Expanded Master Chef Dinner Menu

[Krazy Kruizers]

On our Amsterdam cruise there was an extended menu for the Master Chef dinner. We didn't attend it -- so can't make any comments.

 

Appetizers:

Dialogue of Salmon Tartare with Avocado -- cold-smoked, pickled and chipotle hot smacked salmon with lime avocado tomato salsa

Golden Baked Brie in Phyllo Dough - warm and creamy Brie coated with toasted hazelnuts and wrapped in crispy phyllo dough, served with a spiced apple-cranberry compote

____________

Soups and Salad:

Oxtail en Croute -- this classic soup is simmered slowly to develop the perfect flavor and served baked in a crusty pastry dough

Lobster Bisque - silky smooth, classic shellfish soup heightened with aged French Cognac and whipped cream

Master Chef Rudi’s Salad - selected baby greens surrounded with cucumber, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes, drizzled with a mustard Cognac dressing

_____________

Tagliatelle with Roasted Chicken -- tossed in olive oil and lemon cream with sun-dried tomatoes

Sauteed Shrimp Provencal - scented with Mediterranean herbs, garlic and tomato concassee, served with florets of crisp, tender broccoli

Apricot-Glazed Salmon - served with baby vegetable medley, saffron-scented new potatoes and a soy, garlic, ginger splash

Roasted-Whole Tenderloin of Beef - on an earthy bed of Calvados-spiked mushroom ragout, with baby vegetables medley, braised onion and mashed potatoes

Grilled Lamb Chops with Oregano and Apple Chutney - drizzled with mint oil, butternut squash, and sautéed cherry tomatoes in pesto

Duck Breast a l’Orange - the old-time favorite, oven roasted until crisp and served with a Grand Marnier sauce, braise red cabbage, pea pods, carrot julienne and William potato

Wild Mushroom Strudel - selected forest mushrooms, spinach and feta cheese rolled in phyllo dough and baked until crisp and flaky, served with a Thai red curry sauce

______________

Desserts (some may vary by ship):

Baked Alaska - an ice cream glacier under a blanket of meringue with a warm brandy Bing cherry sauce

Flourless Chocolate Cake -- a bit of heaven, this rich chocolate cake with its molten center is topped off with whipped cream and an assortment of berries

Individual Baked Alaska -- No Sugar Added -- sugar-free ice cream under a blanket of meringue with a warm brandy Bing cherry sauce

Vanilla Ice Cream

Peach Ice Cream

Lemon Sorbet

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

No Sugar Added Chocolate Chip ice Cream

No Sugar Added Vanilla Ice Cream

The Master Chef’s Sundae - vanilla ice cream topped with mashed tropical fruits, whipped cream and sprinkled with roasted macadamia nuts

Fruit Crisp of the Day -- Apple - fresh out of the oven served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Sliced Fruit Plate -- an assorted selection of fresh fruit

Artisan Cheese Selection - select four options from our artisan cheese menu

[ger_77]

Last week on the Rotterdam I had the Lobster Bisque - which was delicious, as was the Apricot Glazed Salmon. The salmon was moist and flavourful, not dry and tasteless as some people have mentioned. We would have preferred not to have the wait staff perform for us, as they have a difficult enough job, but it made for some entertainment for those travelling with us who had not experienced it before.

 

KK: I got a chuckle over the "hot smacked salmon".

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[iriemon]

The menu does look better but we will still pass. Don't enjoy the waiters jumping through hoops like pet dogs in a circus show. We will eat in the Lido or one of the other resturants and enjoy our last evening on board.

[sapete]

Enjoyed the Brie, lobster bisque and duck out on our SC aft corner veranda while sailing away from Sikta with a train of whales spouting on the horizon--better than dancing waiters.

[sail7seas]

This menu is definitely improved. We haven't been to a Master Chef's Dinner in a long time. Both weeks of our Maasdam b-to-b, we were in Pinnacle.

 

[kazu]

Looks wonderful to me - thanks for sharing:):)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Even though the menu looks better -- we will still be eating elsewhere.

[debsjc]

I'm sure I read a post recently saying the Master Chefs Dinner did not happen on their cruise.

I was getting my hopes up we wouldn't have one either.

[foodsvcmgr]

This is the same MCD we had last April '10 on VEENDAM.

 

Food was excellent, could have done without the "show", a traditional Baked Alaska parade is sufficient entertainment with the farewell dinner.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

We had this menu on our Amsterdam MCD also. I have to say the "show" is not as intrusive as it used to be. The entertainers do not participate and the dancing etc of the wait staff is minimal except for the Baked Alaska parade. At least on the Amsterdam, they had their act together and got us through the dinner in record time. Unfortunately, the PG had La Cirque that night - the menu and price there did not appeal to us so we did the MCD and survived.

