Chefs Table for Vegetarians?

[Carnevale]

My husband and I do not eat any meat or poultry (but eggs, dairy, cheese, etc. are okay).  We are wondering if the Chefs Table will be an option for us or not.  Do they have a set menu or are there choices?  If it is set, can they make any dietary accommodations? 

Thanks for any info and, if anyone has a sample menu, we'd love to see it.

[crzrr]

They will accommodate you.  We have done the chef's table with a vegetarian before and they customized the meal to suit her.  Not a set menu.  They asked her about likes/dislikes and then prepared her dishes.

[Carnevale]

Thx!  Sounds good.

 

Are there choices for each course or does the chef select everything?

[crzrr]

I honestly don't remember but think that it was the main course that was customized.  We have done a number of chef's tables and some of the courses are vegetarian as they are presented.

 Also, the main course is typically either a meat or a fish.  The woman we were with did not like fish so that's why they made something special.  If you eat fish, you should be fine.  But, rest assured, they do everything they can to make sure that you enjoy it and leave full!

[Dr H]

I have a personal bug against vegetarians. There it's voiced and out in the open. Why would someone who voluntarily opts not to eat entire classes of foods want to attend a food tasting meal that highlights entire classes of foods? Aside from the social aspect of attending a Chef's Table, the purpose is to highlight the Chef's cooking abilities coupled with a wine pairing. It is not for the Chef to be forced/coerced into preparing an almost entirely separate menu to accommodate a few individuals who feel empowered and entitled to impose their dining habit life style on others. Now if the Chef has a menu specifically for vegetarians, go for it and have a good time. But if you insist on limiting yourself to vegetarian selections, I don't know if there is a ship afloat that won't happily accommodate you in the Main Dining Room. 

[uktog]

21 minutes ago, Dr H said:

I have a personal bug against vegetarians. There it's voiced and out in the open. Why would someone who voluntarily opts not to eat entire classes of foods want to attend a food tasting meal that highlights entire classes of foods? Aside from the social aspect of attending a Chef's Table, the purpose is to highlight the Chef's cooking abilities coupled with a wine pairing. It is not for the Chef to be forced/coerced into preparing an almost entirely separate menu to accommodate a few individuals who feel empowered and entitled to impose their dining habit life style on others. Now if the Chef has a menu specifically for vegetarians, go for it and have a good time. But if you insist on limiting yourself to vegetarian selections, I don't know if there is a ship afloat that won't happily accommodate you in the Main Dining Room. 

Firstly, can I say I am a meat eater I am not a vegetarian. I do however have to consider food, allergies for my husband and I see adaptations of menus in a different light

 

I cannot agree with you that, for some reason, the vegetarian cannot be offered an equal experience to a meat eater. There are indeed excellent examples of vegetarian specialities from the regions of the world that the tables feature.
 

Bear in mind many of the chefs on Azamara are coming from non-meat eating cultures so vegetarian cooking is second nature to them and maybe preferable 

 

You could argue it is the meat eaters who are of line in their eyes by opting in to eat meat. 

 

If it’s good enough for Michelin to award stars to vegetarian foods in restaurants, I think it’s good enough for Azamara to be able to do adaptations to the chefs table likewise.

Edited April 18, 2023 by uktog

[excitedofharpenden]

35 minutes ago, Dr H said:

I have a personal bug against vegetarians. There it's voiced and out in the open. Why would someone who voluntarily opts not to eat entire classes of foods want to attend a food tasting meal that highlights entire classes of foods? Aside from the social aspect of attending a Chef's Table, the purpose is to highlight the Chef's cooking abilities coupled with a wine pairing. It is not for the Chef to be forced/coerced into preparing an almost entirely separate menu to accommodate a few individuals who feel empowered and entitled to impose their dining habit life style on others. Now if the Chef has a menu specifically for vegetarians, go for it and have a good time. But if you insist on limiting yourself to vegetarian selections, I don't know if there is a ship afloat that won't happily accommodate you in the Main Dining Room. 

