Brand of Ranch Dressing

[bren61]

Just off of the Adventure & loved the ranch dressing in the MDR, does anyone know the brand they use & where it can be ordered from? I asked in the Windjammer the day before we left and I wrote it down, but am unable to find what I wrote it on. I thought it was something like Caribbean International Ranch Dressing, but can't find anything online, so I must have the name wrong. Anyone with an upcoming cruise if you don't mind asking your waiter in the MDR if they can find out, I would appreciate it.

[davy jones]

Interesting question.  I recall hearing (a long time ago) that salad dressings were made onboard, but I can't say that this is indeed the case.

[chengkp75]

12 hours ago, bren61 said:

I thought it was something like Caribbean International Ranch Dressing,

They probably told you it was "Royal Caribbean International Ranch Dressing".  But I will just about guarantee that it came from Sysco or other major wholesale distributor, and the RCI label is added.  Sysco gets this from various makers, but it is not noted to the cruise line which manufacturer makes it.

[CntPAcruiser]

I can't help with the name, unfortunately, but wanted to note that my DH is a ranch dressing fiend, and I make my own at home from scratch for him. At one point some years ago, Royal had changed to an awful brand of ranch that was like Elmer's glue with green flecks in it, and he stopped using it on board and switched to the honey mustard since there was no better option. The new brand they are using now and for the last couple of years (perhaps?) is much better and he was satisfied with it.

 

I was pleased to see on our most recent cruise that all the teabags were Bigelow, and they had quite a wide selection in comparison to the last couple of cruises we went on pre-Covid. Nearly all they had back then was some awful organic brand that you had to use two bags of per cup to get any flavor at all. So some of the recent changes, possibly due to supply chain or just changes in suppliers, have been for the better!

[pfdaxe358]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

But I will just about guarantee...

Not quite there yet? Either it's a guarantee or there isn't one...LOL  😉

 

[rudeney]

22 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

They probably told you it was "Royal Caribbean International Ranch Dressing".  But I will just about guarantee that it came from Sysco or other major wholesale distributor, and the RCI label is added.  Sysco gets this from various makers, but it is not noted to the cruise line which manufacturer makes it.

 

Note that just because Sysco supplies it does not mean it can't be the restaurant's own recipe.  For chain restaurants, they will mass-produce that company's recipe and distribute to all their locations.  I don't know if this is the case with RCCL or not, but it could be.  Or they could be buying a national brand, or making it onboard themselves.  I don't eat ranch dressing - I prefer blue cheese, and RCCL's is pretty good.

[chengkp75]

4 minutes ago, rudeney said:

For chain restaurants, they will mass-produce that company's recipe and distribute to all their locations.

To the best of my knowledge, Sysco does not "make" anything, they are a wholesaler and distributor.  They do sell prepared products, but those are bought from "partners" who produce them.

[rudeney]

Just now, chengkp75 said:

To the best of my knowledge, Sysco does not "make" anything, they are a wholesaler and distributor.  They do sell prepared products, but those are bought from "partners" who produce them.

 

You are probably right that Sysco (and similar food distributors) don't really make anything.  I have a friend who used to own a pizza restaurant franchise.  All of their packaged foods were delivered by Sysco.  Generic items like bags of ground beef, cans of crushed tomatoes, flour, etc. were all Sysco branded.  But they had specific brands of cheese, pepperoni, and Italian sausage they used that had Sysco labels along with the brand's label.  The company's proprietary sauce seasoning packets and yeast mix also had Sysco labels plus the chain's label.  I never really considered who "made" those items.  I guess it could have been contracted to a food provider and then just delivered by Sysco. 

 

As a side note, we did the All-Access Tour on Voyager last week that included the provisions area.  I saw lots of specific brands, but no "food service" brands.  There were  dozens of different brands of meats, dairy products, and produce.  I even noticed that the scrambled eggs are actually eggs - just not in the shell.  They come frozen, pre-scrambled in large plastic bags.  

[chengkp75]

Having used Sysco for years on the ships, I know their order forms.  You can specify something like "sliced pepperoni" and get generic, or if you specify a specific brand, they will buy that and charge you an upcharge for it.

