When a cruise ship is as long as two football fields, and weighs almost the same as the Eiffel Tower, it’s unsurprising that a lot of food is going to be coming out of its kitchens.
But the Oceania Vista serves a whopping 6,000 meals to its 1,200 passengers every single day.
And in a new YouTube documentary, Ship Shape, the Daily Mail takes a look behind the scenes of the ship’s 12 dining venues and luxurious kitchens that never sleep.
Breakfast prep begins very early for the chefs onboard the Oceania Vista, as they start mixing dough at 3am.
At this time, around 230 croissants and pain au chocolat are baked fresh, along with around 150 Danish pastries and muffins – so everything is ready in time for the ship’s earliest risers, coming down to eat at 6am.
The 28-person, pastry and bakery team is led by corporate pastry chef Jose Da Costa.
In Ship Shape, he says: ‘Everyday, we have about 15 types of bread for the whole ship – freshly made.’
Quantities are huge on the ship – with 200kg of flour, 36kg of butter and 79kg of sugar used for the pastries alone.
Oceania Vista’s 28-person, pastry and bakery team is led by corporate pastry chef Jose Da Costa
In Ship Shape, he says: ‘Everyday, we have about 15 types of bread for the whole ship – freshly made’
But the croissants are the highlights of breakfast.
And in order for every baked good to be up to Oceania’s high standards, all the flour comes from one specific mill in France.
The ship’s executive culinary direcor, Eric Barale, says: ‘We carry this flour around the world to always get the same product, same consistency and same taste.’
As he chomps down on a freshly baked croissant, straight from the oven, he confirms it’s ‘exactly the same’ as all the others.
And, seemingly enjoying the delicious baked good, he laughs: ‘When I was a little boy, I’d go to the bakery in the village where I grew up, to buy bread.
‘By the time I arrived home, half would already be missing because I’d eaten all of it!’
While the guests enjoy breakfast, the kitchens’ day staff shift into planning mode.
In all 12 dining venues, the teams prepare 700 dishes per day with rotating menus – which are updated every 28 days.
The ship’s executive culinary direcor, Eric Barale, says: ‘We carry this flour around the world to always get the same product, same consistency and same taste’
In all 12 dining venues, the teams prepare 700 dishes per day with rotating menus – which are updated every 28 days
These are planned, on average, a minimum of three months in advance – ‘In July, we’re already securing the quantities of turkeys for Christmas!’ says Chef Eric
These are planned, on average, a minimum of three months in advance – ‘In July, we’re already securing the quantities of turkeys for Christmas!’ says Chef Eric.
He adds: ‘Making a menu is not only putting together a list of dishes and trying to come up with recipes. It’s more than that.
‘It’s finding the right balance in the menu, but also the right recipe with the right technique.’
Guests can dine in any of the ship’s eight restaurants – from Jacques, which serves classic French cuisine, to Toscana, where you’ll find homemade pastas.
There’s also the open air terrace cafe.
Over 10 days, 1,200 passengers will consume 2,722kg of lobster, 1,588kg of prime rib, and 84,194 eggs. Over the course of a month, 1,200 guests will drink 14,000 bottles of wine, sourced from every continent.
To watch the full documentary, head to the Daily Mail’s Youtube channel.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .