Chef's table on the Reflection. Is this price a little too steep?

[jean87510]

I have never done a cruise Chef's table with a galley tour although I have done a couple in Houston and Philadelphia with more courses and better selection.  Regardless, I was browsing in the dining section of my cruise planner and found the Chef's table with Daniel Bouchard.  The price for 2 people is $379.16 including gratuities.  I added the menu. Here are the highlights:

Your night begins with Daniel Boulud’s Signature Champagne and canapés, followed by a private galley tour.

Then, prepare your palate for an exclusive dining menu that features the master chef’s soulful cooking, which is deeply rooted in French cuisine.

You’ll also receive a printed copy of the night’s menu, a photograph of your dinner experience, and a cookbook by the master chef himself, Daniel Boulud.

 

I suppose my question is if anyone has ever done this, did you feel as if you got your monies worth?  I did note the wine pairing were not included.  I guess this may be where people use up their OBC?  Or did you think it was worth it to pay the $379?

[adolfo2]

We did it on the Edge or Beyond... the Full Monty w/wine paring a few years ago. One and done for us!

Chef's table on Royal was just as good, if not better, and roughly half the price.

They give you a HUGE coffee-table sized cook book (~five pounds) at the end which although nice is inappropriate for travelers.

[Georgia_Peaches]

The last time we did the chef’s table I want to say the price per person was around $150. It didn’t include the book or the name Daniel B. It started with bubbles in cellar masters and included a galley tour. The meal was in Murano..several courses with a wine pairing. We enjoyed it immensely. This was on Silhouette in 2019. I thought the rate back then was pricey. The rate you’re quoting is likely in line with current economy, the use of the chef’s name, and the book (used to be available for purchase in the gift shop). 

[NMTraveller]

You forgot to add in the wine pairing at 65 per person.  It was a good meal and good company.  Would I do it again?  Probably not.  It was a bit pricey...

[Tudy]

We did it last summer on the Silhouette.  (We had done it in the "long ago" past, once on Celebrity and twice on Royal). It was a very nice evening. The Galley tour was well organized and interesting. The cookbook is very heavy and does not have a single recipe in it that I would make. But it does have pretty pictures. It's one of those things my kids will throw out after I am gone.

 

I don't think that we paid that much for it. I think we paid $129pp plus we splurged and got the wine pairings. The wine pairing were not necessary, as the somm had other wines on the packages that would work. The other people at the table were fun. The room was cozy.

 

All in all, for us, the money was worth the memory. But we don't need to repeat it for another 5 years--unless it would be free.

[patty1955]

We're doing the Chef's Table next month and when I booked it in April 2023, it cost $306.76.

We don't pay for the wine pairing since we have the premium drink package. We used the drink package on our last 2 Chef's Tables and it worked well. 

[jean87510]

10 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

We're doing the Chef's Table next month and when I booked it in April 2023, it cost $306.76.

We don't pay for the wine pairing since we have the premium drink package. We used the drink package on our last 2 Chef's Tables and it worked well. 

this price is without the wine pairing.

[patty1955]

14 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

this price is without the wine pairing.

So is mine

[jean87510]

5 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

So is mine

No, this is without a drink package to cover the wine pairing.  You had the drink package.

[patty1955]

1 minute ago, jean87510 said:

No, this is without a drink package to cover the wine pairing.  You had the drink package.

I'm not sure what you're correcting me about but okay.

[critterchick]

We have never done it - we’ve done many Chef’s Tables on Royal Caribbean and the food there was stupendous (on the last one pre-pandemic we had a Michelin-starred chef cooking for us).  It includes wine, although they have dumbed down (cheapened) the wine list to mediocrity - the food deserves better.

 

In Luminae, there is a signature Daniel Boulud dish, chicken tangine, that’s meant to whet our appetites for the CT. It’s a horrible dish - dry and with little flavor. The waiter twitched when I ordered it and suggested the pork chop. He had one ready for me after my first bite. So there’s nothing to lure me to try an entire meal prepared by him. And the price is ridiculous, IMO.

[patty1955]

Just now, critterchick said:

. So there’s nothing to lure me to try an entire meal prepared by him. And the price is ridiculous, IMO.

Daniel Boulud doesn't prepare anything on the cruise. He created the menu.

[jean87510]

42 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

I'm not sure what you're correcting me about but okay.

You said you had the drink package.  You didn't have to pay as it was covered under your premium drink package.  IF I was to do this I would have to pay for the wine pairing as I do not have a drink package.  So on top of the price, we would be charged for the wine pairing.  

[patty1955]

43 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

You said you had the drink package.  You didn't have to pay as it was covered under your premium drink package.  IF I was to do this I would have to pay for the wine pairing as I do not have a drink package.  So on top of the price, we would be charged for the wine pairing.  

I'm sorry if I confused you. I was just trying to say that if you have a drink package, you don't have to buy the wine pairing.

[Magnetchief]

We passed thinking it was over priced. Even more so when you have to pay for the wine pairing.

RCI has it covered. 

[goofysmom99]

I'll forego the chef's table in lieu of two nights in Murano with two decent bottles of wine.  

