Strictly the facts on V&A CT for orljustin

[Mr. D's K-Man]

Where do I begin?

After our experience on October 16, 2005, I became determined to be the first caller when the Chef’s Table opened for Easter Sunday. The first of my dozen calls was placed at the airport in Orlando while waiting for our return flight to CT. I found out that I was one day too early and was told that the first caller who got through the following morning would get the desired reservation. My quest began Tuesday morning at 6:50 AM. At 7:00:01 I got through and successfully secured the reservation. I truly felt that I hit the lottery and I knew I would be able to give a very special surprise to Bob for his birthday.

Ironically, later that morning, Bob called me rather disappointed to tell me that he was unable to get the Chef’s Table for Easter Sunday, so we had to “settle” on Tuesday, April 18th. I never let on that I had the prized reservation and it was a surprise for him.

As Christmas drew near, I called to see if I could get a written confirmation of the reservation. It arrived the next day!

Our lives became extremely busy as we sold one house and moved into our new home over the Christmas holidays. One night while sitting by the fireplace, Bob told me that our trip to Florida was canceled as we would not be attending the annual trade show in Orlando. My heart sank! I told him “oh, but we have to go”. He pressed me as to why we “had” to go. Faced with the difficult decision, I broke down and told Bob about the reservation. The surprise was gone! I felt really badly that my cherished reservation and prized gift was suddenly worthless.

Regardless, I was determined that we would be going to the Chef’s Table for dinner on Easter Sunday, even if it was a day trip. Over the next 4 months, I worked a lot of extra hours and earned the money for us to be able to afford a 4 day weekend at the Grand Floridian. Over the next 4 months, Bob walked around bragging about his surprise and in great anticipation of our next trip to the Grand.

As the date approached, and I confirmed our reservation, Israel Perez worked tirelessly with my every request. He met every request and every last detail was perfect. Perhaps the greatest and toughest challenged I presented to him was my request for the harpist to play Bob’s favorite song for us at the Chef’s Table. I asked him to accomplish what had never been done, a harpist playing in the kitchen of V&As. Over a three week period, he worked tirelessly to meet the challenge.

As we arrived for dinner at 5:45 PM, we were warmly greeted by Mark Hoevenaars who welcomed us back and wished Mister Disney a Happy Birthday.

As we arrived for dinner at 5:45 PM, we were warmly greeted by Mark Hoevenaars who welcomed us back and wished Bob a Happy Birthday. We were given the warmest greeting we have ever received at Victoria & Albert’s. Mark had a very warm smile and twinkle in his eye as he winked at me, his signal that everything was in place. Diane had already stepped from behind the podium to come out and give each of us her warmest hug. You arrived and gave us equally warm greetings and told us the kitchen was waiting our arrival.

We began our walk back to the kitchen and I noticed the harp, but no harpist. As we continued our walk back, we received smiles and welcomes from so many of the staff, most of whom remembered us from our many visits. The kitchen door swung open and through all the noises of the pots and pans, we were greeted by staff, especially Sous Chef Aimee who was our chef last Easter and had prepared a special dish for us in October when we dined in the main restaurant.

As we enter the dining room in the rear of the kitchen, we could hear something wonderful, the sound of “Somewhere in Time” coming from a harp. We entered the private dining room and saw a beautiful woman smiling at us as she played Mister Disney’s favorite song.

I turned to see the expression on Mister Disney’s face and noticed his eyes were filled with tears. Through the efforts of so many, “Mister Disney” himself had been reduced to tears running down his cheeks.

More Magic took place in that moment than I have ever experienced in my life.

I can’t thank Israel Perez and the entire staff of the Grand Floridian for that very special gift.

You see, no matter what one's demographics, it's never too late to have a happy childhood!

I believe in Romance and showing my Love in more than just words!

As the harpist played her first set, our “Victoria” Anne came over and greeted us followed by our “Albert” Joseph . This was the beginning of a wonderful evening of their doating over our every need. They could not have been nicer to us.

In front of us in the center of the table was the glass bowl with a dozen cut red roses , another prearranged gift through Israel. Mister Disney leaned over and asked if there was a hidden Mickey in the flowers, as I had arranged back in October. I told him I “skipped” the hidden Mickey as I had already done that one.

Joseph came back with the warm rolls, the fresh butter and the first of our many drinks. I leaned over to Joseph and warned him … “Please do NOT bring me any more bread after this. And if I change my mind, still don’t bring me any more bread.” This was a lesson I learned after my last visit. (Roll-proof elastic waist bands). Joseph smiled and agreed to be strict with me.

