What is Chef's Table experience??

[Pier290]

Is it worth it?? What's the difference between Chef's Table and just a regular dinner night in the specialty restaurants??  Is there an extra charge above the $40-50pp??   When is it held typically?  Is it popular? Crowded?  

 

We have Tuscan one night and Murano one night booked on our 10 day in Equinox..... wondering if we should try this Chef's Table experience???

[CHEZMARYLOU]

The Chef's Table is a special dinner, limited to about 10 diners, and usually includes one of the junior ships officers. Each course is paired with wine. The last time we did it I think it was about $195 PP.  The specialty dining charge does not apply.

 

The first few times we did it the menu was unique to the Chef's Table.  The last few times it consisted of items from other restaurants.  We quit booking it for this reason and because it is too much food for us. With the beverage package it is easy to pair wine with each course in any of the restaurants.

 

If you are interested inquire when you board and they will put your name on the list.  You can ask for a copy of the menu beforehand.

 

With the new partnership with Daniel Boulud there should be changes to the Chef's Table going forward.

[ebtrip]

We did the  Chefs Table on the Infinity.. 3 yrs ago.

cost at that time was $279.00 couple..

ate in the Muranos wine cellar area.  Paired wines with dinner.

it was very nice, but I would just do the Murano and save money..

years ago we did the Chefs Table on Princess. It was unbelievable.  Special menu

that was not served in any dining room.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

12 minutes ago, ebtrip said:

We did the  Chefs Table on the Infinity.. 3 yrs ago.

cost at that time was $279.00 couple..

 

Yes, I remember now it was $279 per couple, not $195PP

[Gracie115]

It was $279 in 2016 on the Equinox.  We didn't think it was worth it.  But we were eating in Luminae at the time and all the specialty restaurants pale in comparison to us....so we rarely stray from there now.....unless dining with a group at Qsine..(hopefully we will still be able to so with the LePetitChef concept)

[Jim_Iain]

We recently did the Chef's Table on Millennium and was very enjoyable.   We initially met at the Big table outside of Sushi on 5 (Cellar Masters) where they had champagne and antipasti until everyone arrived.  The cruise director was there to introduce the participants and then the Head Chef came up and escorted us for a Galley Tour during dinner service.  

 

While we have done many Galley tours this was interesting to observe when in full operations. 

 

After the tour we were escorted to the Wine Cellar in Tuscan Grill.   They served a very nice 4 course meal with wine pairing.   I was impressed as a non-drinker that they offered to pair with non-alcoholic wines.  The fun part was it was intimate and we became friends with 2 couple who we still stay in contact with. 

[Cruisin4ABruisen]

We have done it on the Eclipse. It was hosted in Murano. It was a unique menu with multiple courses. Each was served with a matching wine. The food was really good, and it was a fun experience -- overall, I would absolutely do it again. At the end of the dinner, they provided a picture of the dining group, as well as a signed copy of the menu. If anyone is curious, I can try to find it.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Unfortunately the wine cellar at Tuscan is no more on Millennium and Summit.  I wonder where they will hold the new Chef Daniel Boulund Chef's Tables.

 

[miched]

We did it because we had a lot of SBC and the Micheal’s Host raved about it. 

 

For us it was not worth the cost.

 

they crammed 11 of us in a room that had a  table made for 8.

 

our table mates weren’t th best.  

 

One couple thought the purpose was to complain about everything on board since they  had the ear of a officer.  They started off complaining as we were sitting in the Gastro Bar being served a glass of wine before the galley tour.   They didn’t like it because they could hear the band from the foyer and people walking by in the aisle could look at us.  

 

Second  couple wasn’t interested in any of the subjects  that the officer tried to talk about (when not interrupted by the complaining couple)  and kept telling him that they didn’t care about that subject.  

 

Third couple wanted the service to speed up and kept complaining  that it was taking too long between courses and left before they seen the desert menu

 

Fourth couple thought they were the ultimate food experts and kept questioning everything that was served and  giving their “expect” opinion  why it was wrong and could have been better.  

 

There wasn’t any choice of what was served as it was a set menu and was from the regular menu.  The Chef really didn’t explain anything expect announce what it was.  He more than likely didn’t want to confront the food experts.  

 

We could have save save a lot of SBC and had a more pleasurable dining experience by booking the restaurant and having what we wanted and not put up with rude table mates.

 

that is our experience, opinion and sticking by it

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited February 24, 2019 by miched

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Unfortunately the wine cellar at Tuscan is no more on Millennium and Summit.  I wonder where they will hold the new Chef Daniel Boulund Chef's Tables.

 

Good point.   On some of the ships I have been on they had it at the large table in Tuscan (center of room).  Not as intimate as the Wine Cellar.  

[deliver42]

We haven't been on Celebrity yet, but did the Chef's table on the Serenade of the Seas and loved it. We had a great group at the table, and that made all the difference. I don't think we'd do it again due to the unknown of the fellow patrons.

