Jump to content

New Jacque Van Staden Menus: Don't get excited


norn iron

Recommended Posts

My wife and I have recently returned from a Panama Canal cruise on Infinity. The cruise, ship, ports visited and company on board were excellent.

The major talking point for a large number of cruisers was the food in the Trellis Restaurant.

As a former 'food writer' I feel well equipped to pass comment.

 

This was Infinity's second cruise since the introduction of the new Jacque Van Staden menus. The previous cruise was seven nights, ours sixteen nights, so the second week it was all new for both the kitchen and waiting staff.

My initial thoughts upon reading the menus, were, that they looked light weight, scaled down from previous cruises, and worst of all badly balanced.

At no time did I criticise the food or cooking skills, everyone else was doing that. I was just left frustrated by an inferior product, which was being directed from Celebrity Head Office, not a 3 star Michelin Restaurant as in Michel Roux's case.

 

Examples are;

Beef Wellington (wrapped in Puff Pastry) was served with potatoes also in pastry, why two pastries on the one plate.

On the same evening another choice was Veal Chop, both dishes came with a Veal Jus reduction (sauce). Considering Celebrity make all sauces from scratch (see below) repitition should not happen.

On another night there was a Shrimp Linguine entrée, there was also Breaded Veal with Tagliatelle. There should not be two pasta dishes on the same menu, to top it all off 'breaded' veal plus pasta equals a carbohydrate overload. This is menu planning from a Commis Chef!

Every menu had slow cooked cheaper cuts, eg Lamb Shank, Veal Shin, Coq au Vin, Beef Ribs etc etc. The worst example was, in two succesive nights Beef Ribs on Polenta, the following night Beef Ribs on Mash Potato.

 

Numerous guests had meetings with different personell from Infinity to complain about the quality of the food. Due to my experience I met with the Executive Head Chef, Restaurant Manager and an Assistant. I raised the issues as described above. The Executive Chef acknowledged that the new JVS menus were a cause of great concern, he was unhappy about the balance of the food on the menus similar to what I identified.

I was advised that all the Executive Chefs from the Celebrity fleet have been summonsed to a meeting with JVS in New York during the last week of October, to discuss feedback and concerns from the new menus.

 

Some of the entrée choices were bizzare. I wasn't brave enough to try Chicken stuffed with Banana! I just kept thinking that Michel Roux would pull out whatever hair he had remaining if he could witness these menus.

 

 

One complaint we heard almost daily was, how tough the meat was. All the prime cuts I ate were tender, not always served the way I requested, but tender.

I believe one of the issues of tough meat comes from the fact all the Steak Knives are blunt and wouldn't cut butter. The problem has been caused by use, and dishwashers.

I raised this issue with the Assistant Maitre'd, and was told that the restaurant staff were aware of this problem, however they cannot purchase replacements as the cutlery they use has now been discontinued.

 

I was privileged to get a private galley tour, and it was great to see the kitchen pick up steam 45 minutes before first sitting dinner.

Most pleasing was the fact that Celebrity were possible, try to make everything from scratch. This includes the ice cream (except sugar free), breads, pastries, and stocks for both soups and sauces.

 

Other than the MDR food, the Aqua Spa food was good, light and refreshing.

Concierge Class Breakfast was good except for the scrambled eggs, however not once did we get exactly what we ordered.

Ocean Grill was acceptable, if you like queues and buffet food. I can't pass comment because only on a couple of times did I try anything.

I do like Celebrity's Pizza's especially the bases, they are excellent.

Sushi was a little repetitive but decent quality. The Wasabi could have had more bite!

Afternoon teas were varied, fresh and pleasant.

The Elegant Teas (served twice) were just a little too elegant for my spade like hands.

The new egg station at breakfast is a real winner.

Gourmet Bites has improved, to include more pastries, and enhanced by having a member of staff to serve you.

