Having seen the beautiful creations the Regent chefs make from fruits and vegetables, we were truly excited when the daily "Passages" (aka, schedule) listed "Fruit & Vegetable Carving Demonstration"! We were there early just to get a good seat for the show. When we arrived, there were two tables of plain looking fruits and vegetables laid out. Note the melon with the head of cabbage on top of it just to the right of center.
Vivienne (Social Hostess) introduces Jose (pronounced Joe-z) who starts the show by making a beautiful onion flower. He cut just the outer layers, stuck a skewer in the bottom and spun the onion between hands. Centrifugal force spun the "petals" out!
Jose adds the flower to the beautiful "floral" bouquet that Charlie is creating. Using regular leaf lettuce or any "frilly" lettuce, skewered to the melon and head of cabbage, Charlie has added the base for the arrangement.
Now, Charlie is demonstrating how to make a flower head from turnips. Half a turnip is used as the base. Thin slices of turnip are then rolled and skewered into the base. It ends up looking very similar to a lotus flower. Vivienne asked Charlie how many scars he had on his hand. He held his left hand out and said "Not too many, this is my second hand!"
Meanwhile back on the left, Jose is making a zoo of whimsical animals!
Now he's working on a fifth animal. What will it be? The biggest thing we learned is it's not magic that holds these creations together, it is skewers! Now, I have some thoughts on how I can use all those skewers we have at home!
And, lo and behold, the "Energizer Bunny", well, Jose's represention of it, joins the fold! Notice that Jose is carving on a large white radish behind the menagerie.
And, that turns into a beautiful white bird with a carrot beak and grape eyes. It beautifully sets off the floral arrangement.
A look at the finished product!
While Jose was working on the animals, Charlie was working on a watermelon Indian with a pineapple and olive headdress! Again, the secret in holding it all together is the skewers! Maybe, if I say it enough times, I'll remember!
We had seen displays of this or greater magnitude before and had assumed they took hours and hours to create! NOT! In the hands of such talented chefs, the very sharp knives created all of this is just over half an hour!
And, then, it was lunch time! Then, after lunch, the carving and sculpting continues. Most of us at one time or another have seen an ice sculpture but, I would venture to say that few, if any, have actually seen one created! The afternoon demonstration was on ice sculpting… on the pool deck, 90°+ weather and a strong breeze!
Bringing the some 400lb block of ice up the stairs, dragging it with a huge pair of ice tongs. It reminded me of how we kept food cold back in the 40's!
The artist unpacks and lays out his tools.
The master at work! He worked quickly and the ice chards were blowing in the wind. Fortunately, they were blowing away from where we were standing! Mark, the Assistant Cruise Director, doing the "voice-over" cautioned us to be careful of them as they could be very sharp! Today, with the heat and the breeze, they were rounded by the time they got close to the people!
Hmmm! It is starting to look like an angelfish! Mark declined to tell us what it was going to be. He advised that one slip of the "scalpel", it could take on a different shape!
And, voila! The job is done and the master puts away his tools. An angelfish swimming in the seagrass is born! AND, it was done in about 15 minutes. Mark advised that indoors, this would last several hours as the starting block is frozen in a way (in a vacuum) that makes it more durable. However, out here in the sun and breeze, he said it would last 30-45 minutes. Did someone really ask "What do you do with it when it melts???"
Headed back to our room, we pass by the pool deck buffet and, lo and behold, the "artwork" from this morning's demo was the decorations!
The Indian...
… the bunny, et al!
A fun day! The rest of the day, and evening, should be fairly quiet! We plan to see "The Liar's Club" on stage in the theater this evening, perhaps have a few drinks and call it an evening! Land ho tomorrow! YEAH! We'll be in Darwin, Australia for a grand total of 5 hours! We've been sailing west with, as the captain said, "the pedal to the metal" however, the strong westerly winds are slowing us down.
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