Shopping with the Chef

[Missabby]

I recently received a 4-page Seabourn brochure titled “Seabourn’s Northern Europe”, which focuses on Britain, Iceland & Greenland and Norway & the Baltic.  What caught my eye, on the first page, was their “added values and unforgettable experiences” bullet points that included “Shopping with the Chef excursions.”  Correct me if I am wrong, but I have never seen this specifically called out in any of their brochures before.  In all of our past Seabourn cruises, shopping with the chef was typically placed in the daily Herald, which you would see the night before and Seabourn typically accepts no more than 15 guests (per our last voyage to Antarctica on the Quest in January 2019).  What concerns me is if Seabourn is now going making these paid excursions and they become a profit center for Seabourn.  In my opinion, it will kind of suck the soul of what the original program was intended to be.  Anyone have any insights on what Seabourn is doing with this program?

[Mr Luxury]

Seabourn are merely highlighting shopping with the Chef,they are not charging for it.

They highlight many things in the brochure some chargeable and some included.

[Catlover54]

Missabby, even if SB would charge for a chef shopping event, if still limited to 15 people, why would it “ suck the soul” out of the original purpose of the event?  If anything, people willing to pay a few dollars would likely be even more enthusiastic to be there and value it more, rather than just going along because they have nothing else to do and happen to be first to call after seeing the announcement.

 

On luxury lines with “free” excursions many  people are there just because they “paid for it already” .

I remember a “ free” excursion on Regent a few years ago where 48 people trudged as one group through a wine cellar for a tour. Most of them were not that into wine. DH and I landed up at the back of the konga line because we tend not to be pushy, thus hearing almost nothing the guide said

[cruiseej]

On two of our Seabourn cruises, I inquired several times at Seabourn Square about when it would be possible to sign up for Shopping with the Chef. I was told to wait until it was announced in the Herald -- and then it was never put in the Herald; "insiders" had worked their way onto some secret priority list, so it was never advertised for us lowly newbies. That didn't seem very fair, either.

 

(We fortunately happened to bump into Chef Jess and his entourage just randomly as we walking around Bergen, Norway. We trailed them through the market a bit, being sure to hang back at a respectful distance so we weren't impinging on those on his excursion. The awesome Jess noticed us and graciously waved us in a couple times for quick tastes of what he was sharing with his group -- so nice, so cool.)

[galeforce9]

On our last cruise some people mentioned they were going shopping with the chef in a certain place.  The shopping had yet to be advertised in the herald. They acknowledged that they had a “secret” booking.  

[Mauzac]

I would really love to go shopping with the Chef.  I've never seen it in the Herald, (and I scour it the minute I get it).  I just get the feeling it's for Platinum or Diamond members or whatever,  so I agree with Cruiseej... not really fair.  

[Mr Luxury]

The trick is to go to Seabourn square and very nicely say to the person at guest services that you would love to go shopping with the Chef and ask if they know which port it will be in.

Most of the time they know and if your lucky they can put you on the list.

It is limited and so popular that regular cruisers get in early.

Good luck

[CLOU]

On our last cruise in the Caribbean in December, we asked in Seabourn Square at the beginning of the cruise and they said they had no idea when shopping with the chef would be.  A day or so later we saw the chef in the dining room and aksed him.  He told us he would be going in Guadeloupe.  We went to Seabourn Square later that day and signed up.  They made us act all hush hush and not let anyone less hear us speaking, but they signed us up.  The day before Guadeloupe I looked in the Herald and it was not listed.  I checked with Seabourn Square and they told us to just meet outside the dining room the next morning.  That morning, about 15 - 20 people appeared.  I asked several of them how they knew to sign up, since it was not in the Herald.  All but one other couple said that they were called that morning or nabbed in Seabourn Square at the last minute and asked if they wanted to join.  Apparently, they forgot to put the notice in the Herald and so only four proactive people, including my husband and me, had signed up so they had to scramble to fill out the group at the last minute.

 

As it turned out, the chef had to tour with a group of models and photographers to take promotional pictures, so we went shopping with the Thomas Keller liaison who was on board for part of the cruise.  He was actually great, taking time to explain lots of things.  We saw the chef in the same markets with the models, and several of us commented that clearly real Seabourn passengers are not good looking enough for the brochures.

