Miracle Chef's Table Review: 11/15/14 Mexico Itinerary Sailing

I recently returned from the 11/15/14 - 11/22/14 sailing to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta and wanted to write a comprehensive review of my experience at the Chef's Table. I originally intended to include this as part of my complete review of the Miracle but felt this review deserved its own section due to the popularity of this option. Please correct me if I've misspoken along the way with my facts and I apologize ahead of the time for the less than high quality pictures. Hope you enjoy the adventure!

The Chef's Table is a multicourse dinner hosted by the Executive Chef of the ship. This event also includes a tour of the galley's operations. There is a spot for up to 14 people and this can be extended to 28 people over the course of two days if there is enough demand. This event isn't held on the first, last or two elegant nights (if you have a 7 night cruise this may be the second and sixth nights). As a result, the dinner can be held on the third, fourth or fifth nights. I wanted to provide this information for anyone doing advanced planning. Since our itinerary was in Cabo the third night, which is a tender port, our dinner was planned for the fourth night and would have also been the fifth night if enough guests had reserved this excursion. The dinner on the Miracle is hosted in Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab which is the night club on board and next to the main galley. The cost of the Chef’s Table is $75 and can be reserved by several different methods.

After I had booked my cruise I logged onto the Manage My Cruise website and clicked through to the Steakhouse to make a reservation. In the “Number of Guests Dining” section I typed in “Chef’s Table”.

Within 24 hours I received an email response confirming my reservation. Another option is to email groupeventplanning@carnival.com. A third option is to email either the Maitre’d or Steakhouse manager directly. The email address for either is listed below:

Maitre d' - xxmaitred@carnival.com

Steakhouse - xxsteakhouse@carnival.com (for ships with a steakhouse)

BR Breeze

CQ Conquest

DE Destiny

DR Dream

EC Ecstacy

EL Elation

FA Fantasy

FD Freedom

FS Fascination

GL Glory

IM Imagination

IS Inspiration

LE Legend

LI Liberty

MC Magic

MI Miracle

PA Paradise

SE Sensation

SL Splendor

SP Spirit

TI Triumph

VA Valor

VI Victory

Finally one can reserve a spot upon embarkation of one’s cruise either with the Steakhouse or the Maitre’d.

Additional information about the Chef’s Table can be found here:

https://www.goccl.com/~/media/Files/Irman/bookccl/shipboard_knowledge/ChefsTable.htm

When I embarked on the ship there were representatives from the steakhouse seated by the gangway. They were soliciting guests to reserve a night at their restaurant and also had a list of the available times and reservations already made. I reconfirmed my pre-booked reservations for the steakhouse and saw they also had me and only one other guest listed for the Chef’s Table. Coincidentally this was another Cruise Critic member. I hope she chimes in here with her comments as she is a professional food taster and it would be great to have her perspective.

The second day of the cruise I received a note in my cabin confirming my reservation for the Chef’s Table asking to call the steakhouse to reconfirm. They had asked if there were any specific food allergies I had or special food preferences. The only request I had was no alcohol.

The day of the Chef’s Table I ate very light during the day in anticipation of the event. I read previous reviews about the amount of food being served so I had paced myself. Our group was to meet in the Atrium Lobby Bar next to Guest Services. I was unsure of the attire so prior to my cruise I posted a question on here and others had noted that some had a tendency to dress up for the event so I donned business attire – slacks, long sleeve collared dress shirt and a sport coat. In retrospect, business casual would have been appropriate.

Upon arrival at our meeting point, we were met by a member of the wait staff, Alona from Ukraine, assigned to us throughout the course of the evening. I was surprised as she immediately knew my name, but since I was the only solo male guest, I supposed that made it easy to identify me! She had champagne waiting for everyone and after a few minutes meeting the rest of the guests we began our walk to the galley to meet the chef.

