Wednesday, February 22, 2012

New Zealand, Lyttleton

Lyttleton, a quiet, lovely town
Nobody really knows about Lyttleton, it is just a sleepy little town that suffered like the rest of the region from the devastating earth quake last year. But maybe you know better where I am when I tell you for which city this town is the main port.....Christchurch. Now everybody knows where I am, we sailed up the coast of New Zealand and are now in Christchurch....sorry Lyttleton. Christchurch is actually just on the other side of the mountain, 20 minutes drive from here.

Being a turn around day, we had of course loading. So for a couple of hours everybody helps with carrying the boxes, loads of them as after Antarctica the ship is pretty empty in the stores. Even so we have now only a 8 day golf cruises ahead, there is still a lot to be loaded. Being on such a small ship, everything is done by hand, there are no folk lifts putting whole pallets in the ship like on the big ones I was on before, no, here the chef stands outside and we inspect the quality and then the boxes get handed over in a long line all the way to the stores,
Winsome and me, she is my favorite supplier
One of our best suppliers, and by far my favorite one, is based here in Lyttleton. It is Winsome Dormer from Independent Providores. I have never seen someone more dedicated and really going out of the way to find the best products for us, looking after us and being there basically 24/7. Winsome has a fantastic team and we all went out for dinner that night, something I have rarely time, but as the guest only embarked the next day, we took the time and were treated royally

Winsome is our supplier since many years and I have never seen anybody working so hard to make sure we get exactly what we need. Her and her team have sourced organic edible flowers, Kiwi Berries, even Ice Carvings for us. It has been such a pleasure to have her and her team making sure that we only got the best quality ingredients

We went to a restaurant called Freeman's. It has just been re opened after the earth quake and has been beautifully decorated. The food was up to par with the rest of the restaurant, it was beautifully presented and tasted fantastic. We had some Antipasti for the table, one of them was stuffed and deep fried Zucchini Flowers filled with Ratatouille and Ricotta.
Then the main course was either the slow braised pork cheeks with creamed potatoes or roasted Akaroa Salmon with Tortellini, both dishes were delicious.
 We had a fantastic evening, it is just great to get to meet your supplier, as the whole office team came as well, so now there is not just a cold email, but there is a face and a voice behind it. We visited the offices too, so now I even know where the email comes from, it makes the purchasing so much easier, to know the person and to have a real personal contact, something that is very difficult to have on ships

8 comments:

  1. Being a Celebrity Cruises chef, I'm hoping you can help me out when you might get the chance.

    I was recently on a Celebrity cruise elsewhere (Southern Caribbean) and had a lovely dinner entree that was atypical for Celebrity -- it was in the main dining room offerings and a lovely Honey & Marjoram pearl barley and root vegetables dish. I *think* it was called "Honey And Marjoram Braised Barley: With Brunoise Of Root Vegetables, Cherry Tomatoes, Drizzled Honey, And Marjoram-Infused Olive Oil" and it was delicious. I would LOVE to find out about the recipe if possibly you are familiar with it and might be at liberty to share the recipe.

    TYIA for any and all assistance.

    Reach me at owner at sensorynutrition dot com and thank you!

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  2. That is a wonderful meal for sure. It is always a pleasure to come across dedicated people who give their work all they can

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  3. Dear Stephanie
    Thank you very much for your comment. Even so I am not with Celebrity anymore, I can organize the recipe for you. It is one of the vegetarian dishes served. I will change the recipe as the original is for 100 portions, a little too much for the daily use. I will send it directly to your email address

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    1. How very kind of you to take that extra effort to organize a recipe in a "home" quantity as opposed to a food service quantity to serve a crowd!

      Please note that I did not realize you were no longer with Celebrity (I thought I saw an "X" on your chef's coat), but obviously I misunderstood--my apology in assuming you were still under contract with them. Obviously being new to your blog I have a lot of back reading to do!

      You are gracious in sharing your expertise with all of us through your blog--TY for that. I only recently discovered it and have enjoyed my reading thus far and the photos are wonderful! The visual sensory appeal is great!

      Wishing you much success in all your future endeavors and chances to meet up with more folks who truly care about their work and put their heart and soul into it.

      If I can ever be of assistance, just ask and I'll see what I can do to return a favor.

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    2. Dear Stephanie
      It is only a pleasure. I got the recipes all on file, so have to just change it a bit.

      It is true that I am not with Celebrity anymore and took my chef jackets with me when I left. They are really great jackets from Bragard and cost over 100$ a piece. As the name is embroided nobody else will wear them, so there are still now some photos of me with the X

      I am happy to hear that you enjoy my Blog and like my photos. I went on your Blog too and good old memories came back with your entries about your trip in the Caribbean

      It would be great to stay in touch and maybe can do something together in future

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  4. Dear Sawsan
    Thank you so much for your comment, yes I agree, to come across dedicated people is always a treat and doesn't happen too often

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  5. I had been to Lyttleton town shortly after the earthquake, a very pictureques town indeed:) Would love to visit Christchurch again to sample all the wonderful looking dishes you've got here:)

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  6. Thank you Jeannie for your comment. Yes everything looks very pretty from far, but when looking closer one still can see the destruction, many houses are still broken and have to be torn down and there are many empty plots. But on the good side, many businesses have reopened and there are many good restaurants in the region serving great food

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