "mango sphere" on a rosemary biscuit. Very good! After having the apps, we went over to another part of the galley where they demonstrated how they make the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. My sister and I both wore open toed wedges and didn't have any issues walking in the galley. No one even looked at our feet. It could be a bit slick in spots, but you don't walk far in the galley. 

 

After leaving the galley, we were taken to the Library which was set up for our private function. We had free-flowing red and white wines throughout the dinner. We started with breads and then on to the other appetizers and soups before moving on to the main courses. Each course was really good...but the standouts for me were the crab dish, tomato bisque and Waygu Beef (save room for this cause it's the last course before dessert). Finally there was a dessert plate with several kinds of mini desserts. 

 

Service was top notch and the chef explained each dish in detail. You also get a personalized menu to take home with you along with a group photo. It was well worth the $75 charge!