 

In conclusion and like other cruise lines, Celebrity needs a Celebrity Chef!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry you didn't enjoy it. There has been mostly positive feedback so far, though. I haven't tried it yet myself, but this quote was pretty telling as far as my tastes are concerned:

 

Some of the entrée choices were bizzare. I wasn't brave enough to try...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some of the other changes we noticed were a shrimp cocktail is now served as 3 medium shrimp on top of a lettuce & tomato salad in a small salad bowl, oysters Rockefeller is served as 2 medium oysters on a plate. Portions have definitely diminished. Only one kind of bread stick, plain. If it's ones first time sailing with X the changes may not be so noticeable but for those of us who are used to the old ways this is not good. The quality of the beef has gone down. The lobster tail is now !/2 a lobster tail in a sauce with 2 shrimp and a couple of scallops. The shrimp and the scallops were very good. The lobster left a lot to be desired. Escargot was very good. Onion soup was very good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry you didn't enjoy it. There has been mostly positive feedback so far, though. I haven't tried it yet myself, but this quote was pretty telling as far as my tastes are concerned:

 

Read any review from our cruise Panama Canal 9/24 - 10/11 even those that rated the food as good complained about sending things back 4 times.

The rationale we got was our cruise was the first time

Infinity kitchen had cooked this menu. We hope they straightened it out and the food is good now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's been too long since our last X cruise to compare food on Equinox to pre-Van Staden menus, other than having a sense that the number of entree alternatives had been trimmed a bit; I suppose the presence of the unchanging "classic" dishes on the left side of the menu is supposed to make up for this.

 

One big deficit that we noticed were chilled soups, which were watery and sometimes flavorless. Cunard is the master at this type of soup, using either a light yogurt or cream base for most of their soups.

 

As a diabetic, I would also appreciate some clarification on "no sugar added" desserts; I suspect that it is not the same as "sugar free," but I'd like to know by how much. I was cautious and kept to the cheese plate most nights.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please don't take this personally.

 

Having been in the Food and Beverage business for over 3 decades, the very last opinion I would give any credence to is that of a "food writer".

 

Those who can, do.

Those who cannot, critique.

 

But I believe we all agree that any food issue is extremely subjective.

Regardless of what you or I like or dislike, it is really up to the "masses" to decide if the new Celebrity menus are good or bad.

 

If the majority of the masses likes the new menus, they will continue.

If the majority does not like them, the menus will change.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought we ate food, not wrote with it. I'm confused - oh well.

 

Myself, I'm a 'current food-eater' and I plan to try just about every entree, especially those that I'm not familiar or 'comfortable' with - that is what is so neat about a cruise dining experience. I'm not paying a bill each night, so I tend to experiment with unknowns. We are on a 10N then 13N B2B so we will be able to really give this a good shot.

 

As to smaller servings - thank god. I've learned to leave things on my plate and my wife and I usually share a meal because of the huge sizes many restaurants serve, that tend to turn us into 'huge sizes'. And if there isn't quite enough for you, ask for seconds, or even better, order a different serving.

 

I appreciate the OP's comments, but I think the best approach on food threads is to voice your opinion and acknowledge it as your subjective opinion no matter what your background or experience. I'm turning 64 tomorrow and I have a great deal of experience eating, but I'm afraid my opinion is only good as far as my fork can reach.

 

Denny

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't mean to co-opt the thread. If I'd known I was going to make it this far I would have taken better care of myself! Of course cruising is a good way of doing just that.

 

All enjoy the upcoming cruises we all can take advantage of. What a life.

 

Denny

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please don't take this personally.

 

Having been in the Food and Beverage business for over 3 decades, the very last opinion I would give any credence to is that of a "food writer".

 

Those who can, do.

Those who cannot, critique.

 

But I believe we all agree that any food issue is extremely subjective.

Regardless of what you or I like or dislike, it is really up to the "masses" to decide if the new Celebrity menus are good or bad.

 

If the majority of the masses likes the new menus, they will continue.

If the majority does not like them, the menus will change.

 

I too have spent fifteen years in the Food and Beverage business, concluding with several years experience in the kitchen of a Michelin Stared restaurant.

In a nutshell I am better qualified to pass comment than anybody only trained as a writer!

'Food Writers' who think they know about food, and yet fool people with the use of fancy words are the greatest blight on journalism.

