3D chef gives diners the Edge

The lid’s been lifted on the premium dining venues guests can expect when Celebrity Edge launches in November – in one, an animated chef appears on the table, plating up a virtual meal.

Celebrity Cruises served a taster to whet appetites at a swanky preview in New York, unveiling a stable of 29 restaurants, cafes and bars. The Dinner on the Edge restaurant occupies the Magic Carpet, the remarkable moveable space cantilevered off the ship’s side.

Perhaps most intriguing is Le Grand Bistro, which projects Le Petit Chef, a 3D character no bigger than a salt shaker, who assembles a digital meal on the guest’s plate, previewing the actual food.

“We were looking for something really unique,” said Brian Abel, Celebrity’s vice-president of hotel operations. “We’re trying to be innovative with technology… to enhance the guest experience.”

The high-tech culinary experience joins Dinner on the Edge, the venue on the cantilevered Magic Carpet when positioned atop the ship, the multi-storey Eden restaurant and Eden Bar.

“The culinary pillar is really the first among equals,” said Richard D. Fain, CEO of Celebrity’s parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Rather than a main dining room, Celebrity Edge will have French, Italian, Greek/Mediterranean and American-themed venues, reflecting passengers increasingly choosing “select dining” in the restaurants reserved for those cabin classes.

“Guests seem to like smaller dining room experiences,” Abel said.

Alongside Beyond Eden, Le Grand Bistro and Dinner on the Edge are steakhouse, barbecue and seafood venues.

View Celebrity Edge Culinary Reveal video: