Silversea food

[lolawpb]

Just returned from the Spirit 11-day cruise that some others have posted about. We also did the kitchen tour and the chef was very clear that they make everything they can from scratch. The menus for the most part are pre-set with some allowance for local items to be added or special events. The groceries are then shipped in to each port to coincide with the needs of the ship and they toss anything that is not extremely fresh. The chef talked about the requirements for how long they can keep items such as fresh seafood but his standard is higher. These kitchens are run like very fine-dining kitchens and I personally know that much of this food could not be pre-made and frozen as it just isn't possible. I agree that the food on this cruise was excellent. Most of the Silversea cruises I have been on have had very good food with the exception of the Muse when they first launched. I have heard from the crew that Silversea recognized that they needed to blend in more of their seasoned staff better and get the Muse up to par and that has been done. I haven't sailed on her since though so I can't say from personal experience. We spent time in London and Paris after our cruise but we are still talking about how good the dining was on the ship so "well done" Silver Spirit.

[Fletcher]

1 hour ago, lolawpb said:

These kitchens are run like very fine-dining kitchens and I personally know that much of this food could not be pre-made and frozen as it just isn't possible. 

 

Just think about the logistics - the numbers of people, the vast amount of food and sometimes two weeks between ports on, say, polar cruises - and you know what you say just cannot be right.  All those desserts, for example.  Do you think they make each one from scratch?  And keep cream fresh for weeks on end? I'm not saying the food on the ships is inedible, it's sometimes surprisingly good but mostly average and nothing like a high-end restaurant ashore.  It's mass catering of an admittedly fairly high order.

Edited June 21, 2019 by Fletcher

[RachelG]

13 minutes ago, Fletcher said:

 

Just think about the logistics - the numbers of people, the vast amount of food and sometimes two weeks between ports on, say, polar cruises - and you know what you say just cannot be right.  All those desserts, for example.  Do you think they make each one from scratch?  And keep cream fresh for weeks on end? I'm not saying the food on the ships is inedible, it's sometimes surprisingly good but mostly average and nothing like a high-end restaurant ashore.  It's mass catering of an admittedly fairly high order.

on the polar cruises, towards the end of a long cruise, the fresh produce is more limited, and things get more boring.  However, cream can be kept fresh for over a month if refrigerated.  I know this for fact from my own kitchen.

[lolawpb]

I think we are talking about a cruise experience other than Silversea if we are mentioning large numbers of people and vast amounts of food. We are referring to a maximum of 608 guests ( and much lower on most of their ships) spread out over eight restaurants and three to four hours of dinner service with over 80 kitchen staff and three to four separate kitchens so it is definitely not impossible. I also know that many of the items, especially the desserts, cannot be preprepared and frozen as I cater these types of items myself and am well-versed on how to prepare them. The staff does work in several shifts and with several different stations of responsibility just like any good restaurant kitchen. My conversations with the chef on how to prepare specific dishes they served were also very detailed as he described to me how the fresh tomatoes are soaked to make the skins remove easily and what time the first shift begins making the pasta. I can't imagine why they would lie or why they would invite us into the kitchen where they pastry chef was making fresh merengue  for the lemon tarts if they are serving something out of a box....

[Catlover54]

On 6/21/2019 at 8:40 AM, RachelG said:

“on the polar cruises, towards the end of a long cruise, the fresh produce is more limited, and things get more boring.  However, cream can be kept fresh for over a month if refrigerated.  I know this for fact from my own kitchen.”

 

 

As a lifelong big fan of cream, especially freshly whipped real cream for desserts, afternoon scones, Black Forest cake and Irish coffees instead of Cool Whip or squirt bottle cream, this is a very important fact for me  to know. In 2020 I will be on another luxury line north of the Arctic Circle for a while, so expect  no “we are out of whipping cream because we are far from port” excuses. 😎

 

DH and I greatly enjoyed the interesting kitchen tours on the Spirit, even though neither of us cooks ( we just enjoy what others have cooked), where the impressive made-to-order feature was highlighted. There will be limits, as Fletcher said, but not necessarily enough to significantly tarnish the experience.  I worry more about potential service problems.

[Fletcher]

One of the big Brexit debates is the difference between European and US food standards.  I forget the number of times a chlorinated chicken rears its ugly head.  I think this debate about cream is relevant.  Our cream isn't the same as your cream.

 

And Catlover, the biggest concern about polar regions is surely the weather . . . !

[RachelG]

If cream or milk is properly stored in its original container and refrigerated, it has a very long shelf life.  At least a month.  Now you can’t be opening and closing it all along the way, but it stays good for a long time.  Nothing to do with American or European food standards.  If anything, the USDA is more picky.

[Stumblefoot]

On 6/18/2019 at 8:44 PM, Fortunate2 said:

And I almost forgot that today's buffet lunch option include fresh shrimp, King crab, oysters on the half-shell. 

 

Incredible!  Glad to see the local goodies, especially Alaskan King Crab being served.

[EagerTravelerBC]

On our recent cruise from Tokyo to Vancouver the food was great. We only had one misfire with one beef dish. Dining room manager said they wouldn't have recommended it. Uhm.. yeah.

 

The only comment I would have is that the menu did not change much. One dish now or then, but that is it. In La Terrazza there were no changes to the menu.

[nowornever]

thank you for posting this wonderful video!  This made me very hungry.