 

[Mister Disney]

Once we were settled and I had finished crying over the incredible special touches that Kevin had arranged with the SUPER team at V&A, Chef Scott Hunnel came over to toast with us a special evening and gather any information he needed on our likes and dislikes and allergies. After we spoke about Kevin's allergy to Pecans and our mutual dislike of walnuts, we began out culinary adventure of the evening.....

Amuse Bouche
which is something to entertain your mouth....a "starter" if you will....

from left ot right
Smoked Buffalo with Fava Beans and Holland Tomatoes
Long Island Duck, Sherry Bacon Vinaigrette
Asian Tuna Roll with Ginger Mignonette

Smoked Buffalo with Fava Beans and Holland Tomatoes

This is the one difference from what Michael and Kat enjoyed 2 nights later with regards to Amuse Bouche....

The Holland tomatoes were peeled and perfectly ripe with a slightly sweet taste to them that contrasted the smokey tones of the buffalo. Buffalo does NOT have a "gamey" taste for you less adventerous eaters out there. Buffalo is very much like beef, just leaner. The small "dots" on the plate are dots of Balsamic Vinegar. NOT the "jugs" of balsamic you get at your local warehouse super store, but actual "aged" balsamic which is very thick in texture with a sweet bite to it.

This dish represented 3 things rolled into one.

Smoke, sweet, and tart mmmmm.....good!

Long Island Duck, Sherry Bacon Vinaigrette

I've never been much of a fan of duck, not even after watching my super hero, Alton Brown broadcast an entire half hour on the subject.

Having said that, I was quite surprised that the duck actually tantilized my palate with various textures and flavors.

Being pleasantly surprised, Mister Disney might try more duck later.....

roll 2 of my favorite things in the world together and you end up with....

Asian Tuna Roll with Ginger Mignonette

Kevin and I are MAJOR sushi fanatics and partake of sushi at least once a week, so we were judging this portion against all of our experiences with Sushi Bars across the country.

The Tuna was prepared "titake" style, which is to lightly sear the outside and then chill completely. The tuna was very tender and not the least bit chewy. The fresh veggies added a nice crunch to the morsel we enjoyed after dipping into the ginger sauce, which had a nice "ginger pepper" sweet taste to it.

 

[Mister Disney]

at this point the Harpist came back into the small private dining room we were in to play again for us (she would do this several times througout the evening)

It was wonderful having someone playing just for us (and the rest of the team in the kitchen who also LOVED the music in the kitchen), she asked us what we enjoyed and was able play extemperaneously. This was utterly amazing!

For those of you that need to know...YES there was room for an incredible artist and her instrument in the space off the kitchen of V&A

moving on....we both experienced

Peekytoe Crab and Fresh Gulf Shrimp with Petite French Green Lentils

Peekytoe Crabs have an interesting story behind them. They used to be "thowaways" caught in the lobstering trade in Maine, but have now become very sought after by discriminating chef's for their delicate sweet flavor which was very evident in our delightful offering that was placed before us. They were paired with minature greens that had a slight bite to them, which was a perfect compliment to the sweetness of the Crab.

The single Gulf Shrimp was marinated in a tangy earthy "sauce" and placed over green lentils that offered a "creamy" texture to the shrimp.

I must say that the Crab out shined the shrimp on this plate for me!


How about the next courses.....

Line Caught Alaskan King Salmon with Cipollini Onions, Asparagus and Ramps

As much as we enjoy fish, we've never been very fond of Sashimi Style Salmon, so we were hesitant at first, but it was love at first bite! The Salmon had a very nice crust from being pan seared to perfection, creating a light and flakey texture to the meat. It was paired with incredible Cipollini Onions which are very hard to come by and not normally available at your local grocery. These sweet, flat onions are harvested in the fall and are not attainable year round like some onions. You can barely see them in the picture, but those little kernels of corn underneath everything where heavenly. It was like tasting little sweet nuggets of gold. We can't tell you much about the green sauce on the plate, as we loved the stand alone taste of the salmon and onions so much that we didn't even try it.


Diver Caught Scallop with Roast Fennel, Braised Artichokes and Blood Oranges

PERFECTION
What do you say to a beautifully seared Scallop that was perfectly tender, paired with Artichokes? MORE PLEASE!

 

[Mister Disney]

Moving on from the Fish Course to the Poultry Course....

Serrano Ham and Gruyere Cheese Stuffed Quail with Root Vegetable Flan
We had to take 2 pictures of this to give you the complete view....

Lets explain the components first...

