What is the primary problem with Curtis Stone in the MDR

[Loreni]

1) the description of the food,

2) the quality and/or execution,

3) the presentation, or

4) the fact that CS dishes have displaced better and/or healthier choices?

 

We will be cruising for the first time since CS items have begun to appear in the MDR.

 

Some of the descriptions sound OK. Some sound like very cheap food dressed up with a celebrity name. I have only seen a few photos of the food. One dish, the mahimahi, looks awful: beige fish, beige cauliflower, beige plantains...maybe it tastes OK.(In general, I have noticed that the main dishes are not served with an appropriate amount of vegetables. We usually ask for some extra broccoli.)

 

If anybody has additional photos or insights on specific dishes this would be appreciated. What do you think are the best dishes currently offered on the always available menu? How long until the CS contract is up? Would it be better for Princess to spend its apparently limited food budget on quality ingredients rather than a celebrity name?

[donswife]

Your experience with CS dishes will depend on the ship. We were on the Crown, and CS dishes had not invaded the "anytime" section of the MDR menu. There were CS specially highlighted main dishes 3 or 4 nights on a 7 day trip. My M-I-L and another woman at our table got the pork belly. They said it was tasty, but with thick layers of fat. My mom got the seafood stew the last night, and loved it. I did not try either. There was a chicken pot pie one night, but none of us got it.

[wishfulone]

1) the description of the food,

2) the quality and/or execution,

3) the presentation, or

4) the fact that CS dishes have displaced better and/or healthier choices?

 

We will be cruising for the first time since CS items have begun to appear in the MDR.

 

Some of the descriptions sound OK. Some sound like very cheap food dressed up with a celebrity name. I have only seen a few photos of the food. One dish, the mahimahi, looks awful: beige fish, beige cauliflower, beige plantains...maybe it tastes OK.(In general, I have noticed that the main dishes are not served with an appropriate amount of vegetables. We usually ask for some extra broccoli.)

 

If anybody has additional photos or insights on specific dishes this would be appreciated. What do you think are the best dishes currently offered on the always available menu? How long until the CS contract is up? Would it be better for Princess to spend its apparently limited food budget on quality ingredients rather than a celebrity name?

 

It's all beige. The meals all look the same, unappetizing to the point of revulsion. So presentation would be number one in my opinion. I'd also add a fifth problem and that's the influence Curtis Stone's preparation style is having on all meals in the MDR.

[GUT2407]

The biggest problem is the execution, take dishes that are normally made to order in smallish quantities and try to mass produce it, a recipe for disaster.

[shredie]

There have been several threads about this, and some of them have been controversial. There are some fans of CS who don't take kindly to others dissing his dishes. (Although I don't think I've seen some of those fans around lately.) My biggest gripe is that his stuff has displaced some old favorites on some menus. In addition to that, they just don't sound appetizing (plantains and cauliflower) and the photos we have seen here don't make the food look any more appetizing than it sounds. I have been with people at tables who ordered things, and the reviews have ranged from "bland" to "bring me something else." :)

[easyboy]

I found nothing really special on the food. There was just too much hype that created so much expectation.

[GUT2407]

And for many it's not the CS dishes as the loss of old favourites.

[wishfulone]

Madame Tussard's is unveiling a wax model of Curtis Stone in October.

[Lucky TGO]

Curtis Stone dishes like Pork Belly :eek: just don't sound good to me.

Tony

[shredie]

Madame Tussard's is unveiling a wax model of Curtis Stone in October.

 

They better keep him away from the stove. ;)

[Aus Traveller]

The cruises we have been on have one Curtis Stone dish at the bottom of the right-hand side of the menu on all nights except formal night. They swapped around Port Belly (very fatty), Seafood Stew (not to my taste) and Chicken & Leek pie (good, but it is not accompanied by veges.) Unfortunately at least one of the 'Always Available' items (Beef Medallions) has been removed entirely. :( Beef Medallions was always my fall-back option.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Curtis Stone dishes like Pork Belly :eek: just don't sound good to me.

Tony

 

Pork belly when cooked correctly is divine. Unfortunately the Curtis Stone version doesn't work very well when cooked in bulk. It has to be slow cooked at just the right temperature so that the fat renders out, the meat is moist and the skin is very crisp. It wasn't, it was fatty, the meat was unpleasantly dry and the skin was rubbery.

 

We seem to have some different options on the Aussie-based ships. Chicken and leek pot pie and osso buco, neither of which looked appetising.

 

Our tablemates had the chicken and leek pie on a couple of occasions. Both times the filling was more like a soup, and the pastry looked seriously undercooked.

