Giada Pamela De Laurentiis, really?

[clo]

On 4/5/2024 at 2:11 PM, shepherd really said:

Oceania just announced her as co-chair (with Jacques Pepin) of the Oceania Culinary board as well as Brand and Culinary Ambassador.

 

Oh well.  Pretty thin credentials. 

 

 

I saw and responded to this on FB yesterday. Let's see if I can copy and paste part of it anyway.

 

Exciting #OceaniaCruises news – we’re thrilled to welcome celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis as our new Brand and Culinary Ambassador! Together with our culinary founding father, Jacques Pépin, Giada will co-chair our new Culinary Advisory Board, developing the next chapter in our foodie legacy. Read more on our blog and stay tuned for more updates on our Culinary Advisory Board soon – https://bit.ly/3xxf29O.

Here’s to all the culinary and travel adventures ahead and the talented people that make them so memorable!

 

 

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Catherine Oliver

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Did she finish any culinary school? Did she ever cook in a restaurant where she didn't have connections? Trying to figure out why they hired her.

 

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Patricia Lenhart

Catherine Oliver De Laurentiis studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris with aspirations of becoming a pastry chef. After returning to the United States, she became a professional chef working in several Los Angeles restaurants, notably the Wolfgang Puck-owned Spago.

 

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Catherine Oliver

Top Contributor

LOL. Google is your friend also 

I didn't find any mention of her finishing a program, which I'm sure would have been if she had.

Out of curiosity I looked and except for an executive chef position which she would never be qualified for, the other highest ranked position was line cook. And even that, without the family background, I can't imagine them hiring some like her- with minimal qualifications.

I no longer watch cooking shows as they became if I may give my never humble opinion...just plain stupid. Did she actually have shows where she would cook an entire dish and have herself ant maybe another taste it?

Honestly I see Oceania quite wisely preparing for the time when we boomers will have moved off ships and maybe died. They desperately need to get that younger blood and maybe that's how.

Edited April 7 by clo

[chloemonkey]

On 4/6/2024 at 1:13 PM, Kay S said:

You know, I'm an Oceania newbie, and I'm wondering if all this "snooty" talk is typical of conversation at dinner on the ship?  I sure hope not.  I want to enjoy my dinner (or slice of pizza)  in peace.

We LOVE Oceania but always choose to eat on our own....I will leave it at that.

[clo]

18 hours ago, clo said:

I saw and responded to this on FB yesterday. Let's see if I can copy and paste part of it anyway.

Sorry for the mess this turned out to be. And it was just "approved."

[Vineyard View]

On 4/6/2024 at 11:30 AM, osandomir said:

There are some people here that set a goal to get luxury - fine dining, white tablecloth, etc…for the penny on the dime. And then take advantage of everything that they can get for free. Well almost for free, like bringing their own wine and beer at every port so they don’t need to pay for it at the bars and restaurants on board. They also seem to be very proud of themselves while annoying many others here. Most feel comfortable with the different approach. If I can’t afford or am not willing to afford something I just don’t buy it but don’t go out of my way to get it for half price. And then, I don’t need to complain all the time that I didn’t get what I “paid” for.

We love good wine. When we travel, and we are in a place that has good regional wines that we cannot get at home, we enjoy picking up a few bottles in port to bring on board. If we are land traveling, we do the same. It’s for us, about experiencing different flavor profiles that we don’t have available in our wine region. We are happy to pay the corkage fee to enjoy it at dinner. We also order bottles at times from the wine list on the cruise line offerings. Where we live, it is very common to bring a bottle of wine to dinner at a restaurant. 

I am sure that is quite a bit different from what you are referring to.  I believe that I understand your reference. I  just do believe that it does not need to be offensive, cheap, nor made a big deal to bring a nice bottle of wine to dinner. We pay for an upgraded package if we want to be able to enjoy cocktails and (on some lines) a wider selection of wines by the glass. We don’t bring it (or any other liquor) on board to drink in our cabin to avoid paying for it on the ship. 

[EJL2023]

3 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

We love good wine. When we travel, and we are in a place that has good regional wines that we cannot get at home, we enjoy picking up a few bottles in port to bring on board. If we are land traveling, we do the same. It’s for us, about experiencing different flavor profiles that we don’t have available in our wine region. We are happy to pay the corkage fee to enjoy it at dinner. We also order bottles at times from the wine list on the cruise line offerings. Where we live, it is very common to bring a bottle of wine to dinner at a restaurant. 

I am sure that is quite a bit different from what you are referring to.  I believe that I understand your reference. I  just do believe that it does not need to be offensive, cheap, nor made a big deal to bring a nice bottle of wine to dinner. We pay for an upgraded package if we want to be able to enjoy cocktails and (on some lines) a wider selection of wines by the glass. We don’t bring it (or any other liquor) on board to drink in our cabin to avoid paying for it on the ship. 

Definitely saw people bringing a bottle of wine to dinner before. In fact, on our last cruise on the final evening leaving the GDR, two couples arrived and each of them in the party (4) had a bottle!! Perhaps expecting some more people but our minds went straight to maybe we should go back in and get a table close by!! 

