BlogCampOnBoard the MSC Preziosa - My First Impressions of Cruising

Cruising is just for old people, right? I've never been on a cruise ship before and imagined them as floating palaces full of old-age pensioners, playing bingo and dressing for dinner at the captain's table in their faded finery as they cruise around colonial-era Caribbean islands.

I had the opportunity to test and maybe challenge my assumption last week after being invited to spend the day on the MSC Preziosa, while it was in port in Southampton. An event for bloggers called Blog Camp on Board, run by Flea Enterprises, the company behind the Tots100 and Foodies100 indices and blogger communities.

The bloggers

I was expecting a fairly big ship but was amazed at my first glimpse of the MSC Preziosa - it was the size of several blocks of flats. There's a reception and drop-off area next to the ship, then boarding took a little while for security reasons, but as they called names alphabetically, I was in the first group to board and led the way up the steps onto the ship.

My first impression was of glitz and glamour - plush carpets, shining surfaces, wide corridors and big open spaces. In fact it was very easy to forget I was on board a ship as it reminded me more of a luxury hotel.

We were initially shown into the theatre, which can seat over 1,600 guests - though today there were only about 140 bloggers in the audience. We were given an overview of the kids' club offering by the Youth Activies Manager Mateo, with a little help from two of the ship's mascots. As I'm not a parent blogger - or a parent yet - I wasn't that interested in the children's facilities but it was impressive hearing that they have five different kids' clubs they have, divided by age, and some of the activities the children can get up to across the MSC cruise fleet - from cooking to mixing DJ sets and filming a web series called Kelly & Kloe - of which we saw a quick snippet. Children can also participate in activities where at the end of the cruise they take home a certificate stating they are junior ambassadors for Unicef.

Entertainment for the adults sounded fab - I know that cruises offer different shows and often have resident singers or cabaret acts, but did you know that MSC is the first cruise line to announce a partnership with Cirque du Soleil?

The spa area

The day was divided into different sessions for smaller groups of bloggers and my first stop was the spa where we watched a make-up demonstration. It would have been better if they had done more of a tutorial but the idea was to show one of the things that passengers can have done on board (though you pay extra). We only saw part of the spa but the whirlpools certainly looked nice.

The MSC Preziosa is huge, with 18 decks, 14 of which are accessible to passengers, carrying 4,345 passengers when at full capacity - which it was that day, so we weren't able to see inside any of the cabins. It also has 1,388 crew which makes for an awful lot of people on board, though today most of them seemed to have disembarked and gone into Southampton - shopping at Primark judging by most of the carrier bags I saw people carrying when they were coming back!



One of the cabins we didn't get to see - complete with MSC ad on the TV screen. Photo courtesy of MSC

So it was unsurprising that we couldn't take in the whole ship as part of our tour, but I got to see the outdoor pools on the top deck, the Doremi kids club, a crèche (or kids club for very young children), a casino, gym, the Safari lounge and one of the bars, and the focal point - a staircase where every step is inlaid with Swarovski crystals. It must be the most photographed point on the ship - the bloggers I was with all took time to stop and take pictures and I can just imagine guests using it as a backdrop when they are glammed up for the evening!

The pool deck

Swarovski crystal staircase

casino



Kids club - photo courtesy of MSC

We didn't get to see the children's Doremi castle, the 4D cinema, library, bowling alley or the art gallery or any of the shopping boutiques (there's even a duty free mini mall on board) so I indulged in checking out some photos and an online 360 degree tour afterwards.


Doremi castle - photo courtesy of MSC

Lunch

roast pork with some other bits and pieces!



the dessert bar

We were treated to lunch in the main restaurant (there are about eight restaurants on board I think) with a choice between a menu and a buffet. I went for the buffet as I think you can tell a lot about the quality of food when you are serving yourself from a buffet. The options today were roast pork (carved straight off the bone by a crew member), sweet and sour pork or fish, with roast potatoes and Brussels sprouts (a shame the only vegetables on offer were ones I hate!). There was also a selection of salads, breads, hams and cheeses and of course an awful lot of desserts to choose from!

