RIP to the fantastic Eden Cafe cookies, they've been downgraded...Has X made ANY food quality improvements since the restart?

[NutsAboutGolf]

On the theme that X hasn't made any food quality improvements since the restart, only downgrades, not even my beloved cookies were immune.  This was on the Beyond recently, 2021 pic was from the Edge...They seem to now use the same mediocre cookie dough recipe ship-wide which is slightly below average.  My favorite splurge is no longer worth the calories

 

On a related note, the brownies are now basically a dense fudge; they taste slightly better than the cookies

 

 

 

[cw2go]

I felt the same about the lemon tarts, thought they were spared... but...some days they seemed to be same as days past and other days, they definitely were not! 

 

Patty 

[Georgia_Peaches]

[Lena11033]

I'm not shocked, I know I've seen posts on people loving the cinnamon rolls but the one I had on Beyond was not that good

[TeeRick]

I wonder if this is the case on Beyond only?  We have not seen this comment from Edge or Apex. 

[vkb2751]

35 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I wonder if this is the case on Beyond only?  We have not seen this comment from Edge or Apex. 

same on Edge TA

[miched]

Last year on he Apex we would go to the Eden Cafe for their cookies and brownies.   One day they were completely different.  We made a comment to the server and was told that the recipe changed and everyone was complaining about them.  They weren’t even as good as those in Cafe al Bacio or the buffet.  A few days later when we were there for lunch the good cookies were back.  

On the Beyond in March the good cookies were still in Eden. 
 

We tried the cinnamon roll on the Beyond and as posted by Lena11033  we weren’t impressed.   One bite and done.
 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited May 18, 2023 by miched

[kwokpot]

Here is a photo of how the Brownies and cookies USED TO BE in the Eden Cafe. There was this crisp upper layer and the consistency was part cake-like. When we were on the Beyond in October the recipe had indeed been changed. Whatsmore for the first time they had brownies at Cafe Al Bacio and they were the same ones as in the Eden Cafe. They never used to serve brownies at Al Bacio, it was exclusive to Eden Cafe. 

Edited May 18, 2023 by kwokpot

[kwokpot]

Somewhat off topic but Celebrity has been downgrading the food quality even before the pandemic. For me the overhaul of the food offerings at the Spa Cafe is the most tragic and we eat there much less than say ten years ago. We used to LOVE to have lunch there when they offered the simply grilled-to-order salmon or chicken. Even when they added the pork lettuce wraps they were hot,flavorful and tasty. Now there's nothing there that's hot to eat for lunch. Very sad. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

8 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

Somewhat off topic but Celebrity has been downgrading the food quality even before the pandemic. For me the overhaul of the food offerings at the Spa Cafe is the most tragic and we eat there much less than say ten years ago. We used to LOVE to have lunch there when they offered the simply grilled-to-order salmon or chicken. Even when they added the pork lettuce wraps they were hot,flavorful and tasty. Now there's nothing there that's hot to eat for lunch. Very sad. 

 

That's fair, I mean it's safe to say quality has always been on a steady decline; usually its the same on land based AI resorts as well

[cruiserchuck]

The New York steak meals that were on the Blu menu the last two nights of our recent Solstice cruise were better than any steak we previously had on Celebrity.  We had sailed in Aqua about 10 times and in the Resort/Luminae once prior to the shutdown.  So it is not all gloom and doom regarding the food.

[poffles]

My go to at the Cafe was the berliner ... another RIP as I have not seen them for a long while.  You can see them looking so good bottom right in my first pic (2015). 😞  The second pic is still pre-COVID (2019) and the berliners I recall were 'missing' then but I thought maybe just a different ship thing.  I have been finding that may items there now are just variations on the same thing.  

 

Edited May 18, 2023 by poffles

[peanut head]

4 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

On the theme that X hasn't made any food quality improvements since the restart, only downgrades, not even my beloved cookies were immune.  This was on the Beyond recently, 2021 pic was from the Edge...They seem to now use the same mediocre cookie dough recipe ship-wide which is slightly below average.  My favorite splurge is no longer worth the calories

 

On a related note, the brownies are now basically a dense fudge; they taste slightly better than the cookies

 

 

 

 

 

What is the decadent dessert all the way to the right?  Inquiring minds and stomachs want to know.

[cw2go]

1 minute ago, peanut head said:

 

 

What is the decadent dessert all the way to the right?  Inquiring minds and stomachs want to know.

I zoomed in, says chocolate cake on the sign. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

37 minutes ago, peanut head said:

 

 

What is the decadent dessert all the way to the right?  Inquiring minds and stomachs want to know.

 

34 minutes ago, cw2go said:

I zoomed in, says chocolate cake on the sign. 

