While most non buffet dining options on ships are all about the food, the presentation, and the ambience for you to enjoy perhaps before heading to a show, Le Petit Chef combines the dinner with the show. Le Petit Chef is an upcharge specialty restaurant currently priced around $129 for two people including gratuities. Disclaimer: Our dinner was included since we sailed in an upper suite level cabin. Due to the show aspect, there are only two dinner seatings you can reserve per night, 6PM and 8PM. As the show is done for everyone dining in the restaurant at once, you may have to sit for a few minutes until the presentation starts. You will also only be served at the pace that fits the story so this is not a dinner to book if you're worried about getting out fast to make it to another activity.
Since Le Petit Chef is such a limited experience, it often will share the space with another restaurant onboard. The restaurant will serve a lunch menu as the true name of the restaurant and then put on Le Petit Chef shows at dinnertime. Some ships use the space in Qsine while the Beyond shared Le Petit Chef with Le Grand Bistro.
Le Petit Chef combines the use of lights and overhead cameras to project an animated scene onto your table top. There is always two menu options presented. One will match the dishes your animated chef prepares and one will have alternative choices. You are welcome to stick with one or the other through all the courses or mix and match. Those with food allergies should inform their waiter who can offer to bring something else that will be safe to eat. There are a handful of different animation storylines so you may find that one day's menu is different than the next or it might switch halfway through the cruise. If you really want a specific menu, make sure to inquire with the restaurant on board as to which menu is scheduled during your desired reservation.
Our particular animation storyline focused on the double meaning of "seasons." The story went through all the four seasons of the year offering courses that featured ingredients common for that time of year. It also told the story of a couple's relationship a.k.a the seasons of life - courtship in the spring, marriage in the summer, raising children in the fall, and playing in the snow with the grandchildren in the winter.
Here are the menu options that matched the animation storyline:
The alternative options for each course:
After our waiter explained the menu and noted our choices, he instructed us to keep this large white plate centered in the lighted circle being projected on our table. This is where the images of the little chef (Le Petit Chef) will appear to be assembling his dish directly onto the plate in front of you. The rest of the scene plays out on the tabletop.
The same white plate and tabletop after the animation starts:
The young chef meets a girl while walking through the garden.
Together they build the Spring Pea Soup - Creme Fraiche, Lemon, and Smoked Bacon onto our white plates in animation form.
The animation's action is paused while our first course served in a white bowl is placed on top of our white plates. This dish tasted okay but I wasn't fond of what seemed like dried onion strings that seemed to be balled up like croutons. The difference in texture between the soup and these "croutons" you had to stop and chew wasn't appealing to me.
Then we moved on to the Summer course and the animation changed to the couple enjoying time at the beach playing in the waves.
The chef surprises his girlfriend by drawing a heart in the sand and getting down on one knee to propose:
After a humorous scene where they have to save themselves from a giant crab attack, the story time jumps four years later. The now married couple have two children and live on a farm.
The family of four work together to use our white plate as a grill to prepare the Crab Farfalle Pasta - Sweet Corn, Basil, Cherry Tomatoes, Aged Parmesan (take that giant crab!)
The hot tub becomes the perfect place to boil those pasta noodles:
Once the pasta is done, the hot tub is reused to cook the sweet corn. The kids are hoisted up onto the cob to help shear off the kernels.
The whole family cheers after working as a team to shave off the parmesan:
The finished real life product was really tasty with a good balance of light flavors and many colors that fit perfectly when you think of a summer dish.
Our next course - Fall - shows the man with his now older son being taught by dad how to work the farm. How pretty a china pattern would this be?
The preparation for the Grilled Beef Filet Mignon - Short Rib Croustillant, Warm Spice Pumpkin Puree, Baby Vegetables, Glazed Cippolini Onions starts off with harvesting, dicing, and pureeing the pumpkin.
Together they plate the puree, filet, and start to add the vegetables when the family dog tries to make a play for our main course. He ends up getting catapulted into the air off the fork and flies over the plate.
No worries as our animated furry friend lands safely on the other side of the table albeit disappointed at having missed out on that filet. The family comes together to finish the dish on your plate.
The real life version - I don't recall whether we got asked to choose a doneness for our filet but the meat was tasty and tender. I felt like the short rib croustillant could have used more meat as it was mostly the crusty shell.
A brief interlude to point out how much fun we thought it was to have the animation display on Dad's hand like a tattoo.
Our final course is upon us. A winter scene plays out with the farm now covered in snow.
The now older couple enjoy ice skating across your plate:
When they stop to warm up by a campfire, their grown children and grandchildren sneak up to surprise them with a snowball fight and a big gift box.
The now multi generational family gather on your plate to unwrap the gift revealing a chocolate brownie.
Vanilla gelato is added on top before they use the campfire to toast some marshmallows to add to the dish.
The entire family gathers around your dessert for a bow and cheer!
Our Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie with Vanilla Gelato and Caramelized Marshmallow in real life was definitely one for the chocolate lovers and those with a sweet tooth.
We had initially thought of stopping for more to eat after this because we expected not to like the dishes as much as we did or feel as full as we did. Would I have paid extra for this dinner and a show experience? Maybe, if anything for the novelty of it. Would I bother booking it a second time? Probably not. This is more about the cute and playful animation than the dining so we both agree that this was a one and done experience for us.
No comments:
Post a Comment