Ahlsmith's Aspirations

We cruised up the Garonne River early this morning and docked at Bordeaux, France at 08.00 hrs.  Before docking we worked-out in the ship’s fitness center for 45 minutes (yes, Beth I did my Pilates!) to attempt to offset the pounds we added during last night’s dining experience in Tuscana, one of M/S Regatta’s fine dining restaurants.

At 08.30 hrs we descended the gangway to  meet  Executive Chef, Mickael Tocchetto and Oceania‘s President, Bob Binder for a trip to Marché des Capucins, Bordeaux’s produce market to shop for tomorrow night’s dinner.

Shopping with a professional chef is a great experience and this shopping trip was heightened because Chef Mickael lived in Bordeaux until finishing culinary school.  We were in Chef Mickael’s ‘hood’ and it was fun to see his friends and other restaurant owners greet him as we walked through the market.

We bought amazing tomatoes, fresh beans, fingerling potatoes, skate, cray fish, lamb chops, and a variety of cheeses.  As we stopped at each stall in the market, Chef was creating our dinner menu based on the best produce available.  It was interesting to watch his approach to crafting dinner.  In a sense, he was like a painter with a blank canvas.  He made one pass through the entire market and made mental notes about what was available.  He then returned to the merchants’ stalls that best fit the menu that was forming in his mind, much like a painter selects palate colors to convert his vision into a painting.

After finishing shopping we ordered espresso in one of the market’s cafe’s and then took our purchases back to the ship for Chef and his team to begin working their magic.  Stay tuned for photos and a description of tomorrow night’s dinner.