It’s been a bit over a month since I returned home from my spectacular 15-day Viking Ocean Cruises’ British Isles Explorer cruise. I’m still reliving so many of its highlights: my visit to the extraordinary Titanic Museum in Belfast, the majestic castle in Edinburgh, a Beatles tour in Liverpool that delivered me to where my favorite music began, and the breathtaking view of Bergen, Norway after a mesmerizing funicular ride up the mountain.
I’m reliving, too, the extraordinary Viking Sky, with its casual yet elegant surroundings, the comfort of my spacious deluxe balcony stateroom, the ship’s dramatic (but not ostentatious) atrium, the lush pool deck, the Nordic Spa with its quirky sauna/snow room alongside heated loungers and a bubbling thermal pool and, of course, Torshavn, where I’d go after dinner to dance off those irresistible dishes I indulged in at Viking Sky’s five exquisite dining venues.
Oddly, it is these irresistible dishes that I find myself returning to most frequently. My photos and video clips can take me back to my amazing shore experiences, but each time I whip up a tuna sandwich or slip a frozen Trader Joe’s chicken vindaloo in the oven for dinner, I can’t help but cast my mind back to things like Viking Ocean’s heavenly chili soft shell crab course on The Chef’s Table’s Lotus Menu, the brown sugar and red chili flake-rubbed Bistecca Fiorentina rib eye at Manfredi’s or Mamsen’s delectable open-faced sandwiches, savory pea soup and waffles.
Fortunately, Viking has come to the rescue with The Kitchen Table, an exciting focus on its exquisite dining… that you can actually return home with!
You can get a sneak peek at The Kitchen Table by attending a complimentary cooking demonstration where chefs take to the stage! On my sailing, they prepared both seafood-studded paella and a decadent tiramisu, each step broadcast onto a large screen behind the live demonstration. Best of all, we not only left the theater with printed copies of the recipes (in familiar measurements, not that “grams” and “ml” nonsense), but that glorious paella was offered at Aquavit during a special pop-up Officer’s Cooking Station at lunchtime.
For the greatest culinary experience, however, consider booking an official Kitchen Table cooking class—you’ll find one listed among each day’s shore excursion options as you prepare for your upcoming Viking cruise. Prices vary depending upon your sailing’s itinerary.
Now Offered Daily During Your Cruise
While The Kitchen Table is not an entirely new concept at Viking Ocean Cruises, this intimate, hands-on cooking program, led by one of the ship’s chefs, has been expanded and is now offered daily.
Depending upon the ship’s location, your Kitchen Table experience might begin at the local market where, along with the chef, you’ll gather the ingredients for that evening’s cooking class and dinner—that’s right! The sumptuous dishes you’ll prepare during your class will be your dinner that evening, served at the very table where you chopped, diced, and peeled the ingredients. Aboard Viking Sky, this working kitchen/dining venue was completely private, tucked away behind The Restaurant.
I had chosen our day in the Shetland Islands for my Kitchen Table experience. The Shetlands are best known for cute little ponies and the popular TV series–not colorful food markets–so our group of eight participants skipped the shopping trip and, late afternoon, headed straight to our meeting place where Viking sous chef Joseph escorted us to the working kitchen. (Before the class, I visited guest services to make sure the dishes we’d be preparing were to my liking and discovered we’d be creating a Mediterranean menu: mushroom risotto, saltimbocca, and tiramisu. I hit the jackpot!)
With our waivers signed (we would, after all, be playing with knives), we donned our chef hats and aprons; tasks were assigned, and wine and champagne were poured. Some of us chopped basil or tomatoes while others grated lemon rind or sautéed a pan of aromatic ingredients atop the electric burners. Several of us took turns stirring the risotto and whipping cream for tiramisu, while Chef Joseph circulated, providing tips and evaluating our techniques.
Time to assemble the saltimbocca! When all of the ingredients were cooked, chopped, and ready to go, we gathered around while Chef Joseph demonstrated the final step for our saltimbocca: atop each piece of seasoned, pounded veal went two slices of mozzarella and two sage leaves. We followed his instruction, rolling each piece tightly before wrapping in two thin slices of prosciutto to sauté over medium heat.
Dinner that evening was a triumph and a triumph that a small group of my shipmates and I created ourselves…well, with significant assistance from Chef Joseph, of course.
We left The Kitchen Table proud, our hunger more than satisfied and, like that Star Theater cooking demonstration, armed with the recipes that would allow us to duplicate our culinary achievements when we returned home.
So why am I still having dinners of tuna salad and frozen Trader Joe’s chicken vindaloo now that I’m home? Well, somehow whipping up a saltimbocca without Chef Joseph and my shipmates by my side isn’t nearly as much fun as The Kitchen Table aboard Viking Ocean Cruises.
Viking Ocean Cruises’ Kitchen Table Tiramisu (4 servings)
1 egg yolk
¾ c. sugar
6 oz. mascarpone
1 1/3 c. whipping cream
2/3 c. coffee
¼ c. Amaretto
1 package ladyfingers (8 count)
2 T. cocoa powder
Directions:
Make the Cream: Using a stand mixer, thoroughly beat egg yolk with sugar; add mascarpone; beat until well mixed. Pour in cream; whip until stiff and transfer to a pastry bag with a star tip. Next, mix coffee and Amaretto in a small bowl. Dip ladyfingers into the coffee-Amaretto mix briefly, then place two ladyfingers into the bottom of each of four small dessert glasses. Layer 1/8 of the mascarpone cream into each of the four glasses. Repeat for the second layer using the remaining four ladyfingers and the remaining cream. Sprinkle the top with cocoa powder.
