The Chef's Table on Princess Cruises
The Chef's Table is the ultimate dining experience on Princess. But, is it worth $95?
Oct 25, 2018 - The Chef's Table is a special, once-per-cruise event, that is strictly first-come, first-served for reservations and is limited to no more than 12 guests. We met the 10 other guests in La Patisserie at 6:45 where we were each fitted with white jackets to wear during the galley portion of the event.
Rickee with Silvio Zampieri, the Maitre'd Hotel, in the galley
We were escorted into the galley on Deck 5 by Silvio Zampieri, the ship's Maitre'd Hotel, where we were introduced to Executive Chef Dirk Daumichen.
Chef Daumichen
Chef Daumichen took the time to explain how galley operations work on a Princess ship. Each guest enjoyed a glass of champagne during his presentation. Soon, trays of appetizers began to appear, one-by-one. First was Breaded King Crab Legs with Sauce Maltaise. More dipping sauce, please.
Fried King Crab Leg
Our second appetizer was a decadent Foie Gras Lollipop with Port Wine Jelly and Truffle Brioche. The expensive, fatty duck liver has been shaped into a golf ball-sized portion, placed on a stick and dipped in a port wine jelly. Basically, you grab the stick, roll the lollipop through the crushed pistachio, then enjoy. A small truffle brioche helps to cut through the fat of the duck liver. I am not a fan of Foie Gras, but I have to admit, it was delicious.
Foie Gras Lollipop
As if the Foie Gras Lollipop was not creative enough, next up was White Tomato Soup that was as tasty as it was unique. Chef Daumichen explained how he was able to make the white tomato soup by straining the water from ripe tomatoes and adding heavy cream. You get the distinct flavor of tomato with a while, almost silky, texture. It was quite good.
White Tomato Soup
The Pancetta-wrapped Angus Beef with Stilton Cheese Cube was drizzled with a balsamic glaze. This was our least favorite of all the appetizers, but still quite interesting. I am just not a fan of bleu cheese.
Beef-Stilton cube
Our last galley appetizer was Red Bliss Potato with Hackleback Caviar. I am not a caviar fan either, but this was pretty good, if I do say so myself.
Caviar
We remove our white jackets and are escorted to a special table at the back of the dining room. Each place setting is marked with a name card.
After we are seated, a white wine is poured just prior to our starter course arriving: a Porcini Mushroom Risotto with Jumbo Shrimp. The arborio rice was cooked perfectly al dente with tiny chunks of asparagus. The jumbo shrimp was also cooked to perfection with a nice snap when you bite into it. The accompanying foam added an additional layer of complexity to a perfectly-executed dish. In any other restaurant, this easily could be a main course.
Porcini Mushroom Risotto
For an intermezzo, Chef Daumichen once again reached into his bag of tricks to produce a Bloody Mary Sherbet with Grey Goose Vodka. Sounds weird, right? Trust me, everyone at the table agreed it was incredible.
Bloody Mary Sherbet intermezzo
By the time the main course arrived, or should I say main courses, we were already full. Two giant silver platters were presented for our visual, as well as culinary, pleasure. The first platter was filled with rack of lamb and beef tenderloin.
Rack of lamb and Beef Tenderloin
The second tray held Grilled Sea Scallops and Main Lobster Tails.
Lobster tails and Sea Scallops
Before the main course arrived, we were each poured a glass of Spellbound Shiraz, one of Rickee's favorite red wines. We wondered if we would each get to select one "surf" and one "turf" from the two platters. Oh no, there would be no selection. We were each given a platter with everything! Two sea scallops, two lamb chops, a fist-sized chunk of tenderloin, and a very nice-sized lobster tail.
Our main course plate
A sweet potato mash was the perfect accompaniment to a plate of perfectly-cooked proteins. Everything was simply amazing, and there was much more than even I could finish. But wait, there's more! Two more courses, if you can believe it. A cheese course was a ramekin filled with Chives and Pink Peppercorn Cheesecake. I don't even know how to describe this dish. It was sweet, savory, and spicy. Definitely one of the most interesting, and delicious dishes I have ever tried.