We meet Executive Chef Wellington Dias from Goa, India. Chef Dias has been with Carnival for 23 years. He informed us there are 116 staff members in the galley. We started our tour in the soup area of the galley where Chef Dias explained the process of making soup. Unlike the Behind the Scenes Excursion which takes you to secure areas of the ship in addition to the galley, we were all invited to take as many pictures as we wanted. Here are some pictures showing the various soups that were being made for the day.

The next pictures show the galley in operation. We meet at 5:45 and our tour of the galley began around 6:00 so dinner was being served for both assigned dining and any time dining. Members of the wait staff were going in and out of the galley.

Chef Dias then guided us to a section of the galley so we could still see the crew members in operation while also remaining out of the way. We would then begin our hors d’oeuvre portion of the dinner. First, Alona made sure everyone had something to drink – champagne for everyone else and ginger ale for me!

The first item on the menu was Mango Sphere, Rosemary Biscuit. Chef Dias informed us to let the biscuit dissolve in our mouth to enjoy the full flavor with the mango. I could have eaten five of these!

The next item was Salmon Tartar Cornets, Sesame Seeds.

Beef Carpaccio on Air Pillow, Chocolate Bacon, Apples Ribbons.

Double Cooked Lamb, Tapioca. Chef Dias added the tapioca himself.

This completed our hors d’oeuvres. Next one of the kitchen staff gave us a demonstration of how to make Warm Chocolate Melting Cake. A copy of the recipe was also provided to everyone.

We then made our way to Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab to begin dinner. There was assigned seating with a name holder for each person. Chef Dias started the evening with introductions. Each person was then served a portion of bread for dinner. Usually I try to avoid eating bread with dinner as this is mostly a stuffer for me but I couldn’t help but enjoy the experience.

The first dish was Beet Blanket, Spiced Grape Tea. A dish was placed in front of us and the wait staff all took a line behind each person and slowly poured a sauce. In addition to Alona, we had four other staff members assigned to us. In total there were five crew members assigned to a table of 10 people.

The next dish was Crab Stack.

The third dish was Duck Textures which was explained to us by a colleague of Chef Dias. I can’t recall his name.

Next was Bisque Our Way. This was served as a dish with two types of sauces poured in.

After this portion we were visited by Ellis, the ship’s magician – or something like that. He presented three card tricks for us. He normally visits the dining room to showcase some magic tricks so we were glad to see him stop by.

The next dish was Sea Bass with a little sauce poured on top. It was one of my favorites!

Our last meal was the Wagyu Beef. One of the chef’s explained to us what this was and another sauce was also poured on top. As much as I enjoyed the first bite this is where myself and others had hit a wall. We couldn’t eat another bite. I was sad to allow this to go to waste.

Finally our dessert capped off the night. All of it was incredible but I couldn’t eat any more. One of our table mates had this wrapped up to go for later that night.

Here is the menu from the night’s event.

Here is a group picture from the night. This was provided to us by Carnival and a copy placed in our cabin.

Overall this was a great experience. I’m not a food connoisseur so I’ll let others speak to the taste, texture, etc. of the food. The whole experience lasted four hours and I will definitely sign up for this on my next cruise. This would have been the highlight of the cruise for me, however, I had a chance to sit down and speak with Troy Linton our cruise director, on the last night at Nick and Nora’s Steakhouse. He invited me to join him for a few minutes during dinner while I was able to ask him questions about Carnival and the job he has as cruise director. Hope you enjoyed the adventure!

considering your screen name I'm surprised they did not serve Nathan's Hot Dogs! :D

(google for those that do not get it!) :rolleyes:

Thank you for this in-depth review. It is the first one I have seen with such detail for the new menu. Looks like an enjoyable experience. Did the 4 hours drag or did you feel the dinner required the full 4 hours?

There was assigned seating with a name holder for each person.

Thank you for the review and the pics. We were on the Miracle a couple of sailings before you and also attended the Chef's Table. The familiar faces of Chef Dias and his crew brought back some happy memories. Like you, we also "hit the wall" when the wagyu beef was brought out. Everything was delicious, but so much food! Other than a slight modification of the beef course, the rest of the menu has completely changed. Now I'm looking forward to doing it again!

