Chef's Table

Virginia told me she read the Chef's Table was a must for fine dining on the ship and one should make reservations to ensure one got a table. She made an request for us to dine there one evening after I came back from a tour. I did find a menu online but it seemed we had a different progression of courses or we just were confused!

We were excited as we had great dinners at the Main Dining Room where we were treated like royalty! They saved a special table for us at a window so we could see the sun set on the sea. The night before our dinner at the Chef's Table. the Main Dining Room we had Italian red wine, Pate de foie gras with a cracker, a Caesars Salad, a Beef Wellington and Creme brulee. And to finish it off, a Cappuccino! Next night the Chef's Table!

We were seated in a nice location in the Chef's Table dining room and Virginia told me each course would have a special wine and each dish special spices. I looked at the menu and told her the spices were from the West Indies. The menu had a drawing of Columbus landing on the islands off the coast of North America.

1st Course: The waiter came over and told us about the wines and each of the five courses, plus the spices infused in the dishes. The wine came for our first course and a glass about four inches high and two inches wide! It was purred carrots with spices in it. And every course had one or more foams placed on top or on the side of the dish. We thought foams were out of date? This is a first course we asked? See the photo at the end of this page! (The menu has this dish as the first thing on it but it doesn't have it as the first course?)

2nd Course: The second wine came and the second course. Very sad, neither of us can remember what the second course was! (It was a tuna tataki.)

3rd Course: The third wine came and this third course was a beef dish. Three pieces of beef, each about three inches long and an inch or so wide. Each piece was covered with about an eighth of an inch of thick black spices, five we were told. We weren't sure but the meat tasted like it was done in a hot water bath, a Sous vide, which means "under vacuum" in French, refers to the process of vacuum-sealing food in a bag, then cooking it to a very precise temperature in a water bath. This technique produces results that are impossible to achieve through any other cooking method. The meat was squishy almost like sushi. We asked the waiter how was the meat done? He said it was covered in four spices, then just before serving, put in a hot pan and sauteed quickly on all sides. Well, the meat was almost cold and no flavor, even with all the spices. Also, there was three foam puffs and a white line of some spice that looked like coke! I tasted it and was not impressed! Virginia likes food with lots of kick but didn't care for this either. I was hungry so ate half of the meat, Virginia ate half of one piece.

4th Course: Now the fourth wine and fourth course. Again, a small glass with something green in it. The waiter said it was a purred apple to cleanse the mouth for the desert course. We had to laugh, this was the best tasting thing so far, a small glass of apple!

5th Course: Then the fifth wine and the fifth course, desert. This was the same as the second course, we couldn't remember what we were served for dessert. Very sad. (The apple puree was actually the desert?)

As you can see, we were confused as to the elements in the progression of the various dishes. Check out the menu for more information about the dishes and the spices.

Food Critics:

We sat there drinking our wine and suddenly we felt someone hovering over our table. The Chef's Table manager! He asked us if we would be nice enough to critique the menu and the food. Virginia and I looked at each other and smiled, of course we would give advice. He listened and wrote down all of our suggestions and comments but we were not rewarded for helping out the manager and the food preparation. Virginia and I did have a good laugh, the table about eight feet from us had a couple from the wine country north of San Francisco, Napa. All we heard all during our meal from the Napa table was how unbelievable the food was and so much!

So here we are at the Chef's Table and you can see how big the first and fourth servings were! All of course, with a big puff of foam. So much for our fine dining at the Chef's Table on the Viking Star!