Is Chefs de France really that bad?

[ILoveMK2008]

Chefs de France was... fine. That's it, just fine. It's not fabulous, but wasn't a huge disappointment either. Happy bday

 

[La2kw]

I wasnt expecting American food. I just didnt care for the prepartion of the macaroni and cheese. Have you never had something in a restaurant that didnt suit you?



Nowhere did I state I was expecting Kraft Mac and Cheese. Any time I have ever had homemade macaroni and cheese it is made with a mixture of cream and cheese, as opposed to being baked in cream with a layer of cheese on top.

I'm sorry that my description confused both of you. I will attempt to be more precise and understandable in the future.

Chefs de France doesn't serve Macaroni and Cheese. The menu lists this: Gratin de Macaroni - Baked macaroni with cream and gruyere cheese. This is exactly what you get when you order it. Noodles baked in cream sauce, covered with a gratin of gruyere cheese. Perhaps the restaurant should put a disclaimer: This is Not Macaroni & Cheese. It seems odd to criticize a restaurant for serving an item exactly as it is described in the menu just because you thought you were going to get something different.

By definition, gratin is something very different than cheese sauce.

Here's the American Heritage Dictionary definition:
gra·tin (grät'n, grāt'n, grā-tāɴ') Pronunciation Key
n. A top crust consisting of browned crumbs and butter, often with grated cheese.
[French, from obsolete grater, to scratch, scrape, from Old French; see grate1.]

BTW Kevin, I enjoy your articles on Micechat. Does the new DVC policy of replacing real dishes in studio villas with foam cups and plastic glasses qualify as "Declining by Degrees"? I think so.

 

[TiggerXx]

Are you kidding me?! I've had the best meal I've ever had at Chefs de France. I'm in Culinary School, and I've eaten at a lot of restaurants. But Chefs de France is absolutely amazing. Whoever said it was bad was probably a picky eater, and doesn't like authentic French food. Which is understandable, but trust me. It's anything but bad.

 

[ElizabethB]

We are anything but picky eaters - and we definitely won't go back. It used to be a favorite, but not anymore. We've always enjoyed the escargot and the snails were still good on our last visit. The cheese plate was enjoyable, although there was nothing terribly interesting about the cheeses served. The desserts were okay, and the wine list remains nice, with some good choices by the glass. What really turned us off this last time were the entrees. A friend ordered the tuna, which the menu warns will be served rare. It wasn't. It was seriously overcooked, so she sent it back and settled for the roast chicken. I ordered steak frites. I love this dish when I order it in bistros here in NYC. What I got was a very, very poor cut of meat that didn't resemble anything so much as a salisbury steak from a frozen dinner. Hardly the mediuim rare skirt steak I was anticipating. It was also covered with some type of gloppy gravy (gravy?!) and came with french fries that were cold and plainly has been sitting for some time before they were served up. Add to this the fact that we were nearly on top of the people at the next table, and we were seated next to the waiter station -- with all of its noise of silverware and dishes dropping on the floor. We requested a move and were moved, but it didn't improve things much.

So, in sum -- we are not at all picky. We have done the Chef's Table at V&A 6 or 7 times and we relish foie gras, pork belly, raw tuna, caviar and many other delicacies. What we don't relish is what Chefs de France has become.

 

[DisneyKevin]

Chefs de France doesn't serve Macaroni and Cheese. The menu lists this: Gratin de Macaroni - Baked macaroni with cream and gruyere cheese. This is exactly what you get when you order it. Noodles baked in cream sauce, covered with a gratin of gruyere cheese. Perhaps the restaurant should put a disclaimer: This is Not Macaroni & Cheese. It seems odd to criticize a restaurant for serving an item exactly as it is described in the menu just because you thought you were going to get something different.

By definition, gratin is something very different than cheese sauce.

Here's the American Heritage Dictionary definition:
gra·tin (grät'n, grāt'n, grā-tāɴ') Pronunciation Key
n. A top crust consisting of browned crumbs and butter, often with grated cheese.
[French, from obsolete grater, to scratch, scrape, from Old French; see grate1.]

BTW Kevin, I enjoy your articles on Micechat. Does the new DVC policy of replacing real dishes in studio villas with foam cups and plastic glasses qualify as "Declining by Degrees"? I think so.

