The Chef’s Table

[frickwg]

Is there a way to know what the menu/region/cuisine will be on which days in the Chef’s Table in advance on a certain day/days for my cruise this December??

[photopro2]

I feel sure that the blunt answer to this is no!

However a longer and more informative response is to suggest that it might be better not to know, let me explain.......

For us the Chef's table is part of the ship's education and enrichment program. The whole point is to bravely take a risk and try different taste experiences or to trust the chef to offer a new twist on something that you might already like. 

As an example, for most of my life I simply said "I don't like seafood" and just turned down any such items when they were offered. However seafood items on several Chef's Table menus encouraged me to give them a try and so opened up for me a whole world of seafood tastes that I now enjoy. 

If you have any allergies then do let the staff know and they will work with you but if it is just a matter of "taste" then take the opportunity to at least sample a little of everything that is offered. If you really hate one course then another course (and wine pairing!) will soon follow and you can always fill up in the world cafe or with room service if need be.

Bon appetit 🙂

[bbtondo]

2 hours ago, photopro2 said:

I feel sure that the blunt answer to this is no!

However a longer and more informative response is to suggest that it might be better not to know, let me explain.......

For us the Chef's table is part of the ship's education and enrichment program. The whole point is to bravely take a risk and try different taste experiences or to trust the chef to offer a new twist on something that you might already like. 

As an example, for most of my life I simply said "I don't like seafood" and just turned down any such items when they were offered. However seafood items on several Chef's Table menus encouraged me to give them a try and so opened up for me a whole world of seafood tastes that I now enjoy. 

If you have any allergies then do let the staff know and they will work with you but if it is just a matter of "taste" then take the opportunity to at least sample a little of everything that is offered. If you really hate one course then another course (and wine pairing!) will soon follow and you can always fill up in the world cafe or with room service if need be.

Bon appetit 🙂

Appreciate this information as DH and I hopefully will be on our first Viking Ocean cruise in November.  I'm a picky eater, DH will eat anything!  Good idea to go to the world cafe afterwards if I skip a course or two... lol

[uktog]

Trouble is if you have food allergies, there are some menus you know you cannot have because so much would have to be changed whereas others would not need much of adjustment.  So knowing in advance would really help.

[frickwg]

But, since you must reserve well in advance, before the cruise, I want to choose broadly what I want to "pay" for!

[rizello]

31 minutes ago, frickwg said:

But, since you must reserve well in advance, before the cruise, I want to choose broadly what I want to "pay" for!

Depending on the number of passengers, you can adjust your reservations on board.  We ate there 3 nights and 3 nights at Manfredi’s. 
 

 

[Frenchberet]

Disclaimer - our cruises with Viking were pre-Covid so things may have changed.  When our date came to make dinner reservations, I signed into My Viking Journey and was able to see which menu was available on a specific date.  We're not "foodies" by any means but we've enjoyed every meal we've had at the Chief's Table.  It's the entire experience, not just the food, that is so much fun.  

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

19 hours ago, frickwg said:

But, since you must reserve well in advance, before the cruise, I want to choose broadly what I want to "pay" for!

We picked blindly at home, based on times available and how late the ship was in port each day.  But right before boarding, I asked someone on Cruise Critic what was being served and if someone could find out what menus were scheduled for the following week.  It turned out that my spouse's favorite was in the rotation for 2 days we were onboard. Once we boarded we asked if we could switch to a day when that was being served.  They were able to do that.

 

But at Chef's Table the portions are small, so you can just pass on one or order two of another if you really don't like something.  But keep an open mind.   The title of the "Route des Indes" menu scared me a little, but the tenderloin they brought was delicious. I was thinking we'd be served Indian food, but we weren't.  It's all about spices....

[Cienfuegos]

The portions served at Chef 's Table are small.  But, the staff will fetch another helping on request.

[bookbabe]

23 hours ago, uktog said:

Trouble is if you have food allergies, there are some menus you know you cannot have because so much would have to be changed whereas others would not need much of adjustment.  So knowing in advance would really help.

This is so true.  I’m allergic to fish (just fin fish, not shell) so I absolutely need menus before a meal.  No sense taking up a spot at a table if I can’t eat the majority of what’s being offered.

[CCWineLover]

24 minutes ago, Cienfuegos said:

The portions served at Chef 's Table are small.  But, the staff will fetch another helping on request.

Small is relative.  We love the Chef's Table and have always walked away quite full!

We've heard several who say they don't get enough, but they could always just go have a second meal at the World Cafe.  🙂   And we spoke to several people who often did just that!

