Saturday, October 10 - Caelis!

 I'm doing this trip because I did a very similar trip last October.  Then, I celebrated my birthday a few days early with a tasting menu lunch at the Michelin star restaurant Caelis.  It was magnificent and after I booked this cruise, I made reservations to do it again.

Here are some photos!  Once again, Blogger chose not to paste them in the order they were placed.  My apologies!

Ok, this place is amazing.  And, pricey.  But, OMG, worth it.  When I arrived and gave the hostess my name she said "Welcome back - we're so glad you returned."  And then sat me in the same seat I had last year, which was at a counter, facing the open kitchen.  Yes, I felt very important.

They don't actually use this charger.  But makes an impression.

A charcoal grill which they used for the rockfish they made for me.

They use a lot of copper pots.  That's a lot of cleaning.

Somebody has to polish those.  And, they're used, not just for decoration.

I got the Earth and Sea Menu - which left me stuffed, but not uncomfortably so.  Each amuse bouche was one bite.

And, we begin.  I received the first three together and was told it worked best to start with the one on the right and move left.

This is my favorite bite.  It is a big part of why I came back.  The vermouth bombon.  Crispy on the outside and filled with a vermouth-based liquid.  Romain Fornell, the chef said I could stop by one morning and could watch them make them.  If I had another day in Barcelona I'd do it.  Perhaps next year?

The pate en croute - one of the most traditional bites.  And, delicious.

The Comte cheese sandwich.  Another perfect bit.  Two thin, crispy crackers filled with a creamy, savory cheese that was almost mousse textured.

Another shot of the vermouth bombon.

More appetizer bites!

First was the squid souffle bread.  One bite which surprised me when I popped it in my mouth.  Imagine a very thin layer of bread surrounding a squid mixture.  Trust me, it tasted better than what I've described.  And, as with most of the dishes, the texture was delightful - both crispy and creamy.

Then came the brown crab and crispy corn.  Another creamy and crispy bite that made me close my eyes.  I hope my moans did not disturb my fellow diners.  By this point, I was ready to ask the chef to run off with me.  But realized he doesn't speak English and given my Spanish, I'd likely just ask him to go running with me which would NOT be desirable.  For either of us.

The beetroot meringue and anchovy.  A surprising and delicious bite.  Chef Fornell came over to check on me a few times and I asked how he got his ideas for dishes like this. He said he thinks of flavor combinations that he enjoys and then how to make them in unusual ways.  I'd say a beet meringue qualifies as unusual.  And, another crispy/creamy combo that really worked.

The salmon tartlet and herring roe was one of my favorites.  I don't know what the red gelatin layer

 is made of but the whole bite was another creamy/crispy punch of flavor.

This is out of sequence but it's the Italian sous chef grilling my rockfish over charcoal.

Another one out of sequence.  If WIFI on the ship allows I'll try to figure out why it won't let me move the photos.  Anyway, this is one of Caelis signature dishes, the macaroon with lobster and fois gras.  It arrived with parmesan foam on a dish with holes in it.

A close-up of the lobster dish.  I understand why it is a signature dish.  It is lobster stuffed in pastry tubes.  I wish I had the knowledge to provide more info on this amazing dish that caused more moaning on my part.  I did not taste any fois gras but thought perhaps I'd missed it.  I was focused on the lobster and truly amazing sauce.

When the waiter first brought the dish, he told me he'd have a surprise for me later.  (Insert your own jokes here).  This was it.  All that delicious lobster sauce in the plate with holes?  It was sliding into a fois gras soup in the bowl below the lobster.  I am now a fan of fois gras and lobster soup.  I wonder if it's on Campbell's radar?

Between dishes, I had time to relax and watch the action in the kitchen.  This broiler/heater was used a lot and the level could be raised and lowered to provide more or less heat.  BTW, this wasn't a Gordon Ramsay kitchen by a long shot.  No yelling, no swearing but the chef was clearly in charge.

Note the organization in the kitchen?  There were no messes.  At the end of my meal my server was standing in the kitchen chatting with me when he knocked over a pitcher of water.  Someone had it wiped up in seconds.

The tuna with smoked eel.

I was surprised at the paper thin slice of toast under the tuna carpaccio but it added just the right texture to the dish.

Check out the knife cuts.  Tiny and perfectly even.  I want to learn how to sharpen a knife well enough to do that.