[fridayeyes]

Thank you for posting the menu. If the MCD has been toned down, maybe we will give it another try. :)

[Modern_Viking]

Other than a few desserts, I don't see anything extra on this menu that hasn't normally been on the Master Chef menu.

 

My last time on the Amsterdam was the 2007/08 Christmas and New Years cruise (14 nights) and the "Master Chef" menu was printed on the every day paper (not the themed paper) and had even more items added to it. There was also no show. The same thing repeated on the Maasdam for the 2008/09 14 night holiday cruise.

 

I was also on a 12 night cruise on the Oosterdam in Europe in 2009 and I don't remember there being any Master Chef dinner either.

 

Summer of 2010 on the Oosterdam in Alaska (7 night cruise) there was the typical Master Chef dinner and show on the next to last night (the night before Victoria).

 

I have heard that the Nieuw Amsterdam does not have the Master Chef dinner show (but they might have the menu).

 

Does anyone know if the Prinsendam has Master Chef dinner "shows" or not? I'd like to know. Thanks!

[Brad1185]

Looks like the same menu that we had several times. I could skip the show as well

[RuthC]

Does anyone know if the Prinsendam has Master Chef dinner "shows" or not? I'd like to know. Thanks!

On my June Prinsendam cruise we didn't have the "show" (thank Heaven), but we did have the menu.

Much of my meal was delicious (baked brie and oxtail soup), but the entrée was awful (roasted whole tenderloin).

[JamesEM]

Thanks KK for the updated menu, but I still going to eat some where other than the MDR.

[3418ahl]

I assume if you have "anytime" dining, you can get the meal without the "show"???

[R&CCruisers]

The menu looks much better but we will still dine in the Pinnacle or another venue that evening.

[RuthC]

I assume if you have "anytime" dining, you can get the meal without the "show"???

Ah, no. If you are on open seating you must choose a fixed dining time for that night. Both levels of the dining room get the performance.

 

Or, you can make plans to have dinner elsewhere.

[taxmantoo]

I assume if you have "anytime" dining, you can get the meal without the "show"???

 

There is no anytime dining on the last night of the cruise if they are having a Master Chef's Dinner.

Your waiter will ask you on the night before whether you would like early dining or late dining for the next night, in the "anytime" dining room.

[localady]

I have to wonder when they are going to realize that few if any want to be forced into a dining time on one of the last nights of the cruise to attend this dinner. It is still not 'dining as I wish'........ ;) :D

[lvz2cruz]

We did not have the "show" on Veendam in June and we were able to eat whenever. The menu was not the cutout placemat but a regular menu though it still had the limited choices. The only circus type thing was the baked Alaska parade. They did not have the big ones but small platters so that each table had their own--maybe 5" x 7".

It was still more than I want--just give me a typical menu and the great food and service we have the other nights of the cruise.

[IslandThyme]

I'm a little mystified, never yet having sailed on HAL. What's so awful about the dinner that causes people to avoid the MDR? Do they do whatever it is on Ryndam?

[onthegogirl]

I was delighted that the MSD was not offered on the Prinsendam. :) I personally think is hokey. Having it on the last night of the cruise is not really fair to the waitstaff. This is when passengers show their appreciation for exceptional service and they shouldn't be driven away from the dining room.

 

BTW, the only two items on the menu that elicited complaints at our table were the Roasted Whole Tenderloin and the Chilled Sour Cherry Soup. At a table of 8, 4 soups went back untouched and those folks who had the tenderloin left most on it on the plate.

[Randyk47]

I'm a little mystified, never yet having sailed on HAL. What's so awful about the dinner that causes people to avoid the MDR? Do they do whatever it is on Ryndam?

 

Kind of hard to explain without experiencing it but the basics are that HAL started this Master Chef dinner experience back in about six or so years ago that was this kind of theatrical presentation in the Main Dining Room where the waiters and other staff performed. They dance up and down the isles, wave napkins, bang on pots and bowls, toss food around (not the food they're going to serve you), etc. Kind of comes off, or at least it did to us, as an amateur Broadway skit. The menu for the Master Chef is limited with few choices. I guess we've gone through it four or five times and slowly but surely it seems HAL is pulling back from the concept, at least in terms of the dancing, marching, banging, etc., before dinner. On our Maasdam cruise this past March they'd reduced to pre-dinner performance to almost nothing....which was good. :)

[IslandThyme]

Ugh, that does sound really dumb!