Serrano Ham is from Spain and produced similar to Parma Ham (prosciutto) from Italy. Gruyere Cheese is from Switzerland and has a sweet nutty flavor. Quail, which I am sure is farm raised, is a small bird within the pheasant family.

Put it all together and what do you get?

an International Version of Chicken Cordon Blue!

The Ham imparted the saltiness, while the cheese was creamy. The outside of that little chickadee had a perfectly crispy skin....I was DYING for more of the skin...you see at Thanksgiving Time, when the Turkey comes out of the oven, I am the first to pull off a HUGE piece of crispy skin! mmmmmm.....

The "root vegetable flan" was smooth and creamy and didn't have any one over powering taste, but was a mild accent to the flavors of the Quail, especially when used to "mop up" all that delectible sauce! I would have used bread, but the K-Man threaten our "Albert" so by this point in our meal, we were breadless.

Thank god for "sauce spoons"! Never miss another drop!


The second Poultry Course consisted of:

Poulet Rouge with Wild Mushroom Ragout, Truffled Egg and Morels

So what does this mean in english?
Chicken over a mushroom stew and Mushroom Quiche!

Poulet Rouge is a famed chicken variety from France, which is known for its translucent skin and long breasts. It was roasted and although the skin was not crispy as I really enjoy it was succulently moist and delicious. The Wild Mushroom Ragout imparted a earthy flavor to the chicken with a subtle difference in texture arrived by the combination of the various mushrooms.

The Truffled Egg with Morels? Where should I begin?

We had the great pleasure of watching the entire process of making the truffles eggs. AMAZING! The Chefs started with a couple of dozen eggs that they used a tool on to cut the top off the eggs, but not break the rest of the shells. After pouring the contents of the egg into a bowl, they saved all the shells.

At this point an egg custard is made and poured back into the egg shells, which are place in a water bath to cook in the oven. All seemed to be going along swimmingly, until the unthinkable happened. While placing the waterbath full of the egg shells and custard into the oven....the water "sloshes" and corrupts the custard in the eggs. They had to start all over again!

I was blown away at the amount of work that went into each of the truffled eggs, and the taste exuded that energy. On top of the egg custard are slivers of more mushrooms. It was a perfect combination of flavor, textures and aromas.

Can we talk about SALT for a minute?

I saw these beauties sitting on the counter and had to ask about them. Seems that the esteemed Chefs use VARIOUS salts that they grind themselves to season things. I was TOTALLY amazed at these, the black one is hawaiian volcanic salt....I thought I had it all going because I had Regular table salt, kosher salt and some sea salt....and V&A has these beauties.....



Minnesota Elk Tenderloin with Rainbow Marble Potatoes and Veal Sweetbreads

ABSOLUTELY marvelous!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE,
do not tell the Chefs you want your meats well done!

I used to eat everything well done....I even had a standard statement when I would send things back... "I've seen cows recover from worse wounds than this!"

After my first experience at V&A OH so many years ago, I began eating my meat medium well, then medium and now I can and even do eat meats medium rare. The taste and texture differences will blow your mind! Give it a try!

{getting off my soap box now.....}

The Elk was perfectly medium rare and melted in your mouth. I was amazed, not at all gamey as I had expected. The sweetbreads we crispy and crunchy and perfectly seasoned with salt. The reduction sauce? Heavenly....by this point I was ready to string the K-Man up for telling our "Albert" "no more bread, no matter how much we beg!"

THANK GOD for Sauce Spoons!

 

[Mister Disney]

and no the Elk was not the main course! then again neither is this....

Pan Roasted Foie Gras and Fuji Apple Tart, Apple Cider Reduction

English? Liver and Apple Pie.....what a combination eh?

It was wonderful! I have only ever had Foie Gras at V&A and have no desire t try it anywhere else...Why mess with a good thing?

Foie Gras really is a "texture" thing, and NOT at all like that nasty "liver and onions" stuff my mother used to try and pass off to us as kids as "steak"!

The Foi Gras literally melted in our mouths. The Fuji Apple Tart was INCREDIBLY crispy.....I was struck by the fact that it remained crispy, even when it was just about swimming in the cider reduction sauce. On our way out at the end of the evening...I even mentioned to Chef Aimee how I was suprised at how crispy the tart remained, and she reminded me thats what they are there for....to amaze us and to create things that appear to be impossible. A++++ Keep up the great work!

Ready for the Main Course yet? before we move onto the cheese course and desserts?

Duet of Australian "Kobe" Beef Tenderloin, Short Ribs

Kobe beef, as I said last year is the "Mercedes" of beef.....them their cows get more massages in their life than I can ever expect. Tender....cuts with a butter knife....yum ....enough said!

The Short Ribs,
The K-Man and I had the opportunity last Easter to discuss with one of the Chef's the time and effort that goes into making those delicatible little tidbits of meet that are sitting on the potatoe column. For those of you that don't know, V&A has 2 shifts of Chefs. One shift works in the evenings, preparing the dinners etc. The 1st shift of Chefs come in to prepare all the components that the evening Chefs will use, some as early as 5am to begin carving or slicing meats. It was explained to us that the braised short ribs take over 10 hours to prepare. This constant slow cooking reduces the flavors so that you end up with super charged flavors in ever bite!
Lets just say, I would KILL for a bowl full of these short ribs!

The Cheese Course....

Epoisses, Comte Saint Antoine, Humboldt Fog and Gorgonzola

Epoisses is a soft cheese and probably the STINKIEST cheese I have ever put between my lips. Hold your nose....take a bite of the figs and a bite of the cheese and go for it. Amazingly....it was delicious. Salty, thick and "pudding" like texture. Not sure I would order it, but was glad to have tried it.

Comte Saint Antoine - this cheese had a firm, fruity / nutty flavor to it that was aaccentuated by the natural comb honey served with it.

Humboldt Fog, this creamy cheese has a mold / ash exterior and was actually pretty mild in flavor I believed. I felt that it definitely needed the robust flavors added by the balsamic vinger dots.

gorgonzola - this is one of my all time favorite types of cheese and was perfectly paired with the spiced poached pears.

Being a cheese nut...I was definitely on Cloud Nine after this course.

 

[Mister Disney]

At this point.....Mark brought me a selection of 3 different ports to sip with dessert

I also ordered a tastey cup of Cappuccino, while Kevin ordered a huge pot of coffee
(After all the wine and port....I forgot to get a picture of the coffee, so you'll have to deal with a picture of last year's coffee!)

Can you smell the coffee?

AND it sure wasn't Nescafe! or for that matter Chock Full of Nuts!


Does Anyone Have Room for Desserts?

First we started out with a Chocolate Trio. This is exactly the same Trio as last year.

Miniature Chocolated Pyramid, Orange Chocolate Napoleon & Warm Almond Chocolate Timbale

Miniature Chocolated Pyramid
This had 24k gold flakes on it and and incredibly labor intensive cracker. We had the opportunity last year to watch them maing these devilish little "crackers". The pyramid was velvety just like last year.

Orange Chocolate Napoleon
As sweet and delicious as I remember from last year. This so reminds me of Entenmann's Orange Chocolate Milanos. YUM

Warm Almond Chocolate Timbale
Warm, make that MOLTEN chocolate center on a super moist cake!

Finally, we are brought

Orange-Scented Mascarpone in a Chocolate Nest
Beautiful orange flavored cheese ball in a dark chocolate nest with candied oranges on the plate....very nice....just as I remembered from June and July. Warning....do not eat the "blue shell"....yuck....no good....
This is one of the "special celebration desserts" that were invented for Disneyland's 50th Anniversary

Grand Marnier Souffle
Light, fluffy and Ronan and those French kids over at Bistro de Paris didn't get ahold of the Grand Marnier sauce like they did during our Dessert Gluttony program the night before.

 

[Mister Disney]

Overall, I have to say we loved the Scallops and would eat an entire meal of them. The Elk Tenderloin with Sweet Breads stood out to me over the "Kobe" beef. The Shrimp was a "sleeper" but the Stuff Quail was SUPERB!

The cheese course expanded my limits with the vastness of styles and flavors and smells.

Desserts? How can we forget to speak of the desserts, people have been talking about them for days now.....

Although all the dessert offerings were wonderful and delicious with beautiful presentation, the K-Man and I were DISAPPOINTED in them.

Why you might ask? Well, in the past year we've eaten at V&A 5 times including this trip. In those 5 trips we've tried everything on the dessert menu and are amazed that nothing has changed in the dessert offerings in the past year. The main menu changes seasonally based on what is fresh and available, but keeps the "staples" on it such as foi gras, tenderloin and the like. We've noticed that the dessert menu has remained stagnant for lack of a better word. Being dessert fiends, we would LOVE to see some new exciting dessert choices this coming fall.

 

[Mr. D's K-Man]

I met Israel and Mark at the front desk to take care of our business. I’m usually good with words and speeches, but this time I was speechless. I told them both I couldn’t begin to express how wonderful everything was. You see, we had all worked together back in October, 2005 to arrange some great stuff for Mister Disney, but this experience paled by all comparisons.

