Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites

Viking Star guests are often able to exerience exciting cooking classes relative to the areas they are cruising through. I was elated recently to experience a French Cooking Class, lead by the

Sous Chef and ship Pastry Chef welcomed everyone to The Kitchen Table area (a room devoted to preparing recipes with the chef and dining on presentations), where a large table was set to enable guest attendees to prepare recipes and then to eat their morning recipe creations with a glass of fine wine as their luncheon meal.

After donning our toques and smart looking Viking aprons we began prepping the selected menu recipes in small

groups. I worked on preparation of the Marmite Dieppoise (creamy fish stew), Beef Filet Mignon (leek fondue and chorizo salsa) and then we drooled over the preparation and presentation of the Baileys Chocolate Mousse, demonstrated by the ship pastry chef.

The small groups worked together with the Chef in preparation and presentation of the main courses, and it was great fun

bringing all the ingredients together for the final cooking and presentation. Everyone had a hands-on experience chopping, cutting, and cooking. Our chef seared the filet mignon and then placed trays of the filet mignon in special ovens used on the ship to perfectly prepare entrees in minutes per guests’ requests (these ovens are made especially for Viking). This preparation only takes 5-6 minutes in our own home oven at 350 degrees. Our beef was perfectly cooked per request, and divine with the leek fondue and chorizo salsa we had prepared. The dish looked beautiful as well!

The Marmite Dieppoise, a creamy and delicious fish stew, had the team

happily chopping and dicing, as the mussels were simmering to open in broth and white wine. The vegetables and apples were simmered with mussels and broth until perfectly cooked. Then cream created a beautiful sauce for the chives. This was so delicious garnished with chervil leaves and is a recipe I’ve always wanted to add to my repertoire to prepare for dinner guests.

The Baileys Chocolate Mousse with caramelized crushed hazelnuts and fresh raspberries was as delicious as it was beautiful. The ship pastry chef did a full demonstration of the preparation for this sinful ending that was so helpful in explaining how the warm not hot mixture must be mixed and folded for ultimate success. The glazed hazelnut step-by-step directions were very helpful as well.

Our Chef wished us all good appetite, as the sommelier served the wine,

and we commenced to savor the delicious results of our expertly directed morning food preparation labor. What a fun, educational and delicious all-inclusive activity that I highly recommend to all my fellow travelers on their future Viking Ocean cruise adventures.

Many thanks to our chef and pastry chef who were so patient, gracious, and generous in sharing information throughout our French Cooking Class adventure in The Kitchen Table on the Viking Star. Also note that these classes fill up very quickly so get a reservation booked as early as possible. For information visit: www.viking.com.