 

DH had the osso buco. He said it was OK but nothing special. Unfortunately it wasn't served with gremolata (a classic sprinkle of lemon zest, parsley and garlic) which would have provided some contrast and lift to the dish.

Edited August 30, 2016 by OzKiwiJJ

[wishfulone]

The cruises we have been on have one Curtis Stone dish at the bottom of the right-hand side of the menu on all nights except formal night. They swapped around Port Belly (very fatty), Seafood Stew (not to my taste) and Chicken & Leek pie (good, but it is not accompanied by veges.) Unfortunately at least one of the 'Always Available' items (Beef Medallions) has been removed entirely. :( Beef Medallions was always my fall-back option.

The seafood cocktail and the salmon have always been my fall back items and I can't believe they dumped them after all these years.

[wishfulone]

They better keep him away from the stove. ;)

 

That's two reasons to keep him out of the kitchen :D

[GUT2407]

Pork belly when cooked correctly is divine. Unfortunately the Curtis Stone version doesn't work very well when cooked in bulk. It has to be slow cooked at just the right temperature so that the fat renders out, the meat is moist and the skin is very crisp. It wasn't, it was fatty, the meat was unpleasantly dry and the skin was rubbery.

 

We seem to have some different options on the Aussie-based ships. Chicken and leek pot pie and osso buco, neither of which looked appetising.

 

Our tablemates had the chicken and leek pie on a couple of occasions. Both times the filling was more like a soup, and the pastry looked seriously undercooked.

 

DH had the osso buco. He said it was OK but nothing special. Unfortunately it wasn't served with gremolata (a classic sprinkle of lemon zest, parsley and garlic) which would have provided some contrast and lift to the dish.

 

The chicken and leak pot pie was highly variable from pretty good to bad. It was one dish that I really thought they should have been able to do in quantity withour an issue.

 

Your hubby gave the Osso Bucco a higher rating than I would have, I thought it was awful and the Pork Belly in the Horizontal Court was better than that in the MDR a few days later.

[wishfulone]

....Your hubby gave the Osso Bucco a higher rating than I would have, I thought it was awful.....

 

Couldn't agree more. It's the only dish I've actually tried. When it came I was nearly sick looking at it and when it tasted worse I asked for a replacement meal. I cook Osso Bucco at home numerous times every winter so I know what I could have expected.

[dtb55]

People don't like change. There are quite a few that have trashed his food without ever trying it. There have been good reviews of Share. I've never had a CS dish, but I'm willing to give them a try.

Edited August 30, 2016 by dtb55
addition

[OzKiwiJJ]

There is one word that sums up the CS dishes:

BORING!

 

Also the always available items on the Aussie MDR menus are what I'd call winter food. Not the sort of meal you want to eat when you're cruising the tropics or South Pacific. Too heavy, too stodgy.

[wishfulone]

There is one word that sums up the CS dishes:

BORING!

 

Also the always available items on the Aussie MDR menus are what I'd call winter food. Not the sort of meal you want to eat when you're cruising the tropics or South Pacific. Too heavy, too stodgy.

 

Too true.

[Aus Traveller]

People don't like change. There are quite a few that have trashed his food without ever trying it. There have been good reviews of Share. I've never had a CS dish, but I'm willing to give them a try.

So was I. On the dishes in the MDR, I found one quite good (chicken & leek pie) but I needed to order veges with it. Our table of 8 started off ordering one pie (in addition to our normal order). The waiter served a spoonful of the pie to each of us and we agreed it was quite tasty.

 

I can see the point that a few other people have made. The CS dishes do not look good. This is important with food - it has to please the eye before it pleases the palate. A plate of food that is all one colour misses on the first point.

[NSWP]

They better keep him away from the stove. ;)

He would be fine in Maccas, flipping the Burgers. Not our best export is CS.

[GUT2407]

He would be fine in Maccas, flipping the Burgers. Not our best export is CS.

 

Actually I thought exporting him was the best thing to do with him.

[mrs and mrs]

One evening in the Mdr a table-mate asked me how was the pork-belly Trace, I said Crap.

Next day at breakfast, he asked me how was the Grits Trace, I said Crap Curtis must have cooked them.

What the hell are grits, I thought he was talking about my Scramblers.

And then someone showed me, BUT what the hell are Grits.

[GUT2407]

One evening in the Mdr a table-mate asked me how was the pork-belly Trace, I said Crap.

Next day at breakfast, he asked me how was the Grits Trace, I said Crap Curtis must have cooked them.

What the hell are grits, I thought he was talking about my Scramblers.

And then someone showed me, BUT what the hell are Grits.

 

Think it's what Yanks ear when there's no real tucker around.

[mrs and mrs]

Oh right so they must be Deep-Fried then,how odd.:confused: