Live on Sojourn's World Cruise

[tv24]

We've now crossed the International Date Line, which has created some confusion among the guests, myself included. Tuesday, Wednesday, who knows? Were able to go ashore in Raratonga, which excited us all. But the docking spot had to be moved, which caused some discombobulation among the excursion operators. Still, in my opinion, it has been the loveliest island on this journey, so far. The extensive reef close to shore has created picture-perfect beaches with clear turquoise water. The locals were thrilled to see us. Happy to report that Heather Clancy's show has been one of the highlights.

[Ravenscroft]

tv24, when you get a chance, can you tell us who the Chef onboard is please?

[Mr Luxury]

tv24, when you get a chance, can you tell us who the Chef onboard is please?

 

And has all the veal been used up yet.

Veal burger,veal curry,veal and blueberry pancakes,veal fritters,veal meet again don't know where, don't know when.:rolleyes:

Edited January 31, 2014 by Mr Luxury

[Ravenscroft]

And has all the veal been used up yet.

Veal burger,veal curry,veal and blueberry pancakes,veal fritters,veal meet again don't know where, don't know when.:rolleyes:

 

Don't forget the veal muffins. :rolleyes:

[Chairsin]

Then of course there is that famous American cheese(???) "Vealvetta."

[Ravenscroft]

Then of course there is that famous American cheese(???) "Vealvetta."

 

Good one Chairsin, that actually did make me laugh out loud :D

[Mr Luxury]

Good one Chairsin, that actually did make me laugh out loud :D

 

What a coincidence our waiter introduced us to an new Italian soft cheese " Vealzarella"

[Able Seaman H]

But you can't deny the veal medallions were stunning !

 

Henry :)

[tv24]

Chef on board is Graeme Cockburn. I'm sure some of you are among his fans. Unfortunately I have not been overly impressed, but that is simply my own humble opinion. Yes, tons and tons of veal, although I am still waiting for the veal pancakes. About a week ago I ordered rack of veal and was surprised by a portion large enough to serve the entire population of Cleveland.

[Mr Luxury]

tons of veal, although I am still waiting for the veal pancakes.

 

Just give them twenty four hours notice,you'll get them

 

I bet you can't wait to try the Veal ice cream.:)

[lincslady]

Chef on board is Graeme Cockburn. I'm sure some of you are among his fans. Unfortunately I have not been overly impressed, but that is simply my own humble opinion. Yes, tons and tons of veal, although I am still waiting for the veal pancakes. About a week ago I ordered rack of veal and was surprised by a portion large enough to serve the entire population of Cleveland.

 

We were not impressed with your Chef either. I seem to recall he came with high recommendations of Michelin stars or similar, but in reality we got the impression that he was one of the chefs who does not inspect every dish as it comes out, which the best ones do to make sure all looks well.

[Ravenscroft]

Thank you for the information about the current chef. Hopefully the itinerary we're booked on will make up for what may not be the best food!

 

Actually, I've just remembered that Andrew Fairlie is due to board the same day as us, perhaps he'll pass on some tips.

Edited February 1, 2014 by Ravenscroft

[PaulaJK]

Will the head chef who is now on board remain for the entire WC? I realize that some aspects of the cuisine [menus, provisions] are mostly controlled or ordained by corporate but certainly not the plate presentations.

 

Since SB has only one---ambivalently held---additional restaurant, the MDR really needs to be a mecca. I agree with several others on this forum who have described the offerings as bland or boring or ...................

[Ravenscroft]

Will the head chef who is now on board remain for the entire WC? I realize that some aspects of the cuisine [menus, provisions] are mostly controlled or ordained by corporate but certainly not the plate presentations.

 

Since SB has only one---ambivalently held---additional restaurant, the MDR really needs to be a mecca. I agree with several others on this forum who have described the offerings as bland or boring or ...................

 

We've wondered about how much corporate control is affecting food quality. My thoughts are that if corporate is controlling the menus to the degree that I suspect, then actually the chefs are not chefs, they are simply cooks.

On our most recent cruise we found that the food was better at the Patio Grill, which is quite a concern. Of course, the food should be excellent at all dining venues, but the MDR should absolutely be aiming for more of a fine dining quality.

[Emperor Norton]

From reading these forums it appears that Seabourn has a few different types of chefs. You have the Ramsay-esque go-getter who will bounce around the ship trying to figure out what went right/wrong and how to improve - while dealing gracefully with customer requests (eg: Jes) on the other hand you have those that don't want to be bothered by passenger requests and those who can't be bothered to check on their output. IMO thats not the right way to staff a luxury line.

[tv24]

I honestly don't know the answer to the corporate control question, but let me tell you, that is a very, very active topic of conversation on the Sojourn right now. One night at the Colonnade after a fairly disastrous Thai dinner where the Tom Yum Gum soup (I probably spelled this wrong; it's a very common Thai soup that one finds in almost all Thai restos) was inedible due to a heavy hand with the salt, we sent the soup back, shocked the servers with our comments, and then stopped by the kitchen to discuss. The chef there was perplexed as to why we were unhappy (the soup did not taste at all like the Thai original; it was its own bizarre creation), and he shot back, "Do you want to look at the recipe?" Led me to believe that he had been handed recipes from someone above and was merely carrying them out, sort of like me cooking from a cookbook.

[surfersgirl]

We were on the Quest for the Christmas Antarctica Cruise and most of the dishes were oversalted in the Colonnade and MDR. The chef in the MDR took it as a personal affront if any dish was criticised. Despite the weather the Patio Grill was always excellent for the food and the service.