Pink Peppercorn Cheesecake
Finally, the dessert course arrived. The Sable Breton was almost too beautiful to eat. Imagine white chocolate dollops atop a mango panna cotta atop a crispy cookie base and layered with thin sheets of chocolate.
Sable Breton
And, just in case someone is still wanting more, a tray of Chef Dirk's Homemade Petit Fours was passed around.
Each lady at the table was presented with a rose and the Chef's Table event finally came to a delicious end. Of course, there were a couple of other surprises thrown in, but we have to leave something to your imagination. This is a meal we will remember for a long, long time. It far exceeded our expectations, and is one of the the very best meals we have ever had on a cruise ship.
If you love good food and good wine, do whatever it takes to get on the list early for a seat at The Chef's Table. At $95 per person (at the time of this review), it is a real bargain.
Sabatini's on Island Princess
Sabatini's offers an Italian-themed menu at a very reasonable price.
Oct 23, 2018 - We showed up at Sabatini's early for our dinner reservation, but they were gracious enough to get us right in and seated at a nice table with a view of the ocean. Sabatini's is Princess' Italian Restaurant with a menu that is the same each night. There is a $29/pp charge to dine in Sabatini's. Princess recommends that you make reseervations in advance, which we did through the Cruise Personalizer website.
As soon as we were seated, our waiter, Noel, introduced himself and presented the menus. We learned that Noel has been with Princess nearly 20 years!
Noel
When we were presented with the wine list, we chose the Rex-Goliath Moscato ($30). We like sweet wine with Italian food and this one was perfect.
The menu is filled with a variety of creative Italian dishes. From the list of Starters, I chose the Artichoke Souffle. The souffle was swimming in Castelrosso Cheese Sauce (whatever that is) and topped with a slice of black truffle. It was delicious.
Equally as tempting was Rickee's Burrata alla Panna con Carpaccio di Pomodori. a fist-size chunk of Burrata cheese (similar to Mozzarella) sitting atop thin slices of tomato, drizzled with olive oil and surrounded by jewels of Balsamic syrup.
Burrata alla Panna con Carpaccio di Pomodori
For my pasta course, I chose the Penne con Brasato di Manzo, which is basically braised beef short rib over penne pasta. Try to imagine shreds of the most tender pot roast sitting on perfectly cooked penne pasta. The dish was delicious, and could easily be a main course. However, it is very rich.
Rickee opted for the Manicotti alla Sorrentina, pasta shells filled with spinach, Ricotta & Fontina cheese roulade on a tomato coulis. Rickee and I agreed that we preferred the Manicotti, but both dishes were excellent.
My Main Course was the Lombata di Vitello al Forno, a thick veal chop with mushroom ragout. The veal was very tender and flavorful, and quite large. I could not quite finish the entire chop.
Rickee has been on a shrimp kick this cruise, so she decided to try the Gamberi alla Caprese con Verdurine di Stagiono. That translates into six large garlic-infused shrimp with cherry tomatoes and vegetables. Noel suggested that the tomato sauce be served on the side, and that was a good choice. The shrimp were delicious without the sauce, and we found the sauce to be somewhat bitter. If you like shrimp, this is an excellent choice.
For dessert, Rickee enjoyed a small glass of Limoncello (lemon-flavored liqueur) and I thought it only fitting to try the Tiramisu. Sabatini's take on Tiramisu is very creative in their use of chocolate. The dish was as beautiful to look at as it was delicious to eat!
This was our third time to dine at Sabatini's on as many Princess ships. Hands down, this was the best Sabatini's meal we have enjoyed so far. If you are planning a cruise on Island Princess, make sure to reserve at least one dinner at Sabatini's. It is a bargain at only $29.