Two days ago I was going to write that I had been sitting next to a group of passengers booked on the Chef's Table for dinner one evening on Ruby Princess and tell you what I saw of their experience, but things suddenly changed and thanks to a cancellation my partner and I ended up being two of the select few on our cruise to take part in this special dining option.
It only happens three times per cruise, and for just 10 passengers each time, who each pay $75 to take part.
That first evening it happened to be a group of friends, all from Australia, who said it had been worth every penny as they rolled out of the dining room after their feast. When Mark and I took part, we were with four other couples, all from the US, who had never met until that point.
"It can be either a group or people who have never met, but always we are over-subscribed," Generoso, the Maitre d' and Princess Cruises' very own Mr Fixit, explained.
I call him that, by the way, because he organised for us to sample the breakfast in Sabatini's, the Italian trattoria, even though it is normally reserved only for passengers in suites.
It's a relatively new thing for Princess and a wonderfully peaceful experience, away from the maddening crowds in the self-service, but in a room with a view (as it's on deck 16), unlike the main dining room, which is lovely. Naturally the food is cooked to order so it's hot, and of course served in style. If you're not sure whether to book a suite or not, this is the reason to do so!
The Chef's Table evening starts by the lifts outside the dining room, where we donned chef's coats before being escorted into the galley to meet executive chef Joel and start on part one of the feast - a glass (or two) of Champagne and five appetisers while we were standing in a corner of the galley that had been decorated just for us by pastry chef Andrzej from Poland.
Obviously the ice sculpture is ice, but incredibly the rest of the decorations are made from sugar and flour. Likewise this "aquarium", which Andrzej had just finished when I went on a tour of the galley the next day.
Our Chef's Table mountain of appetisers over, we went back out to the restaurant, to our table for 10, for another four courses. I kid you not.
We had a tasty risotto, followed by a medieval-style meat-fest - pork, beef and veal on skewers that were kept hot on these flambé racks that Chef is setting light to here.
Next came a cheese dish and then the dessert - a hugely calorific melt-in-the-mouth chocolate cake. Sweets are not usually my thing, but I this one disappeared with alarming speed. As did the wine that came as part of the $75 meal deal - white, then red and finally a 20-year-old port to go with the cheese.
And just when you think it is all over, along come the petit fours and a Princess cook book, signed by Chef and Generoso, so you can create all the dishes you have enjoyed on board your cruise when you go home.
Or at least that's the idea. Problem is, I need to take Joel home as well. Otherwise, who is going to do all this cooking?
Jane Archer