The food was good - I chose the roast pork, and a trio of desserts (they were fairly small - though not that small!). Unfortunately I couldn't enjoy the wine on offer as I'm pregnant but a helpful waiter kept bringing me soft drinks, which I needed as I'd gotten a bit dehydrated from not drinking much during the morning and watching the make-up demo in the warm spa!

After lunch there were some events aimed at bloggers - I went to a session on food photography presented by Sandhya from Sandhya's Kitchen - and Sally, founder of Flea Enterprises, did a session on blogger metrics.

The day ended with a glass of bubbly or a non-alcoholic cocktail and a Q&A with MSC's UK Managing Director Antonio Paradiso, where he covered everything from the background of MSC to carbon emissions of its ships.

MSC Cruises is known as more of a European cruise company and has had a relatively small presence in the UK, but next year the MSC Magnifica will have Southampton as its home port. There are already plenty of departures from Southampton on both the Preziosa and the Magnifica but this should make it more appealing to UK passengers.


gym with sea view

They are even making the effort to target their cruises more at a British audience, down to details like putting a kettle in the cabins and partnering with Yorkshire Tea as their chosen brand of tea!

MSC has 13 ships at the moment and is getting ten more in the next nine years; they are particularly focused on families and children and interestingly, Antonio told us that cruise demographics are changing, but even across the industry the average age of a cruise passenger is 55 - on MSC Cruises it's 43.

Having spent the day on board and seen the sparkly modern facilities, the range of services for both adults and children - and by adults, I mean people like me, not just my grandparents' age - I'm impressed. I still don't know whether I'd actually book a holiday but there's no denying it's an efficient way to visit several cities and countries on one trip - but the day definitely dispelled some myths and misconceptions. And there wasn't a bingo hall in sight.

KitchenAid Cooking Demo with Michael Moore

KitchenAid are known for their luxury free-standing food mixers (I have one in pink) - what I didn't realise is that the brand actually offers everything from kettles and toasters to fridges, ovens and dishwashers! I was able to see some of their products in action recently when I was invited to a cooking demonstration with chef Michael Moore.

The event was held at the KitchenAid showroom in London's Wigmore Street - a mecca of stand mixers with a beautiful display of them in different colours across one wall, as well as a showcase of other products and a full kitchen layout downstairs.

Upstairs there is a long counter where chefs can cook and demonstrate on one side while guests sip their drinks and watch on the other. I was late to the event (thanks to someone on the tube ahead of mine having a medical emergency meaning the train I was on was stuck in a tunnel) so I missed seeing Michael marinade some prawns but I watched him cook them on a skillet and they tasted delicious. The black rice was something I've never come across before and it tasted delicious.

Sipping Tattinger champagne out of the most beautiful 'open up' flutes from Chef  & Sommelier adding to a fun evening.

After the demo finished I got to meet Michael and have a chat with him - he's an effervescent, larger-than-life character who is well regarded in the industry and gives the impression of loving life and getting great enjoyment from what he does.

 

Michael Moore started out at the Savoy then moved to the prestigious Georges V hotel in Paris and has worked all over the world, in countries including Germany (at the Four Seasons in Hamburg, at the time the top-rated hotel in Europe), Italy, the Maldives, USA and Barbados, where his mother is from. He also spent three years at the Dorchester in the UK and later opened his own restaurant in Marylebone, London, which is now closed.

Michael's newest project is going to be The London Cookhouse - at the moment the details are shrouded in secrecy but Michael has announced this will be "a centre for gastronomic experience under one roof that will combine and complement each other providing interest and hands-on experience to all, despite their culinary knowledge and experience." I can't wait to go there!



The KitchenAid showroom

 

 

Bring out the Branston - Barbecue Recipes with Pickle, Relish and Sauce

“Bring out the Branston” – the advertising slogan for Branston Pickle – is something I associate with cheese sandwiches, not barbecues. But the brand, which started life in 1922, is now known for more than just pickle and has a range of relishes and table sauces. By inviting a group of food and lifestyle bloggers to the London Barbecue School, they were able to showcase just what you can do with their products - and there wasn't a cheese and pickle sandwich in sight!

 

I've been to the London Barbecue School before; it's run by a very nice man named Alistair who is also the lead tutor at the School of Food. They specialise in using Kamado Joe barbecues, which are ceramic egg-shaped grills that gives you the ability to grill, smoke or sear; the grill itself is in two parts so can be used at different levels to create different heat zones.

