Not To Be Missed Culinary Extravaganza At Sea

Culinary Extravaganza

Caribbean Princess

As you sit down to dinner in the main dining room you wonder...

"My delicious meals arrive in front of me, but how do they get there?"

Come with us for a "taste" of two of the culinary extravaganzas that await you on your Princess cruise.


Culinary Demonstration and Galley Tour

Giuseppe Pollara, Executive Chef, and Angelo Balbiani, Maitre D' Hotel (MDH), on Caribbean Princess during a recent voyage presented an exciting cooking demonstration in the Princess Theater, followed by the Tour of the "Caribbean" Galley.   We joined the demonstration and tour as part of my ongoing Princess Commodore training, where I strive to keep up to date with behind the scenes information for my guests.   Fortunately, this event is open to the public, so you too could go behind the scenes.

Click on any image in this article to see it in Larger Size

Dave, our Cruise Director, and Angelo, our MDH, set the stage for what we were about to see in the theater and afterwards in the galley.   We were able to watch on the big screen as the Chef and his assistants prepared a couple dishes from the Princess cookbook which we would be able to purchase following the tour.

Entering the galley, following the cooking demonstration, the first thing that strikes me is how spotless all the counters and equipment are.   Having worked in a kitchen or two in the past, I really appreciate the effort that went into keeping the galley in such condition.

There are several "stations" throughout the galley, each of which is dedicated to a particular task and type of food.   We passed by meat, fish, vegetable, and many other preparation and storage areas.

Courses A Culinary Journey

Following the galley tour we had the opportunity to speak with Executive Chef  Giuseppe Pollara and Maitre D' Hotel Angelo.

The answer to your question:

234 Galley Personnel under the supervision of the Executive Chef prepares all your delicious dishes!

274 Dining Personnel under the supervision of the MDH serves all your delicious dishes!

Armed with our autographed copy of the Princess cookbook, the goal was to keep the cruise lasting beyond disembarkation.

Celebrity Solstice - Glass Blowing

Celebrity Cruises and The Corning Musuem of Glass is proud to present another innovation at sea on Celebrity Solstice and the other Solstice Class ships. When they are done, there will be five cruise ships with live glass blowing demonstrations onboard. That takes traveling glass blowing to a new level.

After strolling through the lawn, rest your feet at the Hot Glass Show. There are several demonstrations throughout the day, so don't worry about having the show conflict with some other activity you want to do.

Besides the live show, there is a small museum onboard where you can read about the art of glass blowing. However, nothing beats seeing the hot glass show live. It is really a treat to see the show at night since the furnace really stands out with the dark sky.

There are also display cases showing the fruits of their labor from previous glass blowing demonstrations. If you are lucky enough, you might even be able to take one of these glass creations home with you. The only way you'll be able to do so is to have your raffle ticket number called in one of the drawings. There is no gift shop onboard that sells the glass creations. It's actually a shame because the artwork is fabulous.

We saw several demonstrations, but the most amazing one was at the 11 PM show. The glass blower starts with some molten glass from the furnace and rolls the hot glass over small bits of colored glass that has been put on the table. After that, it's back to the furnace to melt the glass that was added. This process continues layer after layer until a large amount of glass has been built up. The glass is shaped using various instruments and eventually scored so that it can be removed from the rod that has been holding it. It is hard to explain what happens next, so I've attached a video clip showing the finale.

We've seen glass blowing before, but never at this scale or under a unique setting like on a cruise ship. Celebrity and CMOG have certainly brought a new level of entertainment to the cruising public. Everyone really enjoyed the show - especially the children. On our cruise, there was one child that must have seen every show, because they even called him by name.

Also see my previous post From Grass to Glass.