 

J

[Emperor Norton]

I honestly don't know the answer to the corporate control question, but let me tell you, that is a very, very active topic of conversation on the Sojourn right now. One night at the Colonnade after a fairly disastrous Thai dinner where the Tom Yum Gum soup (I probably spelled this wrong; it's a very common Thai soup that one finds in almost all Thai restos) was inedible due to a heavy hand with the salt, we sent the soup back, shocked the servers with our comments, and then stopped by the kitchen to discuss. The chef there was perplexed as to why we were unhappy (the soup did not taste at all like the Thai original; it was its own bizarre creation), and he shot back, "Do you want to look at the recipe?" Led me to believe that he had been handed recipes from someone above and was merely carrying them out, sort of like me cooking from a cookbook.

 

Close, I think its Tom Yum Gai ;)

 

A good chef would taste the soup that was available to passengers and then decide whether or not there was too much salt (or not). Looking at a recipe card does nothing other than show what should have been in X amount of soup per corporate. It's sounding like the bigger ships have some kind of lazy clowns onboard instead of chefs.

[MrsWaldo]

We were on the Quest for the Christmas Antarctica Cruise and most of the dishes were oversalted in the Colonnade and MDR. The chef in the MDR took it as a personal affront if any dish was criticised. Despite the weather the Patio Grill was always excellent for the food and the service.

 

J

 

We just come back and I found the chef to be excellent. They did acknowledge that had an issue with the salt on the previous cruise ( the chef joked about it being very emabarassing) as they had a different supplier/ brand it was much more potent. It is also interesting to note that ones persons too salty is another's I want more salt.

 

At the cooking class he was adamant that a recipe is a guideline and tasting gives you the clue.

 

I just wish they would get a soufflé right instead of it being like scrambled eggs in a pot.they may rise she they add the sauce but the consistency is blerch:confused:

 

Tom Yum Gai is chicken, TOM yum Goong is prawn. :)

[Ravenscroft]

 

I just wish they would get a soufflé right instead of it being like scrambled eggs in a pot.they may rise she they add the sauce but the consistency is blerch:confused:

 

 

Does this mean that SB is currently messing up my favourite all time ever goat's cheese soufflé? :eek: I need to prepare myself mentally during the course of the next few weeks before I board for that. I'm not sure anything could make up for my disappointment.

Worse, is it the dessert soufflés they're messing up?

[Ravenscroft]

I honestly don't know the answer to the corporate control question, but let me tell you, that is a very, very active topic of conversation on the Sojourn right now. One night at the Colonnade after a fairly disastrous Thai dinner where the Tom Yum Gum soup (I probably spelled this wrong; it's a very common Thai soup that one finds in almost all Thai restos) was inedible due to a heavy hand with the salt, we sent the soup back, shocked the servers with our comments, and then stopped by the kitchen to discuss. The chef there was perplexed as to why we were unhappy (the soup did not taste at all like the Thai original; it was its own bizarre creation), and he shot back, "Do you want to look at the recipe?" Led me to believe that he had been handed recipes from someone above and was merely carrying them out, sort of like me cooking from a cookbook.

 

tv24, thanks so much for taking the time to do these updates. I know there are several of us 'segees' who will be joining you on Sojourn at some point, so it's good to know what's going on in advance.

A chef has no excuse for not tasting his food.

 

On a different subject, has anything been mentioned onboard about the Bangkok overnight in March? Crystal Cruises have already cancelled their overnight which is a few days after Sojourn is due in.

[wripro]

I have to agree with MrsWaldo on the soufflé issue. Seabourns soufflés are double baked which means they are prepared, get a pre baking and are kept on hold until ordered when they are rebaked. Of course, this means they will not rise like a proper soufflé which has to be assembled and baked immediately in order for the beaten egg whites to rise. They taste good but the consistency and texture are all wrong. The only way I have ever had a true soufflé on SB is to special order and ask them to prepare it individually.

[Roxburgh]

We've wondered about how much corporate control is affecting food quality. My thoughts are that if corporate is controlling the menus to the degree that I suspect, then actually the chefs are not chefs, they are simply cooks.

On our most recent cruise we found that the food was better at the Patio Grill, which is quite a concern. Of course, the food should be excellent at all dining venues, but the MDR should absolutely be aiming for more of a fine dining quality.

 

We had Chef Raphael on out Antarctic cruise and Chef Miroslav in the Colonnade. Personally, I thought the food was excellent overall. We did have a Filipinno theme one time in the Colonnade which I didn't care for but there were plenty of alternatives.

 

There are obviously some staples being handed down from Corporate like the Grand Marnier and twice baked goat cheese souffles. And thank god for that. I love'em despite the consistency.

 

But, overall, I think a lot rides on how good the chef is on-board. I think that too much is made of the allegedly heavy-hand of corporate.

Edited February 2, 2014 by Roxburgh

[Laylam]

I honestly don't know the answer to the corporate control question, but let me tell you, that is a very, very active topic of conversation on the Sojourn right now. ......... Led me to believe that he had been handed recipes from someone above and was merely carrying them out, sort of like me cooking from a cookbook.

 

On a galley tour on the Sojourn last year we were told the the Chefs do have to follow recipe cards, so there is consistency across all ships.

 

Here is the recipe for the twice baked goat cheese souffle.

http://blog.seabourn.com/recipe-twice-baked-goat-cheese-souffle

[tv24]

Ravenscroft: No announcements yet about how the chaos in Bangkok might affect the Sojourn. This was a topic of conversation the other night over dinner. We mostly agreed that if the situation is dicey, Seabourn will do something to keep us all safe. Note we will not be on board then, as we will disembark in Hong Kong to meet up with friends for a Celebrity cruise to Singapore. But we are very interested in Celebrity's overnight excursion that flies from Viet Nam to Siem Rep in Cambodia, and then rejoins the cruise in Bangkok. That also may be affected by the unrest in Bangkok.