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Food and Wine Pairing?


msmayor
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We're taking our first Celebrity cruise this October on the Summit and my husband and I were hoping to find something like a Chef's Table dinner with a food and wine pairing. I didn't see anything like that, but did see a 'shore excursion' (which I assume is really something that will happen on board during a sea day) that is a Food and Wine pairing for $25 pp.

 

Has anyone ever done this event and is able to comment on how they liked it?

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We're taking our first Celebrity cruise this October on the Summit and my husband and I were hoping to find something like a Chef's Table dinner with a food and wine pairing. I didn't see anything like that, but did see a 'shore excursion' (which I assume is really something that will happen on board during a sea day) that is a Food and Wine pairing for $25 pp.

 

Has anyone ever done this event and is able to comment on how they liked it?

 

 

I think this is a wine tasting? Participants are given a small tray of appetizer size food samples to try with a number of different wines under the guidance of a sommelier. If you enjoy wine tasting I would definitely recommend.

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Celebrity usually has a wine dinner and a Chef's Table, both have wine pairings. You cannot prebook them. Inquire one on board, either at a specialty restaurant, Cellar Masters, or from one of the dining staff who will be set up with a computer where you board or outside of the buffet.

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My DW and I have attended and enjoy wine dinners and food/wine tastings. We've both finally admitted to each other that a good wine goes with most anything and it doesn't matter what you eat with a poor wine (even though everyone has a different view of what's good and what's poor). We've found these types of events have good conversations, generally speaking good food and are a nice way to meet people.

 

I think we are all brainwashed to think that you have to drink a red with steak and a white with fish....and I always wonder about the folks around the table who extol the virtues of one wine over the other paired with their oysters or are they just comparing two wines, irrespective of the oysters.

 

Maybe I'm just a Ripple guy :)

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I was wondering the same thing. Celebrity offers it as a food and wine pairing but are you just getting appetizers? Its listed as a workshop so I am assuming its not a full meal but more of a class. Does anyone know when it would be offered?

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I was wondering the same thing. Celebrity offers it as a food and wine pairing but are you just getting appetizers? Its listed as a workshop so I am assuming its not a full meal but more of a class. Does anyone know when it would be offered?

 

It may be listed in your Cruise Planner for pre-sailing sign up, check there otherwise once on-board it will be listed in the daily.

 

bon voyage

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On our Alaska SB sailing last year, our Sommelier in the MDR provided us with an 'unofficial' wine pairing with dinner one night. We asked their input and advice for each course, he was really happy to oblige and make it fun.

 

So, this is a possibility, pending on how you connect with your Sommelier, if in the MDR.

 

bon voyage

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My DW and I have attended and enjoy wine dinners and food/wine tastings. We've both finally admitted to each other that a good wine goes with most anything and it doesn't matter what you eat with a poor wine (even though everyone has a different view of what's good and what's poor). We've found these types of events have good conversations, generally speaking good food and are a nice way to meet people.

 

I think we are all brainwashed to think that you have to drink a red with steak and a white with fish....and I always wonder about the folks around the table who extol the virtues of one wine over the other paired with their oysters or are they just comparing two wines, irrespective of the oysters.

 

Maybe I'm just a Ripple guy :)

 

No, unfortunately all good wine doesn’t go with all food. A little bit of spice in your food and your wonderful heavy red will lose all fruit and taste extra dry. Anything with acidity such as oysters, anything with lemons, it’s toast. I fully believe you should drink what you like and red doesn’t just belong with meat but some pairings need a little thought.

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On our Alaska SB sailing last year, our Sommelier in the MDR provided us with an 'unofficial' wine pairing with dinner one night. We asked their input and advice for each course, he was really happy to oblige and make it fun.

 

So, this is a possibility, pending on how you connect with your Sommelier, if in the MDR.

 

bon voyage

 

On our Summit cruise in 2016 we had an amazing Sommelier (Ingrid) who did just that. She gave us suggestions and input. I just happen to see the workshop come up on the Cruise Planner and thought it would be fun. I'm sure we will be peppering our Sommelier with more questions this time around too!

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My DW and I have attended and enjoy wine dinners and food/wine tastings. We've both finally admitted to each other that a good wine goes with most anything and it doesn't matter what you eat with a poor wine (even though everyone has a different view of what's good and what's poor). We've found these types of events have good conversations, generally speaking good food and are a nice way to meet people.

 

I think we are all brainwashed to think that you have to drink a red with steak and a white with fish....and I always wonder about the folks around the table who extol the virtues of one wine over the other paired with their oysters or are they just comparing two wines, irrespective of the oysters.