[Vallesan]

5 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

We love good wine. When we travel, and we are in a place that has good regional wines that we cannot get at home, we enjoy picking up a few bottles in port to bring on board. If we are land traveling, we do the same. It’s for us, about experiencing different flavor profiles that we don’t have available in our wine region. We are happy to pay the corkage fee to enjoy it at dinner. We also order bottles at times from the wine list on the cruise line offerings. Where we live, it is very common to bring a bottle of wine to dinner at a restaurant. 

I am sure that is quite a bit different from what you are referring to.  I believe that I understand your reference. I  just do believe that it does not need to be offensive, cheap, nor made a big deal to bring a nice bottle of wine to dinner. We pay for an upgraded package if we want to be able to enjoy cocktails and (on some lines) a wider selection of wines by the glass. We don’t bring it (or any other liquor) on board to drink in our cabin to avoid paying for it on the ship. 

I agree!

 

We often take a ‘nice’ bottle of wine into a dinning room.  In the Meditteranean particularly, we find good wines at really great  prices and we are very happy to pay the corkage fee to enjoy something a little more special.

[Sirlancelot]

On 4/6/2024 at 10:38 AM, kibutzer said:

Truly disappointed. So many talented new chefs, guess they are not going to keep the mantle of best cusine. Unimpressed with her suggestions for Toscana.

AGREE! was on Vista just before transatlantic and Toscana is all veal all the time it seems. Where was the ravioli? Manicotti? Other traditional items. It was hard to craft a good dinner. I will say you can watch endless reruns of JPepin's shows on the Gym or room tv (I think he created these as fundraisers during the covid debacle). They are great! 

[kibutzer]

20 hours ago, clo said:

I saw and responded to this on FB yesterday. Let's see if I can copy and paste part of it anyway.

 

Exciting #OceaniaCruises news – we’re thrilled to welcome celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis as our new Brand and Culinary Ambassador! Together with our culinary founding father, Jacques Pépin, Giada will co-chair our new Culinary Advisory Board, developing the next chapter in our foodie legacy. Read more on our blog and stay tuned for more updates on our Culinary Advisory Board soon – https://bit.ly/3xxf29O.

Here’s to all the culinary and travel adventures ahead and the talented people that make them so memorable!

 

 

All reactions:

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3 comments

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Catherine Oliver

Top Contributor

Did she finish any culinary school? Did she ever cook in a restaurant where she didn't have connections? Trying to figure out why they hired her.

 

• 18h
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• Reply

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patricia Lenhart

Catherine Oliver De Laurentiis studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris with aspirations of becoming a pastry chef. After returning to the United States, she became a professional chef working in several Los Angeles restaurants, notably the Wolfgang Puck-owned Spago.

 

• 3h
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Catherine Oliver

Top Contributor

LOL. Google is your friend also 

I didn't find any mention of her finishing a program, which I'm sure would have been if she had.

Out of curiosity I looked and except for an executive chef position which she would never be qualified for, the other highest ranked position was line cook. And even that, without the family background, I can't imagine them hiring some like her- with minimal qualifications.

I no longer watch cooking shows as they became if I may give my never humble opinion...just plain stupid. Did she actually have shows where she would cook an entire dish and have herself ant maybe another taste it?

Honestly I see Oceania quite wisely preparing for the time when we boomers will have moved off ships and maybe died. They desperately need to get that younger blood and maybe that's how.

Sorry but Giada is not going to do it. 

[clo]

23 minutes ago, kibutzer said:

Sorry but Giada is not going to do it. 

Really? Wow, that was fast!!!!

[osandomir]

3 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

We love good wine. When we travel, and we are in a place that has good regional wines that we cannot get at home, we enjoy picking up a few bottles in port to bring on board. If we are land traveling, we do the same. It’s for us, about experiencing different flavor profiles that we don’t have available in our wine region. We are happy to pay the corkage fee to enjoy it at dinner. We also order bottles at times from the wine list on the cruise line offerings. Where we live, it is very common to bring a bottle of wine to dinner at a restaurant. 

I am sure that is quite a bit different from what you are referring to.  I believe that I understand your reference. I  just do believe that it does not need to be offensive, cheap, nor made a big deal to bring a nice bottle of wine to dinner. We pay for an upgraded package if we want to be able to enjoy cocktails and (on some lines) a wider selection of wines by the glass. We don’t bring it (or any other liquor) on board to drink in our cabin to avoid paying for it on the ship. 

I wasn’t talking about someone who brings wine to the restaurant. We do it ourselves sometimes. I just feel that it’s cheap to drink the wine in the cabin to avoid the corkage fee. But then maybe there are some who enjoy to have their drinks in their own company.

[basor]

Just now, osandomir said:

I wasn’t talking about someone who brings wine to the restaurant. We do it ourselves sometimes. I just feel that it’s cheap to drink the wine in the cabin to avoid the corkage fee. But then maybe there are some who enjoy to have their drinks in their own company.