[patty1955]

10 minutes ago, Magnetchief said:

We passed thinking it was over priced. Even more so when you have to pay for the wine pairing.

RCI has it covered. 

The Chef's Table on RC was excellent and much cheaper.

[critterchick]

2 hours ago, patty1955 said:

Daniel Boulud doesn't prepare anything on the cruise. He created the menu.

He created the chicken tagine recipe, too.. I'm sure CT food is better, but I think the price is insane. I might try it if I had OBC to spend, but wouldn't pay out of pocket. 

[markeb]

24 minutes ago, critterchick said:

He created the chicken tagine recipe, too.. I'm sure CT food is better, but I think the price is insane. I might try it if I had OBC to spend, but wouldn't pay out of pocket. 

 

The chicken tagine is gone and has been for months. It's now a Duck Leg Confit "Char Siu" which is excellent. Neither are on the menu at either Daniel or Cafe Boulud so they were presumably created just for Celebrity.

 

Dinner at Daniel is $188/person plus tax and tip. Wine pairings are $125 or $195. It's consistently had 2 Michelin stars for years. One of these days we'll have to eat there. The pricing on the ship wouldn't be insane if the food and surroundings were comparable to Daniel. That seems unlikely. If I did pay for the chef's table I'd do the wine pairing as presumably it was curated for the meal. But I'm a wine and food geek. Unfortunately most meals I've had with a wine pairing they decided to do full (or near full) pours, so you've suddenly had 4-5 glasses of wine with your meal!

 

When we did a chef's table years ago on Royal there was no tie-in to a celebrity chef. I believe the chef was actually free to pick the best menu for the ingredients he or she had available, not tied to some preset selection. Which was wonderful, and honestly I'm sure what Daniel Boulud would actually do if he were planning a restaurant week menu, for instance, in Manhattan. The artificiality of the ship makes things more difficult.

[jean87510]

32 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

The chicken tagine is gone and has been for months. It's now a Duck Leg Confit "Char Siu" which is excellent. Neither are on the menu at either Daniel or Cafe Boulud so they were presumably created just for Celebrity.

 

Dinner at Daniel is $188/person plus tax and tip. Wine pairings are $125 or $195. It's consistently had 2 Michelin stars for years. One of these days we'll have to eat there. The pricing on the ship wouldn't be insane if the food and surroundings were comparable to Daniel. That seems unlikely. If I did pay for the chef's table I'd do the wine pairing as presumably it was curated for the meal. But I'm a wine and food geek. Unfortunately most meals I've had with a wine pairing they decided to do full (or near full) pours, so you've suddenly had 4-5 glasses of wine with your meal!

 

When we did a chef's table years ago on Royal there was no tie-in to a celebrity chef. I believe the chef was actually free to pick the best menu for the ingredients he or she had available, not tied to some preset selection. Which was wonderful, and honestly I'm sure what Daniel Boulud would actually do if he were planning a restaurant week menu, for instance, in Manhattan. The artificiality of the ship makes things more difficult.

So you are looking at close to $500 for a dinner.  Wow!  

 

As I mentioned before I have done dinners similar to this (Brendan's in Houston) but it was nowhere near the price that Im seeing here.  And from the answers I'm seeing, I would guess not many people would pay that out of pocket.  

[markeb]

2 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

So you are looking at close to $500 for a dinner.  Wow!  

 

As I mentioned before I have done dinners similar to this (Brendan's in Houston) but it was nowhere near the price that Im seeing here.  And from the answers I'm seeing, I would guess not many people would pay that out of pocket.  

 

Have you eaten at any of the higher end places in Manhattan? I wouldn't do it often, and haven't done it often. But yes, I've eaten at Le Bernardin. More than once. No, we're not made of money, but we're comfortable. Which is one reason I probably wouldn't pay that on the cruise ship. The food and ambiance will be much better on land...

 

And I don't do wine pairings at those types of places. Too much wine, no matter how good the pairing may be.

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, markeb said:

 

Have you eaten at any of the higher end places in Manhattan? I wouldn't do it often, and haven't done it often. But yes, I've eaten at Le Bernardin. More than once. No, we're not made of money, but we're comfortable. Which is one reason I probably wouldn't pay that on the cruise ship. The food and ambiance will be much better on land...

 

And I don't do wine pairings at those types of places. Too much wine, no matter how good the pairing may be.

Yes, but can't remember where in NYC.  I do remember the courses were amazing and there were at least 7.  I could barely walk out from food and wine.  I was trying to sip but it clearly didn't work.

[Liao]

13 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

You forgot to add in the wine pairing at 65 per person.  It was a good meal and good company.  Would I do it again?  Probably not.  It was a bit pricey...

So the dinner with the wine would be $500!!!  I'm reminded of what WC Fields once said...

[NMTraveller]

The French Laundry with 3 Michelin stars is 390 plus PP.

 

How many Michelin stars does the Chefs Table have?? 😂😂😂

Edited February 14 by NMTraveller

[JeanieC,Aston]

8 hours ago, Liao said:

So the dinner with the wine would be $500!!!  I'm reminded of what WC Fields once said...

”Water for dogs…Beer for men”