Un restaurant qui sort de l`ordinaire à bord du Celebrity Eclipse

Un restaurant qui sort de l’ordinaire à bord du Celebrity Eclipse
Celebrity Cruises vient de dévoiler des détails relatifs à ‘Qsine’, un nouveau restaurant aménagé à
bord du Celebrity Eclipse, le troisième navire de classe Solstice qui sera mis à flot fin avril. Qsine
est un concept né de l’imagination de Jacques Van Staden, consultant culinaire de Celebrity Cruises
et d’Azamara Club Cruises. Jacques Van Staden peut se targuer d’une réputation impressionnante
qu’il s’est forgée dans des établissements avant-gardistes de Las Vegas et de Washington. A bord du
Celebrity Eclipse, son restaurant servira des mets répondant au nom de ’Sushi Lollipops’, ‘Meatball
Trilogy’ ou ‘Popcorn Fish & Chips’, des préparations osées à base de sushi, de boulettes de viande
ou de filets de poisson panés. D’autres créations originales signées par le chef Van Staden se
nommeront ‘Taco Royale’ à base de viande Black Angus, ‘Lava Crab’, soit du crabe royal servi sur
une pierre chaude ou ‘Slider Party’, du bœuf Kobe accompagné de vieux cheddar étalé sur de la
brioche. Pour manger au Qsine, les passagers devront s’acquitter d’un droit de réservation de 30
USD (environ 22 euros) par personne.
L’originalité du concept Qsine s’exprime également dans la tenue vestimentaire délibérément
asymétrique du personnel ainsi que dans la forme des cartes de vins épousant les allures d’appareils
à écran tactile. Ce clin d’œil technologique fait aussi référence à la Celebrity iLounge annoncée la
semaine dernière par l’armateur. Cet espace comprend un cybercafé, un local de cours et un point
de vente Apple agréé.
Vous trouverez de plus amples informations à ce sujet dans le communiqué de presse en anglais cijoint ou auprès de Cruise Connection, représentant international de Celebrity Cruises en Belgique et
au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg.
‘UNIQUELY UNORDINARY’ DINING VENUE DEBUTS ON CELEBRITY ECLIPSE
MIAMI – February 24, 2010 – The world’s top-rated restaurants are often showplaces
for art and design, and beginning April 26, in-the-know food followers can experience
a new venue whose cuisine is an engaging combination of both. But they won’t find it
through MapQuest, and their GPS will find it tough to track, too…since it’s moving.
That’s because the new restaurant, “Qsine,” can be found only on Celebrity Eclipse,
the third of five ships in Celebrity Cruises’ stylish, $3.7-billion Solstice Class fleet.
The brainchild of Celebrity’s Vice President of Culinary Operations, Chef
Jacques Van Staden, Qsine presents guests with an unexpected, modern approach to
familiar dishes from around the world.
“Our guests love new and different dining experiences, and we’ve designed
Qsine to deliver that in a big way,” said Van Staden. “Qsine is designed to offer a
globally-influenced blend of nostalgic and contemporary favorites, artfully presented
with elements of surprise.”
Van Staden says Qsine also will further validate Celebrity’s leadership position
in offering world-class dining experiences, as evidenced in the brand’s stunningly
designed, guest-inspired Solstice Class specialty restaurants including Tuscan Grille,
Blu, Murano and Silk Harvest, not to mention the series of intimate venues on
Celebrity’s Millennium Class foursome.
Qsine’s menu design alone – a large, backlit square filled with words and
phrases designed to engage guests in the experience – implies that Qsine is an unusual
place. And the cuisine makes it abundantly clear, with most of the selections so
unique that nearly all of the dishes and plating have been designed exclusively for
Celebrity.
Among the selections are spring rolls nestled in vertical springs, “Sushi
Lollipops” (Nigiri sushi with soy center, wasabi mayonnaise and pickled ginger-radish
salad), “Meatball Trilogy” (Kobe beef with cheddar and marinara sauce; veal with
mushrooms and marsala sauce; and turkey with cranberry and sage gravy), “Chitinis”
(Chinese selections served in martini glasses), “Tresviche” (tiger shrimp and bay
scallops with lemon juice, tequila, cilantro, tomatoes and jalapeno oil), “Popcorn Fish
& Chips” (Boddington’s-battered codfish and chips served with malt vinegar or aioli),
“Slider Party” (mini-grilled Kobe beef patties with aged Wisconsin cheddar served on
brioche buns with “Qsine’s original slider sauce” and garnishes), “Taco Royale” (Black
Angus sirloin steak, homemade taco shells, caramelized onion-poblano, and do-ityourself fresh guacamole, with a stone mortar and pestle), and “Lava Crab” (Alaskan
King crab, sweet yellow corn and scallions with Hataifi and Old Bay sauce, served in
glasses over heated red stones).
Libations to accompany the cuisine range from approximately 100 varieties of
primarily organic, contemporary wines, to a vast array of creative cocktails.
And, for the first time on a Celebrity ship – just one week after announcing the
hip, new “Celebrity iLounge” – Celebrity has designed a means for guests to capitalize
on technology to easily review and order wines via the latest touch-screen devices.
Even the uniforms of the wait staff illustrate the venue’s unique nature.
Designed by Van Staden and custom-made exclusively for Celebrity, the jackets are
decidedly asymmetrical and sport square buttons, and are intended to illustrate that
the wait staff also are considered chefs, offering guests a highly interactive and
personalized dining experience.
Capping the Qsine experience is a series of desserts whose menu is as sweet
and surprising as its selections: A hinged, twistable cube presents options ranging from
candied apples to popcorn to individual cookie jars.
“Qsine is designed to surprise our guests with uniquely unordinary dishes,
innovative presentations and engaging experiences,” said Van Staden. “It’s designed to
allow them to share with each other, sample several different selections, and simply
experience both new and favorite foods in an entirely fun and unexpected way.”
Qsine will be open nightly on Celebrity Eclipse from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., for a
cover charge of $30 per person. There are no age restrictions for dining in Qsine, and
the dress code is smart casual and above.
Guests booked to sail on Celebrity Eclipse can plan their unique evening in
Qsine right now, by making dining reservations on the Celebrity web site, at
www.celebritycruises.com. Designed for cruisers who appreciate online options, the
Celebrity site offers Celebrity Select Dining, the industry’s first pre-cruise, day-by-day
flexible dining reservation system. The site also presents guests with the option to
book pre-cruise AquaSpa reservations, specialty dining reservations, shore excursion
bookings, and online documentation, or “e-docs.”
Celebrity Cruises is designed for discerning cruisers, with modern, sophisticated environments,
impeccable service, enriching and inspiring onboard programs, and world-class cuisine. The
ultimate in premium cruising, Celebrity sails in Alaska, California, Canada/New England,
Europe, the Pacific Coast, Panama Canal, South America, and year-round in the Caribbean and
the Galapagos Islands. Celebrity also offers immersive cruisetour experiences in Alaska,
Canada, Europe and South America. Celebrity’s mega-series of honors include being named the
top mega-ship line in Condé Nast Traveler’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards (November 2009).
Celebrity’s fleet currently consists of nine ships. Its $3.75-billion investment in building five
stylish Solstice Class ships between 2008-2012 represents the largest five-year investment in
premium cruising. For more information, call your travel agent, contact Cruise Connection or
visit www.celebritycruises.be.