Disney Dream on the Food Channel 3/27/15 8 pm EDT

From food network.com:

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The Kitchen's Jeff Mauro and Katie Lee, Chopped's Amanda Freitag, and Guy's Grocery Games' Melissa d'Arabian, along with their families and friends, set sail on The Disney Dream cruise ship for three days of sun, fun and food. Go behind the scenes as the hosts go where no cameras have gone before — the inner workings of the ship's galleys, the kitchens, where The Dream's talented chefs prepare food for thousands every day.

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More info here.

I have the DVR set to record.

April 4th on TLC: Disney Cruise Line: Behind the Magic 10AM EST

The line of Disney cruise ships, including Fantasy, Dream, Magic and Wonder, are toured.

I watched the food network special and have the DVR set for April 4!!! :)

I really hated the food network special. I was hoping for far more information on the food side instead of a 48 minute promotional advertisement. I expected some of the editing, but it was a bit disingenuous. You could clearly see Nassau in the background when they did the AquaDuck portion, but they made it seem like they only stopped in Cast Away. The celebrity chefs were kinda rude and overly fake with their praise. One can only assume they filed Serenity Bay and Remy's prior to other guest times, perhaps by getting off the ship earlier than others.

We had most of the same comments. It was about a 40 min commercial for DCL - other than the one dish for Remy, nothing really groundbreaking there food wise.

And why does EVERY cruise show have to stress how many pounds of meat, etc.. (Side note, if they load 10K pounds of beef tenderloin, and there are 4000 people on the ship (crew don't get to eat that), that means they are serving 2.5 lbs of just that to every man woman and child on board in a week (side side note - that was a 4 or 5 day cruise)). I think not.

I really hated the food network special. I was hoping for far more information on the food side instead of a 48 minute promotional advertisement. I expected some of the editing, but it was a bit disingenuous. You could clearly see Nassau in the background when they did the AquaDuck portion, but they made it seem like they only stopped in Cast Away. The celebrity chefs were kinda rude and overly fake with their praise. One can only assume they filed Serenity Bay and Remy's prior to other guest times, perhaps by getting off the ship earlier than others.

We had most of the same comments. It was about a 40 min commercial for DCL - other than the one dish for Remy, nothing really groundbreaking there food wise.

 

And why does EVERY cruise show have to stress how many pounds of meat, etc.. (Side note, if they load 10K pounds of beef tenderloin, and there are 4000 people on the ship (crew don't get to eat that), that means they are serving 2.5 lbs of just that to every man woman and child on board in a week (side side note - that was a 4 or 5 day cruise)). I think not.

Just to clarify, that 4000 number is just passengers, correct? So you would have to add crew in for the stores as well.

I noted that. They are NOT feeding the beef tenderloin to the crew (not only due to cost but often crew choice - many of the crew, especially Filipino and from other asian countries do not eat a lot of meat by preference).

But even if we go to 6500 - that's still 1.65 POUNDS of one meat product per passenger - that's a lot of just one kind of meat.

If they said 10,000 lbs of beef overall, maybe I could see it.

Just to clarify, that 4000 number is just passengers, correct? So you would have to add crew in for the stores as well.

Loved the views of the restaurants! We are travelling on the Wonder in Oct, no matter though, Disney quality is Disney quality!

I really think DCL should commission their own factual and not edited to death series of "A day in the life of a XYZ crew member" documentary.

Not only would it be a great resource for potential employees to view before signing up, but I'm sure lots of Guests would enjoy watching it.

ex techie

I noted that. They are NOT feeding the beef tenderloin to the crew (not only due to cost but often crew choice - many of the crew, especially Filipino and from other asian countries do not eat a lot of meat by preference).

 

But even if we go to 6500 - that's still 1.65 POUNDS of one meat product per passenger - that's a lot of just one kind of meat.

 

If they said 10,000 lbs of beef overall, maybe I could see it.

I absolutely agree Loonbeam!

NO beef tenderloin in the crew mess, flank steak at best!

White rice three times a day, fish heads, burgers (not Guest quality burgers), casseroles with mystery meat in. I believe the budget per crew member head was $1.75 a day for three meals when I was aboard.

A photo someone else posted of fish head in the crew mess line and yep that is the left over discarded heads from what was served to the Guests. :eek:

ex techie

Whilst I'm sure the cost per head has increased by inflation since I left, How nutritious can 3 meals a day be at even say $2.75 a head?

ex techie

Actually that can surprise you. When you buy in bulk and don't eat a lot of heavy proteins that's quite doable. Labor and operating costs are already covered, and you get significant economy of scale. Plus, as noted, you can leverage guest food (fish heads, btw are very popular in some cultures. Personally I prefer to use them for stock.)

It wouldn't work for US eaters, but can be done quite easily for other cultures that don't focus as much on prime cuts and processed food.

After the Carnival Splendor fire, there was a great video posted of John Heald addressing the crew after everyone had disembarked. When he was talking about arrangements for housing and food for them, they started chanting 'Rice! Rice! Rice!'. Some cultures happily will eat rice dishes 3 times a day (and are probably very regular!)

