We visited Taste of London where we had a chance to discover Celebrity Cruises dining experience…
For a restaurant festival,Taste of London has a habit of bringing many things to the fore. We get to catch up with our favourite chefs, sample great taster menus and no one gets to judge us when we start sipping champagne at 10am on a Wednesday. At Taste of London, we experienced two great things this year. One is the Celebrity Cruises’ exquisite, innovative and diverse dining experience. It becomes available on-board their new ship Celebrity Edgefrom December 2018. The dining concepts, developed by Michelin-starred Chef Cornelius Gallagher and his team, will be a sparkling addition to the ship’s 29 restaurants and bars.
Taste of Cyprus
Starter
The taster menus at Taste of London were based on cuisine from Tuscany, Normandy, Cyprus and New York. We sampled the superb Taste of Cyprus menu with a starter of sea bass ceviche with tomatoes, wild herbs, tarbais beans and feta. The subtlety of white fish with the tanginess of feta cheese together with the freshness of the tomato was a Mediterranean carnival on the tongue. It was a delight of such heavenly proportions we were bowled over. The dish was perfectly paired by Amelia Singer (The Wine Show) with Santorini by Boutari; a zesty, refined white. What a pick for promoting the magnificence of Santorini vineyards to the world. Together, they raised the bar for the rest of the meal.
“If this is the level of culinary skill offered on-board Celebrity Edge then Celebrity Cruises will need little effort to fill its cabins.”
Mains
Lamb tagine with root vegetables and an aromatic potato puree, served as mains, too was excellent. The aroma of spices infused in the lamb was unmissable; the meat flaked off and floated on to the puree as we brushed our forks against it. All of it simply melted on the tongue as we savoured each satisfying bite. The pairing of the smooth Tsantalis with another excellent Greek Cabernet Sauvignon was of unrivalled excellence. The red wine sealed the deal.
The sitting was hosted by Chef Christos Galanopoulos who surprised us with chocolate truffles at the end of the meal. Not only had they been hand-made during the meal but they had been made on a stand in the middle of Regent’s Park. The traditional ganache centre was, as expected, simply divine. This final touch tied the meal together so effortlessly that it had us thinking; if this is the level of culinary skill offered on-board Celebrity Edge then Celebrity Cruises will need little effort to fill its cabins.
