Portofino's cooking class?

[crusinpeg]

I think I read somewhere on my thread surfing that there was some kind of cooking class at Portofino's on the Freedom where you made some kind of pasta dish and then that was your lunch for around 10.00 PP. Can anyone give me any more info on this?

[Host Faith]

I really enjoyed this class on the Serenade. Here's a description from my 2010 Serenade review:

 

Monday, August 30th

Wes and I always have room service breakfast. We love eating on our balcony. After a lazy morning, I met with my Mom and Crystal for the Portofino cooking demonstration. I think this was held in Chops, which is separated from Portofino by a couple doors. We learned how to make pasta. The chef explained early on that he would not give us exact measurements, but gave instructions just like our grandmothers would give us: a basic formula that was left open to our interpretation. He wanted us to see what good pasta dough looked like and feel the texture. I was happy he did this, since this is how I learned to cook from my mother. He made several types of dough, and would pass it around for us to touch and smell. He gave us some great ideas like adding fresh herbs, beets (for color), or chocolate for a dessert ravioli.

Afterward, we were led to Portofino (next door), and were served a wonderful 4-course lunch: salads, appetizers, main course, and dessert. We each ordered something different so we could try one another’s meals. Again, I loooove that truffle ribbon pasta.

 

Crostini appetizer- very good!

 

 

[crusinpeg]

Wow that sounds really cool...do you know if this is offered daily and can you just sign up once on board?

[Host Faith]

On the Serenade, it was offered just once, on a sea day. You can either stop by Portofino when you board the ship to sign up, or you can call the restaurant to sign up. :)

[39august]

Last fall on Freedom this was not offered. It varies by ship. Yes, Serenade offered this when I sailed her.

[sjb317]

This was offered on our Freedom cruise in April on one of the sea days. It was $10 per person for 3 courses, extra if you wanted to have the wine with it. The chef gave a demonstration on making ravioli and one of the waiters spent a few minutes talking about wine. It was worth the money.

 

Sherri:)

[ChicagoBound]

It was offered on my Serenade sailing this past March but not enough people signed up so they canceled it. They didn't really do much to publicize it, which is surprising.

[Tigerss]

Just curious - did they provide you a handout with the ingredients /rough measuring size (I love that it sounds like he didn't use exact measurements) during/ after the cooking demonstration?

 

I'm happy either way, but I have a horrible memory (i would be scratching my head trying to remeber when i got home and wanted to try to cook a recipie) so just curious if I should bring my iPad or a piece of paper to take notes on during the demonstration!

 

(if they offer this on my cruise, crossing my fingers!)

[gw2fll]

When RCCL first started to "revamp" the ships, they had a program called "Chefmakers Cooking Academy". It was originally on Liberty of the Seas and Freedom of the Seas. For some reason, the program was discontinued. The last offering was in Nov 2011. I wish they would bring it back, we were so looking forward to participating.

[pstone1]

My DH and I took this cooking class on the Freedom in October, 2011 and it was wonderful!! The cooking lesson was very interesting (ravioli) and the three course lunch was delicious!! We were offered several choices for each course and we both thought it was totally worth $10 per person. I hope it's offered again on an upcoming cruise. We would definately recommend it. Yum!!

[LovesCruising]

I would LOVE to do this but I have never seen it offered on any of my sailings

[lady_cruiser]

I'm with everyone else. I would love to see it on The Mariner this coming November.

[MrsPete]

My husband and I would very much enjoy this type of activity!