Tag: Celebrity Cruise Lines

Welcome Aboard:  Le Petit Dinners on the Celebrity Millennium

Friday, May 20, 2022

Our First Post-Covid Cruise

No, really, we are not Luddites!!! 

But strangely, we were not aware of the ever-increasing presence of projection mapping in advertising and entertainment.  We did not know one of the first displays of projections onto 3D objects debuted at Disneyland in 1969 with the opening of their Haunted Mansion attraction.  Nor did we attend the Stephen Sondheim Broadway production of Sunday in the Park with George in 1984 where projection mapping was used at the end of Act II in a special effects sequence.  In 1990, the concept of projection mapping was investigated academically at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by a team working on a project called “office of the future” aiming to project people into an office space as if they were really there!!!  Who knew?!?  Well, not us!!!

Obviously, we have been aware that buildings, fences, streets, and a myriad of other surfaces can be magically transformed for entertaining or advertising purposes.  We have seen the Sydney Opera House lit up for special occasions; and Cinderella’s Castle lit up at Disneyworld.  And it’s very likely that many of you have witnessed DJs accompanying their music with synced visuals.  But who knew this was projection mapping!!!

We did not. 

But now we do!!!  We were, in fact, enchanted with the Le Petit Chef aboard the Celebrity Millennium.  Friends had suggested we give it try.  After the first dinner, we gathered a group of friends and signed-up for another!!!  

Here’s a little background on Le Petit Chef:

In 2011, two friends (Antoon Verbeeck with a background in fine arts painting and Filip Sterckx with a background in both directing and animation film) joined forces and founded Skullmapping in Leuven, Belgium.  In response to a client’s query regarding a projection unto a tabletop for an upcoming event, Verbeeck and Sterckx came up with the concept of a small chef who cooks your dish on your plate.  The client went with a different plan; but the two artists were excited about their initial idea and chose to develop it further.  They produced a demo to show restaurants and events companies as they hoped to do one or two events using this idea.  They wound up overwhelmed with emails and phone calls!!!  Their program opened in restaurants all over the world.

And then there’s Celebrity Cruise Lines. 

In August 2021, Celebrity, well known for “fun yet classy” innovations joined with TableMation and Skullmapping to present Le Petit Chef aboard the Celebrity Edge. Today, it is available aboard several Celebrity ships.

Here are photos of Le Petit Chef aboard the Celebrity Millennium:

        

Aboard Celebrity Cruise Lines’ ship, Millennium, Qsine is the dining venue for the amazing Le Petit Chef dinners.
Have you heard of this 3D art form presented by TableMation Studios??? No?? Well, neither had we!!! However, this is an experience now available world-wide and was created by the wizards at Skullmapping in Belgium.
This is, in effect, an animated movie. The table and plates are, quite literally, the screen. The light fixtures hold the projectors.
The plates are positioned on the table to fit-in with the projection which will incorporate the entire table with the animation. Note, the flatware is postitioned away from the plate.
We were a group, so this was our table.
And the lights above the table contained the projectors.
This is what the table and plates look like when the animation is playing
You will watch the little chef build your meal.
He will “plate it” right before your eyes!!!
And then, whoosh!, your server will whip the “real thing” onto the plate so you can dig into this wonderful meal!!!
Every course begins with “the build.”
You watch the little guy create the dish.
And then there’s the “Ta-da” moment when the dish is completed.
Voila!!! The server quickly places the real thing before you!!!
Wanna see that again???
Dessert in th making.
And poof!!! there it is…ready to eat!
Our first Le Petit dinner included lobster. The litle chef caught it and prepared it.
And then our server brought the “real deal”!!!
Our second dinner served steak prepared by the little chef.
Did you notice the “real meal” is served directly atop the charger plate depicting the animation?
We had eagerly anticipated the meal.
And by the time dessert was served,…..
…..we could enthusiastically report, we were not disappointed!!
We do recommend this experience!!!! It was a lot of fun!

Actually, it was so much fun….

…..we will do it again later this year aboard the Celebrity Equinox!!!

You know you’ll hear all about it!!!