Monday, Jan 28 - Day 8 of holiday and Day 6 on board Island Princess

The early morning was spent watching the larger seas roll by on our 5th day at sea.  The sea was the largest we had experienced and it had a minor effect on the ship.  The wind was also quite high.  We had breakfast in Horizon and then we decided to sit and read in the indoor pool as we had a bit too much sun over the last couple of days.  This decision lasted through the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon.  The only thing we did was to play a round of mini-putt.  That was a recipe for weight gain.  At lunch time Freddi had a burger and I had a giant hot dog.  We were reserving some room for the grand event of the day.  Our focus was on the Chef's Table dinner that was scheduled for 7 PM.

Pate

We met at the Patisserie at 7PM and the Maitre de and the Director of the Kitchen took us through the dining room and into the kitchen in the wash up area.  There we "scrubbed in" and were issued white jackets for our stay in the kitchen.  We were ushered to the preparation section for vegetables, meat dishes and assembly.  It was pretty quiet as it was between sittings which always gives the team a little break before the next go around.  While in the kitchen we were served Nicolas Feuillata Champagne by Mario the Sommelier.  What followed was 4 different appetizers served amidst decoration carved veggies .  The Appetizers were as follows:

Tartar

Smokey Duck Foie Gras Parfait - layered foie gras, cut of duck breast served on bread

Steak Tartar with Traditional Condiments - knife cut filet, with a hot sauce and Lee & Perrins served on a crust

Bistro mini Quiche with truffle and cherry tomatoes - just as it sounds

Being served Quiche

Roasted new potatoes with sour cream and caviar - served ina  pastry making it look a bone with marrow

Those were all served in the kitchen as the chef, Mickaël Tocchetto, explained how the kitchen operated and described each of the appetizers with his passion and excitement about food.  He was brought up in France (Bordeaux) but currently lives in Toronto.  He is very energetic and team builder by the way he speaks of his team.  They produce roughly 10K meals a day!  We were then ushered into the Provence Dining Room where our table was set for a feast.  They set us up for a group picture first then settled us in for dinner.  Once settled at the table we were served an abundance of Freddi's favourite wine. It is the Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio from France.  We were then presented with an Italian Risotto with Tiger Prawns, Mushrooms and Lemon Foam.  That dish was just delightful and a tremendous expression of flavours.  To cool our palate we were served Lemon Thai Galangal Infused Sherbet served with a healthy splash of Grey Goose Vodka.  That gave us a little break in the food department and there was lots of conversation amongst the 11 guests.  We were seated beside a couple ffom California (a dentist) and his wife who were very nice.  Mike had taken a fall and had damaged his ribs so he was not enjoying this as much as he could.  His wife was a story teller from a way back.  Shortly thereafter our attention was returned to our wine and food.

Mario poured us a 2010 Ferrari Cadano Merlot to go with the rest of our dinner.  This was in preparation for the main course:

"Double Impact"

"Double Impact" Surf and Turf - this was made up of a large lobster tail, diver scallops, beef tenderloin and lamb rib chop served with Mustard Hollandaise for the tenderloin, Rosemary Jus gravy for the chop and of course, warm butter for the lobster.  This dish sounds like a huge amount of food but it was all "doable" as the servings were small with the exception of the lobster.  This part was a "party in my mouth" when combined with the merlot wine.

This was followed with a room temperature melted Le Fromage de Brie served with a honey truffle sauce drizzled on Walnut Bread.  Think about that - mmmmmm.  This was served on sliced arugula.

Too sweet!

The dessert that followed was a work of art in both its physical presence and in its taste.  It was a Belgian Chocolate dome with Mascarpone soft centre served with Whiskey Soak Raspberry.  It's tower was made of creative egg pastry in a mesh design floating on a blue sugar ice float.

All of this was followed by coffee and tea for those who wished it and a variety of Pastry Chef Rickey's homemade Gourmandisess (petty-fours).  After 3 hours of entertainment, food and wine we were presented with a copy of the Princess Recipe Book "Courses" which is a large hardcover recipe book and copy of the group picture.  It was an experience that I would recommend to anyone who travels with Princess.  They only do these once a week and with a maximum of 11 people.  Freddi and I waddled off into the moonlight after a wonderful dinner.

PS:  sleep was hard that night as the body had too much food in it, far too much sweet food and sugar and probably too much alcohol.