Executive Chef, Denton Earl Laing Silhouette, best Baked French Onion Soup

[C 2 C]

This may be a strange topic for a unique thread but after years of ruining this staple menu item, Celebrity has a winner here.

 

A few years ago I called the maitre'd over to show him the one piece of onion that managed to make its way into my onion soup despite their effort to cut some culinary corners.

 

We have been sailing with Celebrity for over twenty years but this onion soup is the best ever, better than the offering we enjoyed on Princess ten years ago, my previous onion/cheese OD cruise.

 

The onion soup offering in Tuscan (non-French) has been declining in quality with several ingredient tweekings and will probably soon disappear from the menu.

 

Denton gets my five star achievement award for the year.

[nikel]

This may be a strange topic for a unique thread but after years of ruining this staple menu item, Celebrity has a winner here.

 

A few years ago I called the maitre'd over to show him the one piece of onion that managed to make its way into my onion soup despite their effort to cut some culinary corners.

 

We have been sailing with Celebrity for over twenty years but this onion soup is the best ever, better than the offering we enjoyed on Princess ten years ago, my previous onion/cheese OD cruise.

 

The onion soup offering in Tuscan (non-French) has been declining in quality with several ingredient tweekings and will probably soon disappear from the menu.

 

Denton gets my five star achievement award for the year.

 

I hope he sends his recipe to the other ships......It used to be one of my favorites, but lately it has become like salt water soup with brown coloring in it.

[Orator]

Absolutely agree! The recipe is the same on all ships, Denton just knows how to execute it.

[wwcruisers]

I hope he sends his recipe to the other ships......It used to be one of my favorites, but lately it has become like salt water soup with brown coloring in it.

 

Emphasis on "salt". I love French Onion soup, but have to watch my sodium intake. To me, all of X's hot soups tend to be over-salted, but the onion soup tends to be the worst offender. :(

 

If you Google Julia Child, you should be able to find the videos from her old (black-n-white) TV show. One of them is the instructions for making French onion soup. Her emphasis was on a sharp knife and LOTS of onions -- not much added salt, at all. :cool:

[upwarduk]

----all of X's hot soups tend to be over-salted, but the onion soup tends to be the worst offender.

We had the chef come to our table, to taste the onion soup, as a complaint was made, due to the salt content. He tasted the complainers soup, then mine. Mine didn't have the added cheese, as I am lactose intolerant. He said there was a vast difference, as mine lacked the saltiness, due to no cheese.

Edited April 25, 2016 by upwarduk

[C 2 C]

Day 1 of 13 menu:

 

 

[in2up2]

We sailed the Silhouette in February and ordered the onion soup in Bistro on Five. It was inedible. Said something to the waiter who agreed it didn't even look right. Came back later to tell us the chef pitched the whole batch. Such a disappointment as I love a good bowl of onion soup.

 

 

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[bobndee]

We're just off the Silhouette ourselves. I can second the approval of the French onion soup aboard. I had it, my wife had it, our table mates had it and I saw numerous people at nearby tables eating it. A definite winner. Kudos to Chef Laing.

[BosoxI]

Emphasis on "salt". I love French Onion soup, but have to watch my sodium intake. To me, all of X's hot soups tend to be over-salted, but the onion soup tends to be the worst offender. :(

 

If you Google Julia Child, you should be able to find the videos from her old (black-n-white) TV show. One of them is the instructions for making French onion soup. Her emphasis was on a sharp knife and LOTS of onions -- not much added salt, at all. :cool:

 

I, too, lay off most soups or at least don't finish the whole serving. To me the secret of excellent onion soup is to use a rich broth and then caramelize the onions, again, and again, and again. And then do it some more. I don't see how that can be accomplished on a cruise ship with so much demand, so I tend to stay away from it. If Chef Laing has found the way, I salute him.

 

There is a small French restaurant in Naples, Florida which absolutely has the best French onion soup I've ever had. I try to mimic it, but I have not yet succeeded and probably never will. Hope springs eternal, though

Edited April 28, 2016 by BosoxI