Between the appetizer bites and main courses came the bread(s) with three types of compound butter - tomato, ripe olive and basil.  

Sadly, I didn't even try these breads.  Too much other yummy food to fill up on carbs.

Even on my best day I'd struggle to eat four types of breads.  Then again, I love a challenge, lol.

I did try this croissant.  Which was still warm from the oven.

And so filled with air, it collapsed when I tore it open.  All the butters were delicious.

One dish, which I didn't have but was VERY popular, involved portabella mushrooms like the ones being sauteed here.  They went into a bowl with something that looked like tater tots although I'm sure it was something much more elegant.  Then, a soup was poured over the bowl.
What I found interesting was watching the sous deliver the mushrooms to Chef.  He started plating then decided the mushrooms weren't cooked properly and threw them away and asked for more.  

Chef spent most of his time at the pass (to his left), preparing dishes and tasting EVERYTHING that went out.  

See the sous to his right?  He was watching his potatoes getting tossed for being too salty.

Yup - popular with Michelin.

They even put a tiny bit of crushed coffee beans on the rim of the cup of cappucino.

The final dessert was Petit fours.  These are tiny.  The gold one was the best peanut butter cup I've ever eaten.   I'll still eat the ones from Trader Joes but now I'm spoiled.  The next item was lime flavored.  The one on the bottom right was third and a surprise.  It is a ball of chocolate on a cookie.  But when you bite it, the center is a thick liquid.  By then I was having a lively conversation with the guy next to me and can't remember the flavor.  The last item was a crispy shell filled with vanilla cream and topped with a vanilla mousse-like thing topped with a coffee flavored mixture.  My descriptions are clumsy.  These Petit fours were not.

Want to win my heart?  Serve me food like this.  

During one of our chats, the chef told me he'd lived in the Canary Islands.  I asked if he had any recommendations and he told me about this place.  I hope to try it when we dock in Tenerife.

This sous spoke fluent English and is originally from Italy.  This is his first Michelin restaurant.  He's lived/cooked in London, Italy, and a couple of other countries and is planning to move to Japan next.  Notice the giant vent in the background.  It was sucking up a lot of smoke and smells.

Another shot, with more of the brass pots.

This is a photo in the kitchen area of one of the signature dishes - it looks a bit different since this is entree size but it's the lobster and fois gras dish.

As I was finishing dessert, they were closing the kitchen until dinner.  

The next few photos are the coconut cream raspberry, beetroot and yuzu ice cream.  OMG.  That white log?  The texture was somewhere between cream cheese and mousse.  The flavor was mild and not too sweet.  Heaven.

Don't you often put beetroot foam on your desserts?  And tear up chunks of cake to toss on the plate?  Then top this filled treat with a flower petal?  Going to be hard to go back to Oreos when I go home.

So many delicious components.  Each bite a different combination of flavors.

This was the first real dessert - since I don't count cheese as a dessert.  It is red berry sauce, natural cherry sorbet and Iranian lime ice cream.  Topped with a very crispy shiso leaf.  Another winning combo with sweet, sour, tart and herbal flavors.

I really wanted to lick up all the juice but held back.

This guy in the suit is one of the servers.  He was serving the less important people seated at tables, lol.

Yeah, I always tournee my zucchini like this at home.  

Dessert started with cheese, half a nut (which was spicy/sweet and delicious) and two jams.

These are a copy of the famous recipe made famous by Joel Robuchon.  Just your standard recipe - 1/2 butter and 1/2 potatoes, whipped together.  Sinful and so good.  To make my cardiologist happy, I only ate half.

The last of the main plates was this Girona veal in Priorat vineyard ashes. Oh, my.  I was full and thought "I'll just have a taste".  Then I ate every bite.  The bitterness of the ashes was offset by the sweet vegetable mash and grilled onion.  I could happily drink the rich sauce by the glass.

The attention to detail is impressive.  They use 

tweezers a lot.  I only use tweezers on my chin. This is one of the apps.

And, the main courses began.  Tasting menu sized and each was delicious.  This is the charcoal grilled rockfish with vegetables and boullabaisse.  Please don't expect to see any turnips or zucchini cut this way at my house.  The skin of the fish was tasty and it was perfectly cooked.  Watching them cook, I noticed they use a lot more salt than I do but nothing tasted salty.