What a stupid comment. I mean, really?  I have a personal bugbear against those that are close minded enough to have opinions and worry about things like this. There!  I said it. Apart from the fact you don't answer the question. 

 

To the OP, go and speak to the Maitre d' about your requirements. My experience of Azamara is that they are only too willing to accommodate wherever possible. 

 

Phil 

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

What a stupid comment. I mean, really?  I have a personal bugbear against those that are close minded enough to have opinions and worry about things like this. There!  I said it. Apart from the fact you don't answer the question. 

 

To the OP, go and speak to the Maitre d' about your requirements. My experience of Azamara is that they are only too willing to accommodate wherever possible. 

 

Phil 

I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t eat red meat or pork. When I sign up for a Chef’s Table, I always mention this and they have always accommodated me.

[fernem]

Hi,

I am a lifelong vegetarian and a longtime Azamara cruiser. The vegan menu Azamara developed is exceptional and makes me happy. I fought long and hard to encourage them to develop it. My opinion on the Chef's Table is that it is not worth it. It really is meant to showcase the skills and dishes of the chef and we are not part of that culture. I imagine they would try to accommodate you, but it would not be an equivalently spectacular meal. Just my sense of it after many years on Azamara. I have never attempted to participate, however, so you might be fine with it.

 

[Carnevale]

As the OP I have some thoughts on the post by "Dr H" (#5 above):

 

My overall reaction: I have a personal bug against people who feel the need to try to belittle others for no good reason. There it's voiced and out in the open.

 

We were asked: "Why would someone who voluntarily opts not to eat entire classes of foods want to attend a food tasting meal that highlights entire classes of foods?"  Simple.  It's easy for vegetarian's to be gourmet chefs and/or home-based foodies with well developed palates.  It's easy for vegetarians to enjoy a wide range of foods and be adventurous eaters beyond the consumption of meat/poultry.  As another posted here, there are Michelin starred vegetarian restaurants (even at the three star level and there is also a vegan starred restaurant).  So good food and vegetarianism are  compatible.  We don't just eat lettuce and tofu all the time and enjoy sophisticated food and wine pairings.

 

We were told: "It is not for the Chef to be forced/coerced into preparing an almost entirely separate menu to accommodate a few individuals...".  Who's trying to force or coerce the chef?  The posting here was intended to explore the experience of others to see if this is possible.  At no time have I (or would I) ever try to force something like this on a chef.  We always ask and, if it isn't possible, we accept that.  I actually have no idea how we could force or coerce a chef. 

 

We were told that we "... feel empowered and entitled to impose their dining habit life style on others".  How on earth are we doing that?  When or how was it implied that anyone else would need to eat as we do?  Why would we want to do that?

 

I clearly posted here as I don't know how the Chef's Table works and I wanted to learn so as to decide whether it is an option for us or not.  Full stop.  Thank you to the posters who understood that and have helped by providing information about this onboard option.  All guests need to feel they can explore what is offered and that they can use this forum toward that end without being attacked for asking.  Let's keep the conversations friendly and open to people wanting to learn about Azamara.

 

[Worldsurfer]

We, a family of vegetarians, have dined at the Chef's table and it was a lovely experience. No one batted an eye at our requests that we made at the time of our reservation, and the other diners thought nothing of it. I was told that the chef enjoyed the opportunity to color outside the lines. Wines were pared beautifully and our dishes were given the same considerate explanations. The other guests who joined us at the table were lovely, and the conversation was purely enjoyable. 

[Carnevale]

Thank you Worldsurfer for sharing your experience.  That’s exactly the kind of information we were hoping to get.  It’s great to know this will be available for us in part as it will be my birthday during our cruise and a Chefs Table meal is the best celebration I can think of.  We’ll make a bee line to the reservations table as soon as possible the day we board.