Keep in mind my comments abouthe balance of the new menus were endorsed by the Executive Chef.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I too have spent fifteen years in the Food and Beverage business, concluding with several years experience in the kitchen of a Michelin Stared restaurant.

In a nutshell I am better qualified to pass comment than anybody only trained as a writer!

'Food Writers' who think they know about food, and yet fool people with the use of fancy words are the greatest blight on journalism.

Keep in mind my comments abouthe balance of the new menus were endorsed by the Executive Chef.

 

To keep it all in perspective, its advertising after all and we know that these dining rooms are not Michelin Starred by any stretch but its not too bad either.;)

 

I recognize that there have been some recent changes that I will find next week, but I think every cruise I have been on there have been changes, so this is going to just one more among many further changes that will be made in the years to come.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lost count of how many "new menus" threads have appeared on this board over the years but each time X introduces new menus, we read about how bad they are and how everyone wishes they'd bring back the old ones - which were once the new ones about which everyone was complaining!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First off, let me say, I am not a food writer and while I spent 20+ years working in the restaurant industry, it was in a marketing capacity. My opinions come only from a love of good food.

 

My biggest complaint about the menu is the fish/seafood selection. We dined in Blu on our August Eastern Med cruise. While there was always a fish or seafood selection, the quality was often poor. I ordered sea bass several times and it was always overcooked and did not even resemble sea bass I have had in the past. I don't eat much meat so having quality seafood options is important to me. I was also disappointed that there weren't selections made available from the cuisine of the countries we were visiting. I am an adventurous eater and did try a lot of new things. Some were good and some were just plain strange -- think Caeser Salad soup.

 

With that said, I thought the food in the Aqua Cafe was excellent, especially the chilled soups. I liked the portion sizes in Blu and the food in general I thought was good, not great. We are new to Celebrity so can't compare it to the past but I believe that food quality issues are probably due as much to cost cutting measures within the industry as to the change in Executive Chef.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were delighted with the new menus. Have sailed on Constallation twice before and found the menus much improved. Perhaps the new menus suit European taste more than previous menus - lots of flavour/spice etc. Desserts much improved - no longer just 'cake style' and thank goodness that tray has gone. Disagree about no danger of eating too much chocolate etc. The pastry chef is French. Need I say more!

 

I suppose like all things it is 'horses for courses'. What suits some will not suit others. Can't wait to get on Eclipse! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to add some cornstarch to the plot, but there's been a change in the menus on celebrity's website as well.

 

This is the Google cached version of Celebrity's sample dinner menu. The cached version includes the aforementioned chicken and banana dish (which, FTR, sounds quite tasty to me). The "new" new menu, however, is considerably more conventional. Broiled salmon vs grilled chicken vs steak? If I wanted that level of inventiveness, I'd eat at Applebee's. ;)

 

Personally, I like to eat adventurously. I'm certainly no foodie, but I do like good food. I care not one whit about balance between types of dishes, because I'm not ordering more than one dish--provided there is a base level of variety. I don't care about balance between nights, provided there's a variety to choose from each individual night. I do care about quality ingredients, prepared properly, seasoned well, and served at an appropriate temperature by a classy staff. Beyond that, I have few requirements or requests.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think you can compare any main dining room on a large cruise ship with an upscale land based restaurant because the chefs and wait staff are working under completely different conditions. It would be more realistic to compare the food on a cruise ship to a catered event for a large group such as a wedding or fund raiser.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lost count of how many "new menus" threads have appeared on this board over the years but each time X introduces new menus, we read about how bad they are and how everyone wishes they'd bring back the old ones - which were once the new ones about which everyone was complaining!

 

I LOVE this! So true.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lost count of how many "new menus" threads have appeared on this board over the years but each time X introduces new menus, we read about how bad they are and how everyone wishes they'd bring back the old ones - which were once the new ones about which everyone was complaining!

 

I LOVE this! So true.

 

LOL - Your post reminds me of a book that was written by Otto Bettman a number of years ago titled "The Good Old Days - They were Terrible" :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...