Hi Kobayashi :)

Wow! That certainly was an impressive Chef's Table review.Terrific photos also! We'll done!

My wife & I never miss a Chef's Table ('his table') experience no matter what cruise line we are sailing.

Indeed a mouthwatering adventure. Thank you for your review!

:)

Very nice review. Looks like the menu has changed and it might be time to do this again. :)

Thanks!

During the process of writing a review I sometimes forget to add some details I had in my original notes. According to Chef Dias the menu had just changed during the last cruise and we were the second dinner to have the new menu that will be in place for a year. It was a great experience!

Thank you for this in-depth review. It is the first one I have seen with such detail for the new menu. Looks like an enjoyable experience. Did the 4 hours drag or did you feel the dinner required the full 4 hours?

Thanks for your comments!

I met the group at the Atrium Lobby Bar at 5:45. We made our way to the galley and had a tour of the operations and began our first course along with watching a cooking demonstration. When then sat down to dinner. There were introductions, entertainment by the ship’s magician, several courses served along the way in addition to an explanation of each one. Throughout the course of the evening we engaged in dinner conversation. This made the experience go by quickly and by the time we left I glanced at my watch and four hours had passed from when I first met everyone. The time seemed to fly by!

Thank you for the review and the pics. We were on the Miracle a couple of sailings before you and also attended the Chef's Table. The familiar faces of Chef Dias and his crew brought back some happy memories. Like you, we also "hit the wall" when the wagyu beef was brought out. Everything was delicious, but so much food! Other than a slight modification of the beef course, the rest of the menu has completely changed. Now I'm looking forward to doing it again!

Glad you also experienced this. I’m looking forward to my next cruise and will definitely sign up again!

Thank you for the pictures. We have seen the new menu, but not what it comes out looking like. We are booked for next week. Can't wait - looks interesting :)

I recently returned from the 11/15/14 - 11/22/14 sailing to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta and wanted to write a comprehensive review of my experience at the Chef's Table. I originally intended to include this as part of my complete review of the Miracle but felt this review deserved its own section due to the popularity of this option. Please correct me if I've misspoken along the way with my facts and I apologize ahead of the time for the less than high quality pictures. Hope you enjoy the adventure!

We will be cruising this in Jan. so I was wondering if you are going to write up a review of the cruise?

Thank you for the pictures. We have seen the new menu, but not what it comes out looking like. We are booked for next week. Can't wait - looks interesting :)

Thanks! Hope you enjoy. It's a great experience!

We will be cruising this in Jan. so I was wondering if you are going to write up a review of the cruise?

Definitely! I'm currently writing it now as it takes some time and will post a link on here as well. Even though there are other reviews of the Miracle I'll post my review as if this is the first time someone has seen the ship. This also serves as my journal of the trip. I'll post copies of the Fun Times from each day in addition to the usual ship and excursion pictures. I should be done by the end of this week. Enjoy your cruise!

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We did this same menu on conquest in October! Fabulous... I hit the wall around the beef too. I also had to leave to find a bathroom in the middle due to all the champagne!! So good though!

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Hello, my name is Anna Paul. In the pictures he has on here I am the one sitting opposite of him in black with the strawberry blonde pageboy. I am the professional taste tester Kobayashi spoke of on his first post here. Thank you ever so much for the wonderful review & even better pictures. Just looking at them makes my mouth salivate. All I know is it was by far the absolute best meal I have ever ate in my entire life & I have even had the chefs tasting menu at Spago's in Beverly Hills when Wolfgang Puck was there preparing the meal for us & yes, the Chefs Table on this cruise was much better than that.