13 minutes ago, rudeney said:

I even noticed that the scrambled eggs are actually eggs - just not in the shell.  They come frozen, pre-scrambled in large plastic bags.  

This is what is called "pasteurized egg product", and is what is almost universally used in the food service industry, not "powdered eggs" that most complain about in the ship's buffet line.  These are used for scrambled eggs, omelets, hollandaise sauces, etc.  The eggs are shelled, scrambled, an emulsifier is added to keep it from separating, and then pasteurized, so that it can be served in a raw condition (like hollandaise, cheesecake, eggnog, etc).

[davy jones]

On 10/10/2022 at 10:53 AM, CntPAcruiser said:

 

 

I was pleased to see on our most recent cruise that all the teabags were Bigelow, and they had quite a wide selection in comparison to the last couple of cruises we went on pre-Covid. Nearly all they had back then was some awful organic brand that you had to use two bags of per cup to get any flavor at all. So some of the recent changes, possibly due to supply chain or just changes in suppliers, have been for the better!

DW will be very happy to hear that.

[rudeney]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Having used Sysco for years on the ships, I know their order forms.  You can specify something like "sliced pepperoni" and get generic, or if you specify a specific brand, they will buy that and charge you an upcharge for it.

This is what is called "pasteurized egg product", and is what is almost universally used in the food service industry, not "powdered eggs" that most complain about in the ship's buffet line.  These are used for scrambled eggs, omelets, hollandaise sauces, etc.  The eggs are shelled, scrambled, an emulsifier is added to keep it from separating, and then pasteurized, so that it can be served in a raw condition (like hollandaise, cheesecake, eggnog, etc).

 

We had breakfast in Chops a few days and they used real eggs - there were still signs of the whites in my scrambled eggs.  Before COVID when they had the omelette station in Windjammer, I'd get my scrambled eggs there and they cracked them fresh (and would cook them lightly as I prefer).  

[bren61]

Thank you all for your replies. One of the workers actually brought out the container in a large container to show me, but I didn't have my phone with me at the time to take a picture, so I do know that they don't make their own. Hopefully someone that goes on a cruise can find out, if not, no biggie, I just thought maybe someone knew or asked before. Thanks again!

[SRF]

There is a SIMPLE answer.

 

Book another cruise.

 

DUH......

 

😄

 

[ryano]

On 10/11/2022 at 10:19 AM, chengkp75 said:

 

This is what is called "pasteurized egg product", and is what is almost universally used in the food service industry, not "powdered eggs" that most complain about in the ship's buffet line.  These are used for scrambled eggs, omelets, hollandaise sauces, etc.  The eggs are shelled, scrambled, an emulsifier is added to keep it from separating, and then pasteurized, so that it can be served in a raw condition (like hollandaise, cheesecake, eggnog, etc).

 

Yeah, years ago I was a "cook" at a timeshare in Kissimmee FL.   I quoted the word cook because I mostly just heated up Sysco food.  Our eggs came in bags from Sysco that you boiled in big pots of boiling water.  Id add cheese and doctor them up a little and they werent bad at all.  We NEVER used powdered eggs. ive never even seen powdered eggs

Edited October 14, 2022 by ryano

[pattycake08]

Bren 61, I'm goin on the Anthem in 2 weeks, I will ask when I board and will let you know either way what they say.

[Blizzard54]

Since the restart of cruising there have been a lot of items that have varied because of supply issues.  I am sure they will go back to having more consistency before too long.  I just hope they end up will decent product lines. 

[bren61]

20 hours ago, pattycake08 said:

Bren 61, I'm goin on the Anthem in 2 weeks, I will ask when I board and will let you know either way what they say.

That's awesome pattycake08, thank you!

[bren61]

On 10/14/2022 at 9:11 AM, SRF said:

There is a SIMPLE answer.

 

Book another cruise.

 

DUH......

 

😄

 

I'm sure I will at some point, but our next is on NCL. We flip flop between the 2, depending on the itinerary.

[A&L_Ont]

6 minutes ago, bren61 said:

I'm sure I will at some point, but our next is on NCL. We flip flop between the 2, depending on the itinerary.

NCL might use the same food supplier.  Hopefully if it tastes the same and they can answer your question about the brand.