Everyone has different amounts of food that fill them up - just look around at the mix of people on board!

[Cienfuegos]

2 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Small is relative.  We love the Chef's Table and have always walked away quite full!

We've heard several who say they don't get enough, but they could always just go have a second meal at the World Cafe.  🙂   And we spoke to several people who often did just that!

Everyone has different amounts of food that fill them up - just look around at the mix of people on board!

Agreed. I would describe the portions as appetizer or tapas size. Not full entree or main size.

[rizello]

4 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Small is relative.  We love the Chef's Table and have always walked away quite full!

We've heard several who say they don't get enough, but they could always just go have a second meal at the World Cafe.  🙂   And we spoke to several people who often did just that!

Everyone has different amounts of food that fill them up - just look around at the mix of people on board!

I was stuffed after every chef's table meal.  For one of the menus, the halibut portion was huge!

[friendlyfifer]

When you board visit the Restaurant Desk next to Passenger Services. If you tell the crew member what you simply can not eat then the chefs will do all they can to alter any troublesome dish(es) for you. If you have notified Viking of any specific allergies the dishes will be altered automatically for you at the Chef’s Table.

[JM0115]

We had the California Cuisine this evening on the Bermuda Escape cruise (Viking Orion). I loved the crab cake and sweet potato chips but not the halibut that much or the mandarin desert. The wines were not so great either. Not the best of the Chef's Table in my opinion.

[SantaFe1]

Agreed.  We are from California and came to be suspect of anything labeled California cuisine,  the halibut was frozen, the wines bottom shelf.  

[CCWineLover]

56 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

Agreed.  We are from California and came to be suspect of anything labeled California cuisine,  the halibut was frozen, the wines bottom shelf.  

Likewise, we are also from California and to me it was sad they named it that way.   At the bottom of the Chef's Table menus in my opinion.  Still love the Asian Panorama though!

[SantaFe1]

Just now, CCWineLover said:

Still love the Asian Panorama though!

Our favorite too!

[CannyScotTor]

On 9/1/2021 at 1:09 PM, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

We picked blindly at home, based on times available and how late the ship was in port each day.  But right before boarding, I asked someone on Cruise Critic what was being served and if someone could find out what menus were scheduled for the following week.  It turned out that my spouse's favorite was in the rotation for 2 days we were onboard. Once we boarded we asked if we could switch to a day when that was being served.  They were able to do that.

 

But at Chef's Table the portions are small, so you can just pass on one or order two of another if you really don't like something.  But keep an open mind.   The title of the "Route des Indes" menu scared me a little, but the tenderloin they brought was delicious. I was thinking we'd be served Indian food, but we weren't.  It's all about spices....

Actually, I had hoped that the “routes des indes” menu was Indian cuisine, but it turned out that it was basically, mainstream American food with a hint of not too dangerous spicing. An undercooked tenderloin steak with a hint of cumin doesn’t do it for me. The other chefs table  menus we tried that suggested “ethnic” influences, for me, were equally disappointing. To each his own. For me the Chefs Table, despite high hopes, was the least interesting restaurant option, I doubt we will book it on our next cruise. 
 

Obviously, this is all about individual taste, so don’t take this as a criticism, just a different outlook on things.

 

On the issue of portion size, I think the idea is that you have five or six small courses, that together fill you up, in the same way you would find in a fine dining restaurant, as opposed to the huge entree experience we find in many North American main stream  restaurants these days. Again, to each his own.

[rizello]

2 hours ago, JM0115 said:

We had the California Cuisine this evening on the Bermuda Escape cruise (Viking Orion). I loved the crab cake and sweet potato chips but not the halibut that much or the mandarin desert. The wines were not so great either. Not the best of the Chef's Table in my opinion.

Being from California, I’m also curious what people think of as California cuisine.  We really enjoyed the entire meal.  Everything cooked perfectly. We has SS package so enjoyed the wine pairings. 
 

Only thing I found interesting was the choice of background music for the California menu.  Very ‘70s.  
 

we also enjoyed the other menus, especially the granitas.  Very interesting flavors.  

[SantaFe1]

1 minute ago, rizello said:

We really enjoyed the entire meal.  Everything cooked perfectly. We has SS package so enjoyed the wine pairings. 

I just don’t think frozen fish can be perfectly cooked.  We always bought our fish fresh from Santa Monica Seafood.  We also had the SS package, but not California wines at their finest.  We are not snobs, but just wasn’t what we loved about home.