 

Maybe I'm just a Ripple guy :)

 

Nope, you're a very smart guy - as ANY Master Sommelier will tell you. :D

 

If you ever get the chance to see the documentary "Somm", it's a terrific introduction into how much these people go thru to get that designation. Great fun, educational film for anybody interested in wine. I think it's on Netflix and Amazon as a rental.

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We're taking our first Celebrity cruise this October on the Summit and my husband and I were hoping to find something like a Chef's Table dinner with a food and wine pairing. I didn't see anything like that, but did see a 'shore excursion' (which I assume is really something that will happen on board during a sea day) that is a Food and Wine pairing for $25 pp.

 

Has anyone ever done this event and is able to comment on how they liked it?

 

Yes I have done the Chef's Table on Celebrity. It is not always findable on the website, but ask about it when you board, it is limited to 8-10 people, so it either fills up fast or they might NOT do it without sufficient demand.

 

I have mixed feelings about my experience and I have an experience to compare it with - Chef's Table on Princess.

Pros of Celebrity Chef's Table -

 

galley tour was given by the executive chef (not sure of his exact title, but the number one chef on board) and took us way around through all the different kitchens (and on our S-class ship there were multiple kitchens) and also through the back hallways and the stairwells used by the waitstaff - I deeply understand why you can't just get anything sent up from the MDR. Very interesting discussion of what he does and the logistics of ordering and stowing all that food. Why certain things are the way they are. I've done other galley tours, and Celeb is not as overwhelming sense of an operation, because of layout.

The actual dinner is held in the private room in Murano which is a beautiful space, and everyone wonders who those important folks are!

The wine was definitely some of the better bottles available and beautifully paired with the food.

 

Cons

The actual dinner was a little similar to eating at Murano (this is as opposed to Princess, where the Chef's Table dinner was very much an over-the-top affair with unusual starters and very creative desserts, big step above standard fare) except for a to die for lobster risotto that was definitely note worthy.

 

The biggest con, though, (and I hope I don't get into trouble here, it has been a bit since the dinner) is that at both Chef's Table, there was that one person who had no business being there - had had way too much to drink BEFORE that first glass of champagne. The Princess Chef Table had at least 12 people, maybe 14, so the truly obnoxious tipsy person, was somewhat shielded from the whole table. In the smaller Celebrity group, the conversation was monopolized by a (admittedly less tipsy, but still feeling no pain) single person. Also, the Celebrity dinner was hosted by an officer, who in our case was the IT person, so there had to be a commercial for Celebrity, which was blessedly only part of the dinner conversation, but was a little AWKWARD because he was supposed to be pitching the advances in IT, including the website and app, and that went over like a lead balloon. He asked about the website, and there was hearty laughter (we had all had enough to drink at that point, that we weren't going to be falsely polite about something as ridiculous "How did the website work for you?"). In his defense he said it was awful. The best part about the commercial part was that it was relatively short - but remember this is a commercial and focus group that you paid over $250 to be a part of. And we didn't even get a cookbook - they don't give those out anymore.

 

I did the Chef's Table, I had an OK evening, I would not need to do it again, although there is no easy way to get the kind of wine pairings we had, unless you cruised with a group of 6 or 8 that enjoyed wine and were willing to buy some pricy bottles. The galley tour was great, informative and different from others I've done if that is your thing - don't wear heels or slick bottom shoes, the floors are wet!. The group is relatively small, so you might meet some interesting people (we did) or that could be not the highlight of your cruise.

 

Celeb has another event that we would have done, but it was dropped from our trip - they often have a sort of food tour at one particular stop, where the group goes out with a chef, visits some local markets, learns about a particular local cuisine, lunch at a nice restaurant, then a special dinner back on the ship that evening (still with the same small group), that utilizes some items bought in the market. I will try that one if I get an opportunity.

 

We also did the wine tasting on this trip, and actually won the silent wine auction. The wine tasting was a lot of fun, although it could have been 30 minutes longer, a good way to sample a number of the readily available wines by the glass, and decide on some you might want to get later in the cruise.

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I’ve done the Chefs table on Princess and Celebrity. Princess was by far the best, at a much lower cost. As the OP stated, Celebrity dinner was in the wine room of the Murano.. food and wine were good, but I’d save my money and just eat at the Murano for a third the price.

