Sunday, we made our way to the cruise port and boarded the Scarlet Lady for Virgin Voyage’s French Daze and Ibiza Nights. Upon unpacking, we decided to explore the boat, so our first stop was the Galley. I beelined to the sushi station to devour a cucumber and avocado roll (my hungover stomach wasn’t brave enough to handle raw fish). We continued the afternoon of exploring (or, in my case, getting lost) before getting ready for our first dinner on the ship.
After donning our evening dresses, we made our way to the Test Kitchen to see what molecular gastronomy would blow us away that night. With a five-course tasting menu and drink pairings, I was ready for my taste buds to tingle! And that they did.
Each course was themed around a specific item: mushroom, egg, coffee, blue cheese, and chocolate. We began with the mushroom course, which was an intriguing mushroom mousse served with crostini. For an avid mushroom hater, the mousse was the perfect presentation. The typically chewy mushroom evolved into a light and fluffy, savory, salty foam, the perfect umami combination.
After that came the egg course—a cured yolk served upon a bed of peas topped with dainty dollops of caviar, which was then smoked. Again, served with crusty grilled bread, this was not my favorite course, but the creamy yolk with the pops of salty caviar was a luscious, yet light, dish. I think the peas could have been left out, but they did add a bit of texture to the dish.
The coffee dish was actually the meat course. With filet mignon or venison options, our group of four did two and two. The meats were coffee-crusted and seared before being topped with a coffee and cocoa sauce and a berry reduction. Overall, this may have been my least favorite dish. My steak was cooked a perfect medium, yet still slightly dry. Certainly not tough, but not the best cut of meat I’ve had. The berry reduction did wonders to light and brighten the dish, with the perfect balance of sweet and tart.
Next came the elusive blue cheese course. A traditionally stinky and unique flavor profile was elevated into a sweet and savory cream. A shocking statement is coming; this was my favorite course. I can’t quite articulate how this was both spot-on blue cheese flavor while being nothing like it. The cream was thick and unctuous and, dare I say, made my taste buds do the tango.
Lastly, we ended with a molten lava chocolate cake. It came atop a light and crispy crumbled wafer and was paired with a vanilla sponge crumbled on top. Typically, pairing cake with cake would be too much, but the light sponge texture balanced out the rich lava cake, and added to the crispy crumble beneath it was a delightful blend of textures and flavors.
Monday, we woke up ready to taste wine! Shocker, I know. But, when in Marseille, do as the French do and drink wine at 11 am. We left the boat and made our way over to the Domaine de La Font des Pères. We spent our day tasting a variety of Provençal wines. Our tasting guide was a typical Parisian, witty, sharp-tongued, and a lover of wine (much like myself). After a lovely day, we made it back to the boat in time for our next dinner reservation.
To wrap up our first full day at sea, we hit the Italian restaurant Extra Virgin. To start, I had an Aperol spritz, and we split a range of appetizers. My personal favorite was the crispy artichoke. It was served with a caper aioli and grilled lemons squeezed over the top. For entrees, I got the Spaghetti alla Vongolle (or little neck clam pasta), but we shared a myriad of dishes between us. While I preferred my order, the sea bass and gnocchi were both close runner-ups. We finished with affogato before heading to bed, ready to tackle the next day.
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