[Fogfog]

We did a Chefs Table on another line which was OUTSTANDING. Wine pairing, molecular gast. tour, head chef present and explained dishes, amuse bouche, app, soup, salad  fish, poultry, beef, dessert courses.  One couple was rude a boorish (we were about 12). But rude PAX are not the line's doing.

 

We have not done the X one as reviews have been spotty.

 

Perhaps with the new "guest chef" counsel things will improve and make the price of admission worth the evening.

Fingers crossed

 

 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

3 hours ago, miched said:

We did it because we had a lot of SBC and the Micheal’s Host raved about it. 

 

For us it was not worth the cost.

 

they crammed 11 of us in a room that had a  table made for 8.

 

our table mates weren’t th best.  

 

One couple thought the purpose was to complain about everything on board since they  had the ear of a officer.  They started off complaining as we were sitting in the Gastro Bar being served a glass of wine before the galley tour.   They didn’t like it because they could hear the band from the foyer and people walking by in the aisle could look at us.  

 

Second  couple wasn’t interested in any of the subjects  that the officer tried to talk about (when not interrupted by the complaining couple)  and kept telling him that they didn’t care about that subject.  

 

Third couple wanted the service to speed up and kept complaining  that it was taking too long between courses and left before they seen the desert menu

 

Fourth couple thought they were the ultimate food experts and kept questioning everything that was served and  giving their “expect” opinion  why it was wrong and could have been better.  

 

There wasn’t any choice of what was served as it was a set menu and was from the regular menu.  The Chef really didn’t explain anything expect announce what it was.  He more than likely didn’t want to confront the food experts.  

 

We could have save save a lot of SBC and had a more pleasurable dining experience by booking the restaurant and having what we wanted and not put up with rude table mates.

 

that is our experience, opinion and sticking by it

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Unfortunately, when you book a group dining experience, or do fixed dining at a large table, you cannot predict or choose who will be at the table.  We've mostly had good experiences except for one wine dinner.  8 of us at the table. One couple decided not to talk to anyone after the 1st few minutes and left before finishing the main course.  Another couple had a few too many and got into a political argument with a couple from Canada.  Thankfully they left before dessert was served.  The Canadian couple and us enjoyed a pleasant chat, dessert, wine and coffee and were thankful the other 4 left.

 

Our dining companions at the Chef's Tables we have done were all good dinner mates, luckily.

Edited February 25, 2019 by CHEZMARYLOU

[vtcruising]

We booked a Chef's Table on the Allure many years ago. It was lovely and quite elegant, with excellent pairings, the chef explaining every unique dish and a good group of people (12 of us in a private room above the Concierge Lounge or whatever the suite lounge was called back then). We were seated across from a young couple, who were very sweet, but as the night wore on and the champagne, wine and port caught up with them, got very amorous. It got to be a bit uncomfortable, but we all carried on with each course, trying to pretend the sights and sounds from across the table were not happening. It made for an interesting dinner! 🙂

[cruzzzinma]

Our Chef’s Table experience on the Equinox in February was mixed. We had a good group. My husband has dairy allergies and I have shellfish allergies. I talked to the Luminae hostess and she assured me they’d address our allergies.

 

We had a wonderful experience on the Oceania Rviviera in November. Our allergies were addressed, our food looked like everyone else’s, and it was delicious.

 

On the Equinox, for reasons that were never explained, they made dairy AND shellfish free food for both of us. About a third to half the courses were tailored for us. At that price point, it was efficient for the kitchen and extremely disappointing for us. Dessert was some kind of chocolate bomb they set on fire - and, yep,  my husband had gelato in the center of his just like everyone else. It was not worth what we paid.

 

If they had said “we really can not accommodate your allergies, we would have said “ok, thanks for taking the time to discuss it with us.”

[amscene1]

I would personally never dine with people I don’t know. It amazes me that someone is willing to risk those people ruining the meal (paid for or not) 

 

 

[GottaKnowWhen]

13 minutes ago, amscene1 said:

I would personally never dine with people I don’t know. It amazes me that someone is willing to risk those people ruining the meal (paid for or not) 

 

 

I tend to be a bit antisocial. But I have learned... One recent cruise, table for 6 in the MDR. First night, nice young couple at the table with us. Clear we would never see them again, they couldn’t wait to be gone from us. And then the second couple was an older couple, with an attitude. Hoped we would never see them again. But second night, the older couple was back. By the end of dinner we had warmed up. Became good friends, shared several excursions and free time ashore with them, would be happy to link up again on another cruise or whatever. So, (1) first impressions shouldn’t count, and (2) if you never associate with people you don’t already know, then you must know very few people. That is sad. 😟

[amscene1]

2 hours ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

I tend to be a bit antisocial. But I have learned... One recent cruise, table for 6 in the MDR. First night, nice young couple at the table with us. Clear we would never see them again, they couldn’t wait to be gone from us. And then the second couple was an older couple, with an attitude. Hoped we would never see them again. But second night, the older couple was back. By the end of dinner we had warmed up. Became good friends, shared several excursions and free time ashore with them, would be happy to link up again on another cruise or whatever. So, (1) first impressions shouldn’t count, and (2) if you never associate with people you don’t already know, then you must know very few people. That is sad. 😟

I have a good group of friends, although I am open to more, a cruise ship dining table is not the place for me to find them. 