Whilst I'm sure the cost per head has increased by inflation since I left, How nutritious can 3 meals a day be at even say $2.75 a head?

 

ex techie

Found it..

And from the looks of this playlist, this poor guy was on the Splendor AND the Triumph.

3:00 in :)

Actually that can surprise you. When you buy in bulk and don't eat a lot of heavy proteins that's quite doable. Labor and operating costs are already covered, and you get significant economy of scale. Plus, as noted, you can leverage guest food (fish heads, btw are very popular in some cultures. Personally I prefer to use them for stock.)

 

It wouldn't work for US eaters, but can be done quite easily for other cultures that don't focus as much on prime cuts and processed food.

 

After the Carnival Splendor fire, there was a great video posted of John Heald addressing the crew after everyone had disembarked. When he was talking about arrangements for housing and food for them, they started chanting 'Rice! Rice! Rice!'. Some cultures happily will eat rice dishes 3 times a day (and are probably very regular!)

With respect, labor and operating costs are covered by whom?

They aren't the same cooks or chef's that work in the MDR's, so who's wages do you think are deducted to count for them?

And you telling me that fish heads are very popular in some cultures is quite insulting really.

Having worked amongst people from more cultures than you most likely have ever met, made very good friends with them and still keep in touch with them.

I wonder if you took a cruise to Indonesia and it had a mostly asian Guest count onboard how you would feel with walking past fish heads, or having white rice served to you three times a day in the buffet line and your appetite afterwards?

There isn't only one continent of CM aboard, and what is served is low quality leftovers and poor quality food to those that work very long hours and need high calorie quality food.

ex techie

I didn't say the menu was for everyone, just that items that many of us would consider waste are NOT in other cultures. I've been served (and eaten) things abroad that most in the US and Europe would consider trash, including and not limited to the aforementioned fish heads.

Now, is that a reflection of resources in some cases, where waste is simply not an option? Sure. And is some of it cultural habit, sure. But I have also had conversations with food staff on another line where they flat out said they would put out overmake of passenger dishes and crew bypassed them, optiing instead for rice with small portions of meat/vegetables, which is very much in line with what I have observed in my travels.

The crew food is not on par with passenger food. And maybe it should be. But on internal surveys when I worked with another line, it was by far the lowest concern on the list (#1 not surprisingly was pay, 2 was hours, 3 was living space, 4 was security if I recall correctly. Food was 9th out of 9 perhaps..)

As far as physical resources, those are not counted in the $ per day amount is what I meant. The kitchen facilities are already built (and they do use some of the same areas for prep for crew meals. The $2.75 per day (or whatever) represents food costs only. At least on the line I worked with, the kitchen staff rotated galleys between crew mess and two main galleys (exception being some specialists like carvers and pastry team).

Admittedly it was the 90s but I managed to feed campers on about $6 per day per in the US and that was without the volume discounts something like a cruise line can get plus different dietary and cultural preferences that resulted in far more waste than I would have liked. Plus, I had to keep it Kosher, which adds a lot to protein costs.

Now, one area where there is an issue is cross cultural crews. Where there is a mix of cultures with one dominant, I have heard complaints (even in the video I linked, Heald noted with humor that the Russian contingent was not as thrilled with rice as the majority of the crew. Conversely I could understand why other crew members might not be thrilled to see cabbage borscht on the menu often.

Of course, the cruise lines could feed them better. They could also pay them more, give them larger cabins, less hours, more help, etc. Realistically, unless the economies improve in those countries, not going to happen, and if it does we'll start seeing staff from areas like Africa. But that doesn't mean basic food is bad food. You can feed a work crew decently on $2.75 a day and achieve the right balance of nutrition.

With respect, labor and operating costs are covered by whom?

They aren't the same cooks or chef's that work in the MDR's, so who's wages do you think are deducted to count for them?

 

And you telling me that fish heads are very popular in some cultures is quite insulting really.

Having worked amongst people from more cultures than you most likely have ever met, made very good friends with them and still keep in touch with them.

I wonder if you took a cruise to Indonesia and it had a mostly asian Guest count onboard how you would feel with walking past fish heads, or having white rice served to you three times a day in the buffet line and your appetite afterwards?

 

There isn't only one continent of CM aboard, and what is served is low quality leftovers and poor quality food to those that work very long hours and need high calorie quality food.

 

ex techie

I think the special would be more appropriately aired on the Travel Channel. It was a long commercial for Disney cruise ships. Pretty boring, overall.

I didn't say the menu was for everyone, just that items that many of us would consider waste are NOT in other cultures. I've been served (and eaten) things abroad that most in the US and Europe would consider trash, including and not limited to the aforementioned fish heads.

 

Now, is that a reflection of resources in some cases, where waste is simply not an option? Sure. And is some of it cultural habit, sure. But I have also had conversations with food staff on another line where they flat out said they would put out overmake of passenger dishes and crew bypassed them, optiing instead for rice with small portions of meat/vegetables, which is very much in line with what I have observed in my travels.