I also talked to them about this being our second Easter at the Chef’s Table and how hard I tried at being the first caller on Day 180. All those radio contests trained me well. I wonder if we’ll have the same Magic next years?

Israel and Mark both smiled and humbly expressed their gratitude for our appreciation of their all-out efforts to make our Celebration so Perfect.

I paid the bill … as for that city in China … 30% and that was after tipping the Harpist personally. We truly believe in TIPPING! When people go all out for us … we very much show our appreciation.

Before I began to cry, I bolted from the front desk and headed back to the kitchen to collect Mister Disney. (He thoroughly enjoyed the Ports … THOROUGHLY!) As I walked back I started singing “Be Our Guest". How perfect … it perfectly captured our feelings of the evening. Humming along … I realized that I had blown off my escort and running behind me was Diane.

When WE returned to the kitchen (poor Diane), Mister Disney was thanking all the kitchen staff and complimenting them on their wonderful presentations.

Israel and Mark arrived and handed us our personalized menus of our meals. Pixiedust: “Mister Disney” appeared in the window of Mister Disney’s menu. Included with his menu was a personalized “Happy Birthday, Mister Disney” card and as well as the standard CHOCOLATE birthday greeting from the Grand.


AMAZING ... the just kept falling!

On the sideboard to our left Joseph had placed and dark blue bag on which there was Gold Lettering and the words, Victoria & Albert’s. We both wondered why that had been placed there.

Ann reappeared carrying two long stem red roses in clear plastic cases. FOR US?

WOW

I know ... you're all thinking "different demographics"

Joseph reappeared carrying a small white dish with two bright red, foil wrapped, hand-dipped, specialty cherry cordials and placed them in front of us!

Isn’t that just the perfect topping to the most perfect dining experience?

It took us another 5 minutes to leave. As we passed, escorted of course, through the kitchen we thanked each and every person. Amiee came over to us and gave us each a big hug. She told us how much she appreciated how much we appreciated the fine work of everyone. Quick … get us both out of the kitchen before EVERYONE starts to CRY!

We passed through the dining area where the second seating had begun. We stopped at the front desk and again, thanked everyone. As we stepped back out into reality and the halls of the Grand we both marveled at the experience we just had. We were and continue to be truly grateful.

The next morning we woke up still in AWE and filled with GRATITUDE at our treatment.
We headed up to the concierge floor to see what chocolate breakfast treats there might be … and don’t forget the Diet Coke.

As we were going out the door, we grabbed the roses and cherry cordials. When we arrived at the concierge buffet, we went over and asked to speak to the woman (I forget her name) who on a daily basis made sure there were TWO Diet Cokes ready and waiting for us. We presented her with the roses and cordials and told her they were given to us as part of our Royal Treatment and we were paying them forward to her in appreciation for her Royal Treatment of us!

 

[orljustin]

With the slow server speed on the site, it was great to read that indepth food review, without having to sort through all the pages. Thanks!

 

[agnes!]

Wow.

agnes!

 

[patiruss]

I thought that calgarygary had a great idea when he bumped "Mister Disney and the K'man's Easter Sunday Chef Table Review". It is my very favorite review.

I just recommended it to someone looking for info.

I also recommended this thread and have copied calgarygary's idea to bump.

 

[fonsy]

This is the best review I've read so far. Grat job !

 

[eva]

Fabulous! Everything looks and sounds so wonderful. How do you even eat half of it?

 

[oybolshoi]

I'm glad this resurfaced - one of the best CT reviews on the DIS!

And now I have all sorts of ideas for our CT visit in May... Thanks Mr. Disney!

 

[eva]

I have to bump this up because I wanted to show my husband. We are going to go for it on our next trip in September. Thanks for all the pictures. It really convinced him. Now how do you go about getting the Chef's Table?

 

[CastleLight]

I have to bump this up because I wanted to show my husband. We are going to go for it on our next trip in September. Thanks for all the pictures. It really convinced him. Now how do you go about getting the Chef's Table?

You need to call at exactly 6:59 am EST - 180 days before the date you want to dine - and keep redialing until they answer - Call a few days ahead to make sure you know the correct day you need to call.

 

[John's Mom]

WOW! Great review!

 

[jimmalru80]

Great review gentlemen. It's a pleasure to be a part of your dining experiences. Keep up the great reports.

 

[princessesrule4]

Apparently, I missed this thread last year! What an amazing experience! Thank you for your wonderful review and pictures!

 

[NMW]

Wow, what a great night. Amazing review.