Flying Fish - Chef's Table - March 20, 2012

[ehagerty]

My husband and I dined at the FF CT last October. I hadn't read much about it, aside from one or two mentions on these boards. It was a highlight of the trip. I really enjoyed the interaction with the chef and the other staff, plus the food was delicious!

I enjoyed your reviews and the photos are excellent. It makes me want to return to the FF CT sooner rather than later.

That is the intended hope / purpose of posting
- that people who already know a dining experience get a chance to relive it through the photos
- that those who are planning may consider it (or not), based on real user experience, rather than limited information

That said, I am pretty sure that I, too will return in October - probably the last week. By booking twice this vacation, I was hoping to get a senses of "how different" the FF-CT might be in a given week, as I would consider booking twice if they were different enough.

Also - to all you readers - I believe the newbie-CRO gentleman's challenge was that there seems to be a FF Chef's TASTING and Chef's TABLE. The tasting is a special menu created for that day (they only buy enough ingrediants for the head count to be served), where the Chef's TABLE sounded like "sitting at the counter overlooking the kitchen while ordering off the regular menu." To the unitiated, that could be as confusing as distiguishing the difference between the DDP and the DDE a couple of years ago (hence, the rebrand to TiW). In the meantime, caveat emptor!

 

[disfencer]

Thanks so much, ehagerty! Your pictures are fantastic. The Cajun red snapper looks amazing.

This sounds like it'd be a great experience, I'd love to be able to ask the chefs about the details of how they decide exactly what goes with what dishes. I still think if I went to FF, I'd rather do something more like two apps and some wine, but that's just me.

Do you know if TiW would be accepted for this kind of experience?

Also, thanks for the tip about the CRO mix-up, bummer it happened though.

 

[ehagerty]

Thanks so much, ehagerty! Your pictures are fantastic. The Cajun red snapper looks amazing.

This sounds like it'd be a great experience, I'd love to be able to ask the chefs about the details of how they decide exactly what goes with what dishes. I still think if I went to FF, I'd rather do something more like two apps and some wine, but that's just me.

Do you know if TiW would be accepted for this kind of experience?

Also, thanks for the tip about the CRO mix-up, bummer it happened though.

This was a "fixed price, prepaid" experience.

There is no discount.

The meal is totally tailored to available ingredients and head count, therefore the cancellation window takes that into account - meaning, if they buy the ingredients for your meal, they will still charge you, in advance, even if you do not show. However, if you cancel within their window (and they don't invest the expense in the ingredients for your meal) they will refund the charge. I have not actually followed the transation trail to see when the reservation, charges, etc. hit my card. Will keep an eye on that to continue to learn more how it works.

They will work with you on ingredients you don't like, or are allergic to, but other than that, this is a fixed menu. This was not a problem for me, as I have few minor food intolerances (don't we all) and like pretty much everything. It may not work as well for others.

That said, you can certainly do the appetizer-wine thingy in the regular dining room (and apply other discount, like TiW, if you have it).

Also worthy of note - you do not have to fiddle with a bill at the end of the meal. You paid the price ahead of time and there is nothing extra. Kind of smart in that you don't revert to "value for the dollar" evaluation at end of meal simply because you are looking at the piper after all that fun - you just drift away on a haze of good food, without any residual contact with financial reality!

 

[RDP]

Loved the review, it definatly going on my 'list' . I'm a little unsure of wine flights as I haven't found one that compliments a whole meal rather than individual courses. Would be happy with one good bottle of wine. However the food looks amazing and combinations look and sound like they taste great. Cant wait to try.

 

[BLTLDZ]

GREAT pics!! DH & I have done the Chef's dinner three times. We LOVE it! I opted for a two day universal/blue man group package for my birthday this year instead though...now after looking at your pics, I am rethinking my decision!

I showed DH , and he just said "damn, we may need to book it again for next month"

 

[marshwiggle]

Thanks for posting this review and especially the great pics.

If booking over the phone, it might help to ask the CM to search for the full name "FF chef's tasting wine dinner." That's worked for me in the past, but maybe the "chef's table" thing is new. Also, if they don't say anything about pre-charging $150+ per person or you're able to book it for a Fri/Sat, it probably isn't the right thing.

 

[BLTLDZ]

Thanks for posting this review and especially the great pics.

If booking over the phone, it might help to ask the CM to search for the full name "FF chef's tasting wine dinner." That's worked for me in the past, but maybe the "chef's table" thing is new. Also, if they don't say anything about pre-charging $150+ per person or you're able to book it for a Fri/Sat, it probably isn't the right thing.

I second this. In fact, I highly reccomend NOT booking over the phone, but going through the disney website.

The 1st time we booked, we did it over the phone. One week before, I called to confirm. Good thing I did!! It took a few days to locate the reservation, and I havd pre-paid on my credit card. I think a lot of CM's are still not aware of the Chefs dinner.....on the website it is quite easy to book it.

 

[ehagerty]

... for your insights and comments.

I also encourage people to "stop back by" in the future if you do dine here, either to provide follow-up comments, or, if you post your own review, to add the link. Some people have asked, in the past, on other posts, whether I mind that sort of thing. In fact, I welcome it. The more people can easily find related information, the better!

Bon Appetite!

 

[ehagerty]

...dug out my annotated menu from the vacation archives (of 6 weeks ago - lol) and realized that I had included pretty much all the commentary from memory.

Looking back at the pictures, correcting spelling - made me realize how great this meal was, and how I AM looking forward to my return!

.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Enjoyed your photos and comments! It looks like a wonderful experience.

 

[ehagerty]

I showed DH , and he just said "damn, we may need to book it again for next month"

I see you will be at F&W overlapping with my stay - hope to see you there!!