Is the Chef's Table a good experience for two foodies?

[JF - retired RRT]

15 minutes ago, Aralim said:

And I'm on a Royal class ship (Regal Princess), so thanks for the heads-up about the slightly higher price. Still worth it in my book, 

On a Royal Class ship, it's a definite must do IMHO. It's held in a special area of the MDR called Lumiere. Absolutely breath-taking. Check Mr. Google to see some examples.

[taxmantoo]

27 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

What do you do with all of those cook books?

They make excellent gifts for some foodie friends 😉

[geoherb]

I always thought that Princess was being cheap with the cookbooks for straight couples. The three times I did the Chef's Table, they gave the man the cookbook and presented the woman with a rose. Men in same-sex couples each received a cookbook. Women in same-sex couples each received a cookbook and a rose. 

[Kmkub]

2 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Several "Live Froms" have mentioned that they had success by requesting that one be held.

 

And approx. $15 less without the wine.

We were bummed. The person on the dine line wouldn't even take our name, just in case they did do one.

[jwattle]

A tip to the OP, as you are on a two-segment trip; on either the last evening of the first leg or EARLY morning of turnaround day, call guest services to request Chef's Table for the second leg; almost a

guarantee!😃🥂

[memoak]

We have never been that impressed with the food at Chefs table. Too much food and mediocre wines. Yes we are wine people and foodies. When the have had Super Tuscan lunches or dinners the were excellent in the past 

 

[caribill]

4 hours ago, Aralim said:

 

Do they tend to schedule it more on sea days (or a night before a sea day)?

 

Even when you ask to be put on the list to attend you will not know what night it will be held.

 

You will only know if and when you receive the notice you can attend.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, Kmkub said:

We were bummed. The person on the dine line wouldn't even take our name, just in case they did do one.

Then ask the Maitre d'  or headwaiter in your dining room.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, jwattle said:

A tip to the OP, as you are on a two-segment trip; on either the last evening of the first leg or EARLY morning of turnaround day, call guest services to request Chef's Table for the second leg; almost a

guarantee!😃🥂

 

If you don't make it the first segment, speak with the Maitre d' during the first segment to be put on the list for the second segment. Skip dealing with guest services.

[c-boy]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

If you don't make it the first segment, speak with the Maitre d' during the first segment to be put on the list for the second segment. Skip dealing with guest services.

no worries my Gulf coast friend. The Countess has connections. 😉

[XBGuy]

We've done the Chef's Table twice.  I would certainly encorage the OP to try to attend.

 

Our enthusiasm about the CT is mixed.  While I enjoy the galley tour and have observed and learned some very interesting things, I have come to the conclusion that I do not particularly enjoy eating the appetizers in the galley.  To me, that is not dining.  Just a personal thing.

 

On one of our CTs we joined a pretty competitive group.  There was an awful lot of, "Well, when I was. . . ."', "That reminds me of the time I. . . ." and "You absolutely must. . . ."  It seemed like some of our fellow diners could not wait for another to stop talking so that they could top it.

 

I agree that the food is well-prepared and is very enjoyable, but as has been previously reported it is nowhere near cutting edge.  It may have been cutting edge in the 1950s, but even that might be a stretch.  I might add that I never thought there was too much food.  Of course, I generally do not eat lunch, especially, if I anticipate having a big dinner.  So, maybe my vote shouldn't count.

 

As has also been reported the wines that are served are perfectly fine but they are not great.  They aren't going to offer Petrus or, even, Luce della Vite.

 

On one cruise we did the CT one evening, and on the next evening we attended a Super Tuscan Dinner in Sabatini's.  The Maitre d' (he was called that back then) and the Executive Chef both recognized us as we entered and greeted us very warmly.  That was pretty cool  In this event, my wife and I were able to sit at our own 2-top table (window adjacent which really pleased Mrs. XBGuy).  We were served multiple courses each matched with a diffeent wine.  Not all the wines were Super Tuscans (a Prosecco as we walked in and a Vermentino with the first shellfish course), but I was fine with that.  The STs that were served--including Luce and Tignanello--were all outstanding.

I apologize for sounding somewhat negative, but I really encourage the OP to check out the Chef's Table  I, like everybody, have my prejudices, and to be truthful, I cannot unequivocably state that we will never sign up for another one.

[Aralim]

4 hours ago, jwattle said:

A tip to the OP, as you are on a two-segment trip; on either the last evening of the first leg or EARLY morning of turnaround day, call guest services to request Chef's Table for the second leg; almost a

guarantee!😃🥂

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

If you don't make it the first segment, speak with the Maitre d' during the first segment to be put on the list for the second segment. Skip dealing with guest services.

 

Sounds like a good plan all around! I assume they let you know early on if you made the cut, so I will keep this in mind should my daughter and I be denied.

1 hour ago, XBGuy said:

As has also been reported the wines that are served are perfectly fine but they are not great.  They aren't going to offer Petrus or, even, Luce della Vite.

Hmm. I had the Luce della Vite at my Chef's Table on Royal Caribbean in 2018, and it was by far my favorite of the wines we were served; I probably had 3 glasses of that by the end of the meal, as our sommelier was perfectly fine with allowing everyone extra glasses of whatever wine(s) they liked most. A close second (which I bought by the glass at dinners in the MDR, and a few times from the Vintages wine bar), was Tennuta dell’Ornellaia's “Le Volte” (like others here, I'm partial to Tuscan wines). If they don't serve that level of wine at the Princess CT, that is disappointing; and also surprising when Princess is supposed to be a Premium mass-market tier line compared to Royal. I'd expect the Princess CT to consider that the minimum level to offer, especially when there's a higher price for a Royal class CT.

 

My daughter wouldn't particularly care or even notice, since she's never had wine. But now that I've experienced very good wines on special occasions with corresponding prices, I would expect this to be something on par.

[caribill]

2 hours ago, XBGuy said:

While I enjoy the galley tour and have observed and learned some very interesting things, I have come to the conclusion that I do not particularly enjoy eating the appetizers in the galley.  To me, that is not dining.  Just a personal thing.

 

 

When we did the CT, the Maitre d' was the person preparing the appetizers for us in the Galley, making them a little more special.

 

When the Galley is part of the CT experience, it is different than when people take the Galley tour at the end of the cooking demo in the Princess Theater (pre-Covid, of course). During the CT the Galley is actually very active in the preparation of dinner and with the waitstaff picking up what was ordered. Even if I had not eaten one of the Galley appetizers, seeing the Galley in real action was worth being in there.

[VibeGuy]

My dirty confession is that, since the Chef’s Table usually happened on Italian Night, which used to be my least-favorite menu of the cruise, I preferred watching it happen to actually eating it. 
 

Also, since food eaten standing up is non-caloric, I rather appreciated the setup. 

[XBGuy]

3 hours ago, Aralim said:

 

Hmm. I had the Luce della Vite at my Chef's Table on Royal Caribbean in 2018, and it was by far my favorite of the wines we were served; I probably had 3 glasses of that by the end of the meal, as our sommelier was perfectly fine with allowing everyone extra glasses of whatever wine(s) they liked most. A close second (which I bought by the glass at dinners in the MDR, and a few times from the Vintages wine bar), was Tennuta dell’Ornellaia's “Le Volte” (like others here, I'm partial to Tuscan wines). If they don't serve that level of wine at the Princess CT, that is disappointing; and also surprising when Princess is supposed to be a Premium mass-market tier line compared to Royal. I'd expect the Princess CT to consider that the minimum level to offer, especially when there's a higher price for a Royal class CT.

 

 

Maybe I should consider cruising on Royal Caribbean and checking out their CT.  It sounds like the wine is better.

 

They do refill your wine glass as often as you ask on the Princess CT.

 

 I’m not sure why there is a higher price for the CT on the Princess Royal Class ships.  Other than that curtain of lights it’s the same as on other ships.  On the other hand, as a stockholder I am OK with them getting whatever they can.

[trbarton]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

If you don't make it the first segment, speak with the Maitre d' during the first segment to be put on the list for the second segment. Skip dealing with guest services.

Question….How do you find the Maitre d’ once on the ship?

 

Tom😀

[brisalta]

17 minutes ago, trbarton said:

Question….How do you find the Maitre d’ once on the ship?

 

Tom😀

 

The  Maitre d’ usually has a table setup in the Piazza during embarkation where people can ask questions and/or make requests for changes of table, etc.

[VibeGuy]

No longer.  The Maitre d’Hotel is now the Director of Restaurant Operations since the restart and does not have much of a public-facing role. 

[caribill]

4 hours ago, trbarton said:

Question….How do you find the Maitre d’ once on the ship?

 

Tom😀

 

Ask for him in one of the atrium located dining rooms.

[XBGuy]

18 hours ago, caribill said:

 

When we did the CT, the Maitre d' was the person preparing the appetizers for us in the Galley, making them a little more special.

 

When the Galley is part of the CT experience, it is different than when people take the Galley tour at the end of the cooking demo in the Princess Theater (pre-Covid, of course). During the CT the Galley is actually very active in the preparation of dinner and with the waitstaff picking up what was ordered. Even if I had not eaten one of the Galley appetizers, seeing the Galley in real action was worth being in there.

 

In both CTs that we've attended the Chef prepared one of the appetizers for us while we stood around--I remember that one of them was beef tartare.  Three or four others that were offered to us were already prepared.  I did, in fact, learn some things watching the preparation of the beef tartare. 

[caribill]

14 hours ago, XBGuy said:

 

In both CTs that we've attended the Chef prepared one of the appetizers for us while we stood around--I remember that one of them was beef tartare.  Three or four others that were offered to us were already prepared.  I did, in fact, learn some things watching the preparation of the beef tartare. 

 

Your memory is better than mine.

 

It was the head chef during our CT also, not the Maitre d' as I mistakenly remembered.