We enjoy a glass of wine on our deck after returning from a shore excursion and while getting ready for dinner.  We then will take a bottle of wine with us to dinner, if we decide to not just enjoy a glass of provided wine.

[Kay S]

1 minute ago, osandomir said:

 I just feel that it’s cheap to drink the wine in the cabin to avoid the corkage fee. But then maybe there are some who enjoy to have their drinks in their own company.

This.  I know of one gentleman who drinks his favorites alone in his cabin to avoid sharing any. 😄

[ronrick1943]

It really doesn't matter who they have unless "O" has the food budget to make the difference.  

23 minutes ago, basor said:

We enjoy a glass of wine on our deck after returning from a shore excursion and while getting ready for dinner.  We then will take a bottle of wine with us to dinner, if we decide to not just enjoy a glass of provided wine.

I don't think it's cheap at all, has long as they don't fill a class and take to a dining venue on the ship.

[shepherd really]

If everyone is done with the highjack, perhaps we can return to the subject of this thread?  

 

Anyone remember what that was?

 

Me neither 😁

[TRLD]

3 hours ago, kibutzer said:

Sorry but Giada is not going to do it. 

Seems more recognized for quality of cooking shows, not actual quality of recipes or cooking itself. No sign of any of the actual awards that reflect quality of food itself such as James Beard award or Michelin stars.

[shepherd really]

5 minutes ago, TRLD said:

Seems more recognized for quality of cooking shows, not actual quality of recipes or cooking itself. No sign of any of the actual awards that reflect quality of food itself such as James Beard award or Michelin stars.

She's not even a celebrity chef.  She's just a person with a famous last name who pretends to be a cook on tv.   

[clo]

1 hour ago, osandomir said:

maybe there are some who enjoy to have their drinks in their own company.

Or when the evening is over to have an "adult beverage" 🙂 back in their cabin.

[clo]

1 hour ago, ronrick1943 said:

I don't think it's cheap at all, has long as they don't fill a class and take to a dining venue on the ship.

Now that there's now Simply More I guess it won't really matter, will it?

[ronrick1943]

45 minutes ago, clo said:

Now that there's now Simply More I guess it won't really matter, will it?

Actually yes, (a few years ago) we purchased the full drink package and had brought a few really good bottles of wine--now since we had purchased the drink package and wouldn't be drinking "O's" wine one would think they would have wavered the corkage charge, but no they didn't-they still wanted the $25.00 a bottle.

[PhD-iva]

5 hours ago, shepherd really said:

She's not even a celebrity chef.  She's just a person with a famous last name who pretends to be a cook on tv.   

While I no longer follow Giada, I used to watch her TV shows, I bought her DVDs and I cooked and baked many of her recipes. I have a lot of good recipes that I got from Giada. I definitely would say that yes, she is a celebrity chef.

I’ve since moved onto follow other chefs as I’ve previously mentioned, but I have absolutely no complaints about her professional competency (marital infidelity will not be mentioned. OOPS!)

[Vineyard View]

7 hours ago, osandomir said:

I wasn’t talking about someone who brings wine to the restaurant. We do it ourselves sometimes. I just feel that it’s cheap to drink the wine in the cabin to avoid the corkage fee. But then maybe there are some who enjoy to have their drinks in their own company.

My initial response is totally agreement. Then I had to erase my thoughts - If that passenger only drinks their wine or whatever in their cabin and does not want to drink elsewhere, it does not impact me ( unless they are totally irresponsible drinkers). But I don’t know their situation.

DH and I totally enjoy having drinks on the balcony at times, but it has nothing to do with avoiding corkage fees! 

[clo]

55 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

While I no longer follow Giada, I used to watch her TV shows, I bought her DVDs and I cooked and baked many of her recipes. I have a lot of good recipes that I got from Giada. I definitely would say that yes, she is a celebrity chef.

I’ve since moved onto follow other chefs as I’ve previously mentioned, but I have absolutely no complaints about her professional competency (marital infidelity will not be mentioned. OOPS!)

Care to share your favorite?

[shepherd really]

7 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

While I no longer follow Giada, I used to watch her TV shows, I bought her DVDs and I cooked and baked many of her recipes. I have a lot of good recipes that I got from Giada. I definitely would say that yes, she is a celebrity chef.

I’ve since moved onto follow other chefs as I’ve previously mentioned, but I have absolutely no complaints about her professional competency (marital infidelity will not be mentioned. OOPS!)

I half agree with you, she's certainly a celebrity.  The chef part is what I question.  If she had a different last name could her resume get her a job as an executive chef in a Michelin starred restaurant?  

 

 

[PhD-iva]

8 hours ago, clo said:

Care to share your favorite?

Enjoy!

Holiday Biscotti, GDL.pdf GDL Eggplant Timbale.pdf Giada Chocolate and Fig Tart.pdf

[iowananny]

I'm going to try the eggplant timbale.  I've always had good luck with her recipes.