 

Edward from Mizkan, the company that owns Branston Pickle, introduced himself and spoke a little about the brand, and then we were told about the recipes we would be cooking. We would be using Branston products in some of the recipes themselves, not just as accompaniments – and I learnt something straight away. Do you know the difference between a relish and a chutney? They often have similar ingredients, but a relish is made to go with hot food while a chutney is meant to go with cold food.

 

We organised ourselves into small groups and chose which recipe we wanted to do, from a choice of:
sticky pork chops
Tex-Mex chicken tacos
mushroom and grilled cheese burger
beer-braised brisket with blue cheese slaw

 

 

I decided I most liked the sound of the steak so my group began to prepare our ingredients.

We were given thin steaks rather than a large piece of brisket as that would have taken far too long to cook; the steaks had already been marinaded so all we needed to do was put them on the barbecue.

Meanwhile two of us got on with making the slaw – I am not normally a fan of coleslaw but thought this looked really good and it did taste great.

To serve, we placed the steak, some slaw, some little gem lettuce and some Branston in a tortilla and wrapped it up - delicious!

I saw people making the other recipes and they all looked very tasty; I would never have thought of using Branston to jazz up chicken tacos and as part of the recipe rather than an accompaniment.

I also cooked some burgers for the rest of the group, which went really well with the Branstons Rich and Smoky sauce; I really had no idea they had so many products beyond just pickle!
 

Hobbycraft Christmas in July new product launch

The Hobbycraft press show - another Christmas in July event - was much smaller than some of the others I've been to, but much more fun - as there were things to make and do.

In between admiring the Halloween and Christmas ranges, I had a chance to decorate a snowflake cookie with a Wilton piping set and also to decorate a Christmas tree bauble with some Swarovski plastic beads and some ribbon. What do you think?

Some Halloween craft ideas:

 

Hobbycraft has launched some new products with craft queen Kirstie Alsopp, who was at the event earlier in the day but unfortunately I missed her as I was only able to go along after work. They also announced a partnership with 'sewing expert and fashion designer' Patrick Grant (no, me neither) to launch a range of sewing products.

I was also pleased to see Hobbycraft is stocking Sugar & Crumbs flavoured icing; this is something I came across at Cake International a few years ago and have bought from their website a few times.

There were lots of ideas for Christmas card making; I love the idea of this hole punch with a little hanging cut out shape in the middle.

Outside was a pink bus run by Libby Rose, who runs sewing classes, workshops and events and can sometimes be found at Hobbycraft stores. Follow her on Twitter for updates as to where she will be next.

 

Libby was showing people how to make little zip pouches so I had a go. I've got a sewing machine but have barely used it and I can't remember how to thread it and get started. Luckily Libby had done all that so after I chose my fabric I cut around her template and then she showed me how to sew in a zip and sew up the sides to make this. It literally only took a few minutes but I really felt I had achieved something and definitely want to get started using my own sewing machine!

 

Since I can't really sew, I'm quite pleased with this!

 

Christmas in July: Asda press preview

I was invited to the launch of Asda's Christmas range - in July - and got a preview of some of the food and homewares they will be launching later this year. I thought I'd share with you some of the pictures I took and a few of my favourite items.



Unsurprisingly I was immediately drawn to the cakes and desserts and was particularly taken with this chocolate smash cake - a cake with a chocolate dome on top. The idea is that you smash the shell and find chocolates and gold stars inside - a bit like a piñata but in cake form. It's the Christmas pudding cake you can see at the front of this picture below.

This Opera cake decorated with shards of chocolate also looks very nice.

There were plenty of treats on display including a wide range of free-from and gluten-free products, including the gingerbread house below.

The party food range looked good; as well as bite sized canapes there was a giant three-tier pie which would make a great Boxing Day centrepiece. I believe the bottom is turkey, ham and apricot, the middle is stilton and cranberry and the top is game pie.

These canapes were very innovative - gammon served on edible pastry spoons:

I also got to have a look at the George at Asda clothes and gift range

 And it wouldn't be Christmas (even in July) without candy canes, chocolate coins and Santa!