[amscene1]

2 hours ago, GottaKnowWhen said:

I tend to be a bit antisocial. But I have learned... One recent cruise, table for 6 in the MDR. First night, nice young couple at the table with us. Clear we would never see them again, they couldn’t wait to be gone from us. And then the second couple was an older couple, with an attitude. Hoped we would never see them again. But second night, the older couple was back. By the end of dinner we had warmed up. Became good friends, shared several excursions and free time ashore with them, would be happy to link up again on another cruise or whatever. So, (1) first impressions shouldn’t count, and (2) if you never associate with people you don’t already know, then you must know very few people. That is sad. 😟

I have a good group of friends, although I am open to more, a cruise ship dining table is not the place for me to find them. 

[dezzy]

We had the Chefs table experience on the Reflection in October 2018 and absolutely loved it.

We first met our fellow diners in Cellar Masters and had Champagne with several officers. The Executive Chef then took us on a guided tour through both the main galley the Muranos galley during peak service, the only chance you will get to see this and was fascinating. We then went to Muranos for a 6 course meal with matched wines-all dishes specially prepared buy the executive chef and not available elsewhere. The Sommilier also gave a small talk about each wine, most the high end available on the ship. 

At the end of the meal we received a group photo, signed menu and a rose for each lady. The officers sat with us were great hosts and conversation was very entertaining. One of the best nights we have experienced from 15 cruises with Celebrity. 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

@dezzy this sounds like the Chef's Tables of old.

[Gracie115]

19 hours ago, cruzzzinma said:

Our Chef’s Table experience on the Equinox in February was mixed. We had a good group. My husband has dairy allergies and I have shellfish allergies. I talked to the Luminae hostess and she assured me they’d address our allergies.

 

We had a wonderful experience on the Oceania Rviviera in November. Our allergies were addressed, our food looked like everyone else’s, and it was delicious.

 

On the Equinox, for reasons that were never explained, they made dairy AND shellfish free food for both of us. About a third to half the courses were tailored for us. At that price point, it was efficient for the kitchen and extremely disappointing for us. Dessert was some kind of chocolate bomb they set on fire - and, yep,  my husband had gelato in the center of his just like everyone else. It was not worth what we paid.

 

If they had said “we really can not accommodate your allergies, we would have said “ok, thanks for taking the time to discuss it with us.”

 

My husband also has a shellfish allergy and instead of the scallop appetizer they gave him ONE stalk of asparagus cut in half......absolute truth.....

[tanzania2015]

We have done the chef's table on each of our celebrity cruises (12) and have had extremely good luck with the table mates. A few have  become  good friends. The hosting officers have varied from the food and beverage manager, HR manager, Stores manager, IT manager, to the Salon manager. Many times we have had two hosting officers. There is a lot of food but you don’t need to finish every course. The wine is paired with the each course  and you get to taste some of the better but not necessarily great wines. We have done the chef's table on the Infinity, Millennium, Eclipse, Equinox, and Solstice.  The Celebrity Cook Book use to be given out but they stopped giving that about 3 years ago. The chef signed menu and group picture are a nice touch. The price was $279 per couple which is expensive and not worth it if you are going just because of the food and wine. We enjoy the company of 6 to 8 of our fellow passengers and the officers and think that with the food and wine is worth the price.  Many times they offer the Chef's table twice on longer cruises if there is enough interest. We normally talk to the matre'd at either the Marano or Tuscan on the first day of the cruise about the scheduling of of the chef's table. 

[cruzzzinma]

4 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

@dezzy this sounds like the Chef's Tables of old.

 

This accurately describes what happened at our chef’s table except that no officers “hosted.” We had champagne in the Gastro Bar (former location of Cellar Masters), had the kitchen tour, were seated in the Murano Wine Cask Room, and got the picture/menu.

Edited February 25, 2019 by cruzzzinma

[cruzzzinma]

1 hour ago, Gracie115 said:

 

My husband also has a shellfish allergy and instead of the scallop appetizer they gave him ONE stalk of asparagus cut in half......absolute truth.....

 

My husband got strawberries and blueberries for one course. For the lobster risotto course we both got, wait for it, mushrooms and rice in broth. It was disgusting.

Edited February 25, 2019 by cruzzzinma