I liked the Champagne they seved right when you arrived, but I should have asked for wine instead though as I don't like having all those bubble in my stomach when I am to eat such a large meal as it takes up a lot of space in my stomach, you know what I mean, so next time I do this I will ask for their white wine instead of the champagne. We are already planning on doing the same cruise at the same time next year & yes, I have already asked Santa for a $100 gift card for Carnival so I can experience this very unique & most satisfying experiences again.

I loved all the appetizers & I just like Kobayashi could have had 5 of the Mango appetizers they were incredible & just melted in you're mouth. I'm not a big fan of lamb or duck, but the way they were prepared with this meal they were excellent. Two of my favorites were the beet blanket cause I love beets, but what it was paired with made the beet flavor mild & made for a creavite dish. Also being a big time soup fan & tomato being my favorite I loved the Bisque. It was the one with the red on one side & yellow on the other each with there own taste. The red more of a heirloom tomato taste & the yellow side had it's own taste tomato taste milder & a little sweeter, but what made it so tasty & very unique was the light as air cloud of white that was down the middle of it. It was an ever so light texture of soft cream cheese. You pair it with a bite of the soup, heavenly it was by far the best soup I have ever tasted.

Yes & by the 5 course the sea bass dish I just like Kobayashi was starting to feel very full so I could only ate half of it & by the last course the waygu beef only half of that as well. But I can say that beef so was so tender that yes, you could cut with a fork & it, just like the Mango appetizer, just melted in your mouth & was the best beef I have ever had as well.

By the dessert which was a combo of a few different things I could still only have half of everything on the plate. Okay, I can't remember the name of the chocolate dish on it, but holy moly, you think the warm chocolate melting cake was yummy, that put the WCMC to shame. It had like a gooey Carmel level inside of it that took it to whole other level beyond good & if you love chocolate & what woman doesn't, you'll love that one. The other one that stood out for me was the raspberry dessert. I'm a big time Berry fan too & it just popped all the taste buds in my mouth with all it's Berry goodness.

I just wish now I would have asked for the whole dessert plate to go as others did (which I will do next time as well) because being a the big time dessert fan I am I wanted to savor all it's yumminess later on the balcony in our cabin & also give a taste of each one to my wonderful Husband who gave this to me as my 21st Anniversary gift. As he knows what a big time foodie I am. With him he's satisfied with a burger & fries or steak & potato. I'm so happy he did this for me.

I being a professional taste tester for the Senomyx Corp. can tell the difference in 1/2 mg. of salt, sugar, sour, bitter & umami, plus other things we have test on from time to time plus we get a quarterly report of how many we get right & wrong & so I have written proof. I am usually 90% accurate. Sometime we have to tell the difference (which one is sweeter) with just a couple drops of liquid.

What we do at Senomyx is we develop & conceive new flavor enhancers for the major food corporations. I have work for them for over 9 years now & my many taste buds have won them awards one being an msg subsitute in Japan which we tasted (we have a panel of 20) broth almost everyday my first 2 years there. The best thing I ever tasted there was chocolate truffles & the worse when we have test from time to time the metallic taste, it taste like licking a old rusty faucet, but all it is, an iron tablet desolved in water. By the way we do not injust the things we try just taste it & spit it out. But I remember quite well not wanting to spit out those chocolate truffles though. We are now currently working on bitter blockers to block out the bitter taste you get with coffee & some chocolate taste as well as many other things. So If you are interested in researching what I do & my work their website is www dot Senomyx dot com or just google Senomyx.

I sure hopes this helps you out on deciding to do the Chefs Table on your next cruise as you really must try it. The whole experience from beginning to end by far out out of all our 12 cruises was the best experience I have ever had on any of them. This was my first time doing it, but I guarantee you it will not be my last. I just wish I would have done it much sooner. I hear that they are now on their 3 menu for it & I bet the other 2 menus for it was just as good as this one.

Thanks again Michael for the great review. Yours has been the best & most detailed one I have ever seen on it & I bet our fellow Cruise Critic foodies will love it as much as I did. I also was so very happy to have experinced it with you.