I didnt criticize the restaurant. I said I thought it was awesome and one of the best on property. I am including a link to my review in case you missed that point:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/reviews/chefs-de-france.htm

I didnt care for the Macaroni and Cheese....not matter how you describe it. But as I have said....it was a matter of taste and not something wrong with the dish.
Again...the actual quote from my review is here:

"The baked macaroni and cheese was less successful. I think this was more because I was expecting a more Americanized dish. This was large pasta tubes cooked in a cream sauce and then baked with a layer of gruyere on top. The dish was very, very rich and filling but if you have your heart set on something more traditional, then you might be disappointed. Please understand, it wasn’t bad, just not what I was expecting."

Thank you for the definition of gratin but the dish does not have browned crumbs or butter topping, so does this change anything?

Oh...and by the way....I dont write articles for Miceage , just the DIS and DIS Unplugged.. You have me confused with someone else, so your question regarding styrofoam cups will have to be directed elsewhere.

 

[Tricia1972]

Are you kidding me?! I've had the best meal I've ever had at Chefs de France. I'm in Culinary School, and I've eaten at a lot of restaurants. But Chefs de France is absolutely amazing. Whoever said it was bad was probably a picky eater, and doesn't like authentic French food. Which is understandable, but trust me. It's anything but bad.

You should try Victoria & Albert's. If you loved Chefs de France, you'll be absolutely blown away by Victoria & Albert's.

I've dined at both and there is no comparison.

Being that you're a culinary student, you may want to even try for the Chef's Table, I am sure that would mean even more to you than it does to others.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

DH and I made a quick trip to WDW this weekend, and we ate at Chefs de France Friday night. This was about the 5th times we've had dinner there.

I had the mac and cheese (I realize it's not called mac and cheese on the menu ) for the 3rd or 4th time (I'm vegetarian, so my choices are limited, and the one time I had the lasagne, I thought DH and I made much yummier lasagne).

The mac and cheese was DELICIOUS. It was piping hot from the oven (baked just long enough for the top few noodles to have a nice brown toastiness ). The one time I didn't like this dish was when it came to my table warm rather than hot, so I was happy that it apparently came straight from the oven this time.

DH had the beef short ribs braised in Cabernet on a bed of polenta. He thought the food was OK but not a good value for the price. I think the prices have gone up since the last time we were there--he had ordered the Filet de boeuf grille, sauce au poivre noir Gratin Dauphinois et haricots verts - Grilled tenderloin of beef with a black pepper sauce original potato gratin of Savoy and green beans--in the past, and it's now priced at $31.95, up several dollars (we think) from early last year.

For desert, we shared something that is not on the allearsnet.com menu--a kind of chocolate mousse cake on a crispy shell, with a tiny scoop of coconut ice cream, plus bananas, blueberries, and a few other scattered toppings. DH also had a coffee with some kind of liqueur and whisky that he said "was not as good as the coffee with Starbucks liquer and Amaretto that I had at Mama Melrose." (He is SO picky. )

Here's a photo I took--on the left is the area where the chefs hand the food out to the servers. To the right is a display of desserts and wine. Check out the floor--it's all done in mosaic swirls of earth-toned tiles--I just love it!

 

[Goofy'slady]

I've been atleast three times with our last trip last September for me and my husband's celebrating our 30th b-days(both of ours are in Sept.) and it was a great meal. This May we'll be back and we're taking the kids for their first meal there along with my BFF. I would highly recommend it.

T.

 

[fey_spirit]

I am beginning to think that Chef's largest problem is that it fits into a gray no man's land.

Not fancy enough to suite the V&A and Bistro set, but too fancy/"weird" for the 50's Prime Time and L'Cellar set. That's a difficult spot for a Disney Restaurant to maintain.

 

[Tricia1972]

I am beginning to think that Chef's largest problem is that it fits into a gray no man's land.

Not fancy enough to suite the V&A and Bistro set, but too fancy/"weird" for the 50's Prime Time and L'Cellar set. That's a difficult spot for a Disney Restaurant to maintain.

You may be onto something. I really enjoyed LeCellier, and Victoria & Albert's is my favorite restaurant ever.

Chefs de France fell short, for us, in both food quality and service.

That is a hard place to maintain.