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I’ve done the Chefs table on Princess and Celebrity. Princess was by far the best, at a much lower cost. As the OP stated, Celebrity dinner was in the wine room of the Murano.. food and wine were good, but I’d save my money and just eat at the Murano for a third the price.

 

If I understand you correctly, the enhanced wines were not worth it for you?

 

bon voyage

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If I understand you correctly, the enhanced wines were not worth it for you?

 

bon voyage

The wines were very good.. I am a wine snob,

after participating in the Princess Chef table , in my opinion I didn’t feel it was special. On Princess we were escorted to the kitchen, presented canapés with Champagne by the chef. We were then brought to the dining room, to a special table, decorated with flowers and candles. Each course was presented with a different wine.. our palette cleanser was sorbet with gray goose poured on top. The meal was not off a menu, it was created for this event.

Yes, we received a pix and cook book as we did on Celebrity..if I ever cruise on Princess again, I would definitely do theirs again.

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The wines were very good.. I am a wine snob,

after participating in the Princess Chef table , in my opinion I didn’t feel it was special. On Princess we were escorted to the kitchen, presented canapés with Champagne by the chef. We were then brought to the dining room, to a special table, decorated with flowers and candles. Each course was presented with a different wine.. our palette cleanser was sorbet with gray goose poured on top. The meal was not off a menu, it was created for this event.

Yes, we received a pix and cook book as we did on Celebrity..if I ever cruise on Princess again, I would definitely do theirs again.

 

We’ve only done one chefs table on Princess and totally lucked out that Alfredo, the Master Chef of the fleet was onboard so he hosted it...divine. I have never had an inkling to do another one after that perfect meal as it can never be matched.

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Like others who have posted here one of the things we appreciate about Celebrity is it strength in food and wine. We’ve done a number of cruises and have always found a sommelier at our table or in cellar masters that we connected with and asked for suggested wine by glass pairings available in the premium drink package with lunch or dinner(menus posted in advance) in front of MDR. We’ve continue to learn what works, been inspired by new experiences and have old favorites-wild mushroom soup paired with Bordeaux.

Enjoy the exploration!

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If I understand you correctly, the enhanced wines were not worth it for you?

 

bon voyage

 

Hhhmm, they were good pours. The only way I could answer that is below:

 

I'm considering scenarios where I would do Chef's Table again...overall those were the best wines we had on the ship, except for the bottle we won at the silent auction, but it was a California Cab, and really needed another 5-8 years in the bottle to be it's best - just didn't want to bother with trying to get it home on a plane. If we were on another trip, particularly if we were in MDR or had onboard credit to offset some of the expense, I might consider doing it again, and in those cases the wine would be the biggest appeal of repeating the dinner, does that make sense? I wouldnt repeat because the food was tremendously superior to Blu or Murano, and I wouldn't repeat for the experience, so it would be mostly about the wine.

 

If you had a group that enjoys wine, a wine package by the bottle and a tip to the sommelier would be the way to go to get access to "better" wine. But as a couple traveling alone, we got the Premium and did wines by the glass, asking the sommelier to do informal pairings with our meals. That worked well enough for us that the Chef's Table, maybe didn't stand out as much?

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Hhhmm, they were good pours. The only way I could answer that is below:

 

I'm considering scenarios where I would do Chef's Table again...overall those were the best wines we had on the ship, except for the bottle we won at the silent auction, but it was a California Cab, and really needed another 5-8 years in the bottle to be it's best - just didn't want to bother with trying to get it home on a plane. If we were on another trip, particularly if we were in MDR or had onboard credit to offset some of the expense, I might consider doing it again, and in those cases the wine would be the biggest appeal of repeating the dinner, does that make sense? I wouldnt repeat because the food was tremendously superior to Blu or Murano, and I wouldn't repeat for the experience, so it would be mostly about the wine.

 

If you had a group that enjoys wine, a wine package by the bottle and a tip to the sommelier would be the way to go to get access to "better" wine. But as a couple traveling alone, we got the Premium and did wines by the glass, asking the sommelier to do informal pairings with our meals. That worked well enough for us that the Chef's Table, maybe didn't stand out as much?

 

 

Very clear now.

 

Thank you,

 

bon voyage

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We have done both a wine tasting and a food and wine pairing event on Celebrity. They are very different things. The wine tastings vary and are just that with a bit of food. The wine pairing you probably only ever need to do once if you're keen to know what goes with what but moe importantly what does not go with what. For example your favourite red wine might be destroyed by tomatoes. Zinfandel is brilliant with chocolate cake, that sort of thing. Its more of a seminar with examples.

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