 

The crew food is not on par with passenger food. And maybe it should be. But on internal surveys when I worked with another line, it was by far the lowest concern on the list (#1 not surprisingly was pay, 2 was hours, 3 was living space, 4 was security if I recall correctly. Food was 9th out of 9 perhaps..)

 

 

As far as physical resources, those are not counted in the $ per day amount is what I meant. The kitchen facilities are already built (and they do use some of the same areas for prep for crew meals. The $2.75 per day (or whatever) represents food costs only. At least on the line I worked with, the kitchen staff rotated galleys between crew mess and two main galleys (exception being some specialists like carvers and pastry team).

 

Admittedly it was the 90s but I managed to feed campers on about $6 per day per in the US and that was without the volume discounts something like a cruise line can get plus different dietary and cultural preferences that resulted in far more waste than I would have liked. Plus, I had to keep it Kosher, which adds a lot to protein costs.

 

Now, one area where there is an issue is cross cultural crews. Where there is a mix of cultures with one dominant, I have heard complaints (even in the video I linked, Heald noted with humor that the Russian contingent was not as thrilled with rice as the majority of the crew. Conversely I could understand why other crew members might not be thrilled to see cabbage borscht on the menu often.

 

Of course, the cruise lines could feed them better. They could also pay them more, give them larger cabins, less hours, more help, etc. Realistically, unless the economies improve in those countries, not going to happen, and if it does we'll start seeing staff from areas like Africa. But that doesn't mean basic food is bad food. You can feed a work crew decently on $2.75 a day and achieve the right balance of nutrition.

Thanks for the insight into how the meal is costed.

On DCL when I was aboard, and still true today AFAIK, unless you are coming from a reputable line as a chef, you start in the crew galley and work your way up. In fact I started with a Canadian guy, who was put on on the day shift in the crew galley and quit after 4 months due to only being able to go ashore once on a late nite stop in Cozumel.

There was no rotation of chefs through the crew mess, and only one chef that I knew of. The rest were just cooks.

We once had an international night where the head chefs from the MDR's all were allowed to cook one meal from their country of origin and the food standard were very high and very tasty.

There is nothing wrong with basic food, but the food has to have quality to it. We can all go to the store and buy cheap cheap chicken, beef, turkey and veggies.

It doesn't mean they are healthily grown, or as good for you and contain nutrition.

On DCL the living conditions were never a problem. The cabins were well maintained, had an internal ensuite bathroom.

The biggest complaint we always saw was about medical treatment from the vendors and crew mess food options and quality.

ex techie

One thing I didn't think of is DCL may not have the same economies of scale as the other lines because of only 4 ships. Not sure if they can leverage Disney World, etc for pricing. If so, that would make it harder to do on that budget. I also don't know if their ships operate like the other line, which has one stores are for all galleys including crew (at least on their newer ships). They do it that way because its build cost effective and also makes it easier to maintain sanitation, backup power and inventory.

The other line used to do a crew mess team only but they realized it was actually better to rotate so as to give people more exposure to different techniques. But again, size matters, when you have 19 ships to staff, having a more experienced base to draw from is a huge priority.

It's also worth noting that due to the scale, sometimes its cheaper to order the same grade of product for all messes, because you don't have to keep them isolated and the cost per pound may actually be cheaper overall (typically produce and dairy products fall into this area). If the ship orders 4000 lbs of grade A product at X per pound, it often makes sense just to get more of grade A because the price for Grade B is higher since you don't buy as much.

Thanks for the insight into how the meal is costed.

 

On DCL when I was aboard, and still true today AFAIK, unless you are coming from a reputable line as a chef, you start in the crew galley and work your way up. In fact I started with a Canadian guy, who was put on on the day shift in the crew galley and quit after 4 months due to only being able to go ashore once on a late nite stop in Cozumel.

There was no rotation of chefs through the crew mess, and only one chef that I knew of. The rest were just cooks.

We once had an international night where the head chefs from the MDR's all were allowed to cook one meal from their country of origin and the food standard were very high and very tasty.

 

There is nothing wrong with basic food, but the food has to have quality to it. We can all go to the store and buy cheap cheap chicken, beef, turkey and veggies.

It doesn't mean they are healthily grown, or as good for you and contain nutrition.

 

On DCL the living conditions were never a problem. The cabins were well maintained, had an internal ensuite bathroom.

The biggest complaint we always saw was about medical treatment from the vendors and crew mess food options and quality.

 

ex techie

At least on the Classics, there is definitely very much a division of stores.

Knowing the bureaucracy of Disney, I doubt they use the same suppliers for both the World's proper restaurants and the ship. Fast food most likely.

I loved the stores masters sign on his office that said "Your failure to prepare does not constitute an emergency on my part" ;)

They have an amazing looking crew mess on the Dream class:

None of that matters thou when there is slop in the serving dishes!

ex techie

I think the special would be more appropriately aired on the Travel Channel. It was a long commercial for Disney cruise ships. Pretty boring, overall.

And that kid who went on AquaDunk clearly was shorter than 42"