Food, glorious food on M/V Corinthian cruise

Today, let’s talk about food. Always a popular part of cruising, dining on the Grand Circle Cruise Line’s M/V Corinthian is pure pleasure.

The day starts with early riser breakfast from 6:30 to 7 a.m. I’ve never gone to that so can’t give a first-person description but have heard it is coffee, juice, pastries and fruit. A coffee station gives passengers around-the-clock access to coffee, tea and hot chocolate.

Passengers had requested a 24-hour coffee station so Grand Circle obliged. The coffee station is located near the lounge bar in the main gathering area.

Breakfast is usually served 7 to 8:30 a.m. and is buffet style. That I can write about because it is a wonderful way to start the day. The buffet has so many choices with olives, cheese, ham, smoked salmon, sliced tomatoes, yogurt, dry cereal, hot oats, gravy, potatoes, scrambled eggs, bacon, bread, pastries, pancakes, juice and fruit of all kinds.

Each breakfast has specials on the buffet like blueberry pancakes this morning and Eggs Benedict on Sunday. We can also order eggs and omelets cooked to order.

Lunch is from 1 to 2 p.m. with a huge buffet plus a pasta bar with different pasta and toppings prepared before our eyes every day. Today fusilli pasta is featured in tomato sauce with bacon, onions and herbs.

Also on today’s lunch buffet is a choice of Consomme Celestine (beef consume with thin sliced pancakes and vegetables) or banana yogurt fruit flip. For entrees, it is breaded chicken breast or grilled fish filet or Scottish traditional beef pie. Remember this cruise is highlighting the British Isles and Ireland so many of our dining choices are, too.

Thank goodness, the printed menu describes these dishes because I don’t know some of them.

The lunch buffet also has a huge salad bar, sandwich (today it is grilled tuna sandwich) and side dishes like today’s herbed rice, crispy fried potatoes and sweet corn.

The dessert buffet is homemade chocolate layer cake, Tipsy Laird Scottish Trifle, sliced fresh fruits or an ice cream station with toppings.

A nice thing about both breakfast and lunch buffets is that we serve ourselves so if there is something we would like just a tiny taste to try, we can do that.

Dinner is served sit down at 7 pm. Tonight we started with an appetizer of English minced duck salad, plus a hot appetizer of sautéed prawns and crispy potatoes on leek julienne and lobster sauce. For a palate cleanser, we had black currant sherbet with yogurt frappe.

Entrée choices were grilled veal loin with green beans and onion pie, plus Potato William and Madeira glace. Or grilled black grouper with pumpkin rice, baby carrots and avocado salsa.

The vegetarian choice was baked eggplant parmigiana served with steamed potato. Pasta choice was tortellini stuffed with gorgonzola.

Dessert was crème brule with fresh fruits or chocolate cake and mixed berry parfait or a fresh fruit plate or a cheese plate. That was a tough choice because I love them all. Went with the crème brule.

Wine, beer and soft drinks are complimentary for lunch and dinner and throughout the day in the bar. As I wrote before, the M/V Corinthian crew place a printed copy in our cabins of the next day’s lunch and dinner choices plus some other little tidbits of information including the wine that will be served at dinner that night.

Tonight the wine was a choice of Hatari Shiraz from South Africa or Hatari Chardonnay from South Africa. Last night we had a choice of Casa de Camp from Chile or La Palma Sauvignon Blanc from Chile. A red and a white wine are always offered.

Dining at all meals is open seating and most of us seem to be moving around and dining with different companions. Most tables seat six and there are only 79 of us on this cruise so it is easy to become acquainted.

Chef Vasile and his crew are very talented in the food they prepare and the presentations. Look at some of the food photos I took to accompany this blog. The food tastes as good as it looks.

If you weren’t hungry when you began reading this and looking at the photos, I imagine you might be craving some munchies by now. Looking at the food and menu sheet is making me think it’s a good thing dinner is about ready.

Photos by Jackie Sheckler Finch