[tv24]

Not my favorite feature on Seabourn.  For a time I had felt excluded from this extra perk because, as others had written, I had asked to be included in the group and had never been notified of the possibility.  Then on our last long cruise, I emphatically requested at Seabourn Sq. to be included.  So we did receive an official invitation, but it was for an ongodly hour of the morning, so we declined.  We learned later that the chef merely conducted a drive-by of the market and did not purchase anything since, as on all other cruise lines, provisions are controlled by the central purchasing department in corporate HQ.  So don't feel as though you are missing anything.  Chill, and enjoy the other terrific features of Seabourn and let "Shopping With the Chef" go.  I have and am happier ever since.

[CLOU]

For us, getting up early is no big deal, we are early risers so we do it anyway.  I have been shopping with the chef twice.  Once it was terrible, not due to the chef, but because it was in Uruguay and organized by a travel agent on a day where there were no real markets to speak of.  The chef was disappointed and so were we.  The second time was in Guadeloupe, as mentioned above, and we enjoyed it much more.  The one benefit to chopping with the chef is that if certain fresh ingredients are purchased, you may know of something special to ask for or look for in the dining rooms later.

 

That being said, I would never adjust other plans I had to do shopping with the chef.  I have only gone on days and in ports where we had no other plans.  In Guadeloupe it worked out perfectly because the itinerary was switched at the last minute, the day before boarding, and we were not able to rebook our rental car for the new day in Guadeluope.

[Sunviking]

1 hour ago, tv24 said:

  We learned later that the chef merely conducted a drive-by of the market and did not purchase anything since, as on all other cruise lines, provisions are controlled by the central purchasing department in corporate HQ.  So don't feel as though you are missing anything.  Chill, and enjoy the other terrific features of Seabourn and let "Shopping With the Chef" go.  I have and am happier ever since.

We have been shopping with the chef on several cruises and each time the Chef has bought copious quantities of food. Last year in Rouen he bought all the sea bream at one stand and all the tomatoes and cucumbers at another.  Additionally he  bought cheese, quail eggs, strawberries and cherries.  Of course we were able to sample many of the things before he made his purchases.  On the way back to our bus we had a procession with carts and dollies full of food following us. After each shopping trip, at the Colonnade's lunch the next day there have been tables set up with some of the treats that were bought locally.  Shopping with the chef is one of the outings we enjoy most.  But then, I love markets and try to visit them because I think they give one a real look into the local life.

[Mr Luxury]

Yes the Chef always buys lots of local produce on a shopping trip.

we always try things when at the market and then have had some things delivered to our suite when the Chef has cooked them.

[vistaman]

13 hours ago, galeforce9 said:

On our last cruise some people mentioned they were going shopping with the chef in a certain place.  The shopping had yet to be advertised in the herald. They acknowledged that they had a “secret” booking.  

years ago i had a so said "secret booking" for the one and only reason that i was speaking French fluently ...

[cruiseej]

15 hours ago, CLOU said:

The day before Guadeloupe I looked in the Herald and it was not listed... Apparently, they forgot to put the notice in the Herald...

 

Our experience in Bergen was the opposite. Even though we knew that was the port for Shopping With the Chef, the opportunity was never printed in the Herald. The next night we were invited to dinner with the Assistant Cruise Director, and I mentioned that it seemed unfair that insiders got to go and it wasn't even listed in the Herald. No, she insisted, it had been in the Herald, because she was the one who put the Herald together. I told her to go look again, because it wasn't there. She saw me later that night or the next morning and wanted me to know that she found out someone else removed it before the Herald was printed, but she didn't know why. Although she professed surprise, it sounds like this is a regular occurrence.

 

That all said, I don't know if changing it to a paid excursion would make anything better or worse: the simple reality is that there are slots for only a few people who can go, so demand will always exceed available supply.

 

14 hours ago, tv24 said:

We learned later that the chef merely conducted a drive-by of the market and did not purchase anything since, as on all other cruise lines, provisions are controlled by the central purchasing department in corporate HQ. 