 

Yup, chocolate cake...I'd actually say it's the best dessert in the Eden Cafe and this cake actually has some chocolate flavor unlike the buffet or Cafe cakes

 

[kwokpot]

3 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

 

Yup, chocolate cake...I'd actually say it's the best dessert in the Eden Cafe and this cake actually has some chocolate flavor unlike the buffet or Cafe cakes

 

I can't remember if you've ever done a Virgin Cruise. Their baked goods and sweets bests anything Celebrity,Royal, NCL,Carnival,MSC,Princess puts out. They are specialty bakery quality and are included in the base fare, no desserts are extra. Here are some photos. And yes, they all TASTE as good as they look.

[NutsAboutGolf]

23 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I can't remember if you've ever done a Virgin Cruise. Their baked goods and sweets bests anything Celebrity,Royal, NCL,Carnival,MSC,Princess puts out. They are specialty bakery quality and are included in the base fare, no desserts are extra. Here are some photos. And yes, they all TASTE as good as they look.

 

Thanks for sharing...Haven't done Virgin and while we'd like to, we're not fans of their itineraries, seems they have more sea days than competitors such as X or are too short (B2Bs won't work either as a day is wasted in the embarkation port)

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, cw2go said:

I felt the same about the lemon tarts, thought they were spared... but...some days they seemed to be same as days past and other days, they definitely were not! 

 

Patty 

My favourite is)was the Apple Turnovers in Al Bacio. However the "economising" in Silhouette reached new heights when my beautiful looking turnover turned out to include no apple. Back at the counter and after checking out more samples it transpired that none of turnovers had any apple. 

That evening in the MDR the head pastry chef was doing a "round of the tables" and we raised the issue with him. He said he had heard about the incident but was at a loss to explain how an entire batch (not just the one tray I had sampled) had been prepared and cooked with no apple.

The next night when I ordered dessert I was told I would be getting a "special" which turned out to be the most beautiful apple strudel served with fresh cream and a little note of apology from the  pastry chef.

[duck65]

I remember when Al Bacio would have different fruit flavored cheesecake bite during the afternoon. Have not seen these in the last few sailings.

[NutsAboutGolf]

19 hours ago, the penguins said:

My favourite is)was the Apple Turnovers in Al Bacio. However the "economising" in Silhouette reached new heights when my beautiful looking turnover turned out to include no apple. Back at the counter and after checking out more samples it transpired that none of turnovers had any apple. 

That evening in the MDR the head pastry chef was doing a "round of the tables" and we raised the issue with him. He said he had heard about the incident but was at a loss to explain how an entire batch (not just the one tray I had sampled) had been prepared and cooked with no apple.

The next night when I ordered dessert I was told I would be getting a "special" which turned out to be the most beautiful apple strudel served with fresh cream and a little note of apology from the  pastry chef.

 

Never been this lucky, only seen a MDR Chef making rounds who simply asks everyone "how is everything?"

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Never been this lucky, only seen a MDR Chef making rounds who simply asks everyone "how is everything?

How you respond is the key.

Last year on Silhouette we were particularly complimentary about a lamb dish and asked that our comments were passed to the chef responsible - the next evening the chef came round to say thank you.

Our most spectacular success was when were asked if there any desserts we missed or would like. We said the choux pastry swans and spotted dick with custard. The Maitre De said he had never heard of the second but the chef said he would make us both but not the next night which was a Chic Night but the day after. Not only did he make us the desserts but they found the other 4 people from our table (we were on any time dining ) who had moved on and served the desserts to them as well. 

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

8 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Our most spectacular success was when were asked if there any desserts we missed or would like. We said the choux pastry swans and spotted dick with custard. The Maitre De said he had never heard of the second

I’m with the Maitre De on that one 🤣. 

[the penguins]

25 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I’m with the Maitre De on that one 🤣. 

Don't worry we get the same reaction from our grandson who is American (born and raised in Texas) - you just don't know what you are missing.

[cruiserchuck]

5 hours ago, the penguins said:

Don't worry we get the same reaction from our grandson who is American (born and raised in Texas) - you just don't know what you are missing.

 

When we did a roundtrip Celebrity cruise from Southhampton a while back, they featured spotted dick in the Oceanview cafe. I did not try it.

[Hammerjock]

My mother has been sailing Celebrity exclusively for 30 years.  Now her Elite Plus status really garners very little.  The platform nowadays is to cater to the suite class.  If you want the upscale food and accommodations this is how you have to get it.  We cruised with her on Celebrity Eclipse last oct. and she finally admitted that the food has really gone down from what it used to be.  Now if you want the high caliber of food you must either stay in suite class or book at a specialty restaurant.