 

Although that happened on your cruise, it's definitely not true in general. The chef -- actually it's the purser or assistant purser, I think, who accompanies the chef -- has a wad of cash allocated for making purchases in the market. I'm sure there's a budgeted limit for each trip, but there is money when they do this.

 

SWTC may be unique to Seabourn, but money for local purchases isn't. On a Regent cruise years ago in the South Pacific, we saw the chef purchase a large tuna for cash, directly from a fisherman's boat and have the crew hoist it aboard. (There was a great tuna appetizer on the menu at dinner, but the highlight was the next day at lunch, when there was a huge hunk of raw tuna in the dining room and passengers were free to go up and cut off as much as they wanted.)

[Mauzac]

I would imagine that Guest Services get inundated with calls for the trip out that has only 15 or less places so I can understand they remove it from the Herald.  Next cruise I'm just going to try and be 'in the know' and get invited!  

[ab21au]

We have done two SWTC’s, one was a fabulous outing to a great hilltop village but the market was not so good. The second in Malaga the market was fabulous. First time the chef didn’t buy much because he was disappointed in the market. In Malaga he bought lots, particularly shellfish which was on the menu that evening and the next day. 

 

On the last cruise we missed out on the first SWTC (fully booked) but they put us down for the next, later in the cruise. I do think it depends on who is at the desk in SB square. It is possible to get an inexperienced person at the desk. 

[chefchick]

On 4/16/2019 at 8:06 PM, cruiseej said:

 

 

(We fortunately happened to bump into Chef Jess and his entourage just randomly as we walking around Bergen, Norway. We trailed them through the market a bit, being sure to hang back at a respectful distance so we weren't impinging on those on his excursion. The awesome Jess noticed us and graciously waved us in a couple times for quick tastes of what he was sharing with his group -- so nice, so cool.)

 

Perhaps we have just been “at the right place at the right time” but have been shopping with the chef 2 of our 3 Seabourn cruises...but shopping with Chef Jess was a parti highlight.  Frankly he is an asset to any Seabourn Cruise.

[SLSD]

I have seen Shopping With The Chef in at least one Herald.  So, sometimes it is advertised.  I remember the description saying the small group would be filled on a first come first serve basis.  

[koalapanda]

Here's some Pics.

[koalapanda]

Our favourite Chef's Jez and Frank

These are Jez in Corfu and Frank in Sete.

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by koalapanda

[rols]

We've been shopping with the Chef quite a few times, It can be great (Chef Jes is really good), it can be quite informative, we ended up sausage and cheese tasting the previous time but the most recent was just a mess. We shopped in Ho Chi Minh, the first 20 minutes were taken up with people changing money; in the market the chef bought some fairly ordinary fruit, then we spent about 35 minutes at a coffee stall because they were slow and many people in the group wanted to purchase coffee too because the chef was buying it, and finally bought some dried rice noodles and then we all stood around for 40 minutes drinking coconut water until the bus turned up and then waited another 15 minutes for a couple who'd wandered off and then stopped at a bahn mi stall so a few people on the bus could try that. 

 

So they can be great, and they can be 2 hours standing around seeing rather little. Guest Services is often rather coy about the whole thing and tell you they have no idea when it's happening, or if it's happening and please check the herald. Usually after you ask a few different people, one of them will come clean and put you on the list. To be fair I've always seen it in the herald the night before but you have to spot it and do so in time to sign up. 

 

We've enjoyed some of them but probably won't do any more. 

[jdk-atlga]

Hi all:

My wife and I were, by happenstance, with CLOU and her husband in December. Also by happenstance, we had run into Chef Michael as we were getting ready to wander around. He asked us if we would like to join up in the Shopping with the Chef as there were just a handful of people at that time and we said "sure". Ultimately, we ended up with more than enough people in the group and as CLOU indicated, we had a great and informed time. Watching the shop vendor, when Michael indicated that he would take all of the mini-pineapples, was priceless. It was also great that we had a few (not us) in our group that could speak a language other than English for the "price negotiations." And, yes, the other Chef party, with the models and photographers, did not seem to have as much fun as we all did. 

 

As we are booked to almost the same cruise this December, I am going to be looking out/asking again for this "perk".

Best, jdk