7/28/2019 Senior Chef Report ID 31 May 2008

1/4

SENIOR EXECUTIVE CHEF REPORT, INDEPENDENCE OF THE SEAS 31 MAY 2008

Ship: Independence of the Seas

From: Marco MarramaSenior Executive Chef

Date: 31 May 2008

Supporting Operation

I would like to thank Hotel Director, the Executive Chef Ivo Jahn and his entire galley teamalong with the F&B Directors Joao Mendonca and Errol Saldanha, Restaurant OperationManager Ivelin Hristov and Inventory Manager David Adams for their support and cooperationduring my stay on board the Independence of the Seas.

Galley Operation

The opening of Independence has been very successful with no major issues from Galley side.The most difficult task to accomplish was to make sure all areas of the Galley were prepared to

step in revenue cruises menus, as the inaugural season was very short compared to previousones for the same class of ships. The galley had to work hard, as most of Galley Chef deParties had mostly worked on a 7 days run out of Miami and were not familiar at all with other menus needed on a 10, 11 and 14 days run. The same applies to Windjammer Caf and Jadewere new cycle menus have been introduced. I am happy to say that both Windjammer lunchand Jade lunch menu for 14 days run master cook recipes have been completed and picturestaken, so there is a reference in place for Galley Management and crew to use file to meet andmaintain Company standards. UK Caf Promenade sandwich cycle has also been introduced

by Corporate Baker Robert Heindl.

The predominant English demographic onboard since first revenue cruise has shown

consumption and food trends completely different from what we have experienced in theCaribbean and unfortunately results are reflected in food cost, too high compared to forecasts, but a lot of effort is in place by Executive Chef Ivo to monitor and reduce it as much as possible. The good ratings so far achieved clearly show that if standards are well in place andquality and consistency become the focus, there is no need to change anything at all from whatwe currently do.

Galley Management

7/28/2019 Senior Chef Report ID 31 May 2008

2/4

Galley Management continuous effort in managing galley staff and monitoring production isgoing to be the major factor for a successful season in Europe.In several occasions when certain products might not be available or food production is

becoming too heavy, shortcuts can be seen and rectifying mistakes is a must before they become new standards in place. Mistakes so far found and rectified are mostly related to a no-

communication in place from Chef de Partie side to Galley Management. Galley Managementcan not police stations heads 24 hours a day, but a both way and dynamic communication hasto come in place to reduce waste of time and effort from all sides of operations. Until GalleyManagement is not fully confident in the strength of certain areas like sauce and vegetablestation extra supervision is a must.

Dining Room Service

An increase in overall dining room ratings clearly shows that commitment by dining room staff to meet and exceed guest expectations. The area, where focus has to come in place, is inregards to AVOs related to food allergies. In several occasions, I had to step in and changefood prepared, as AVO description did not reflect what guests really needed. As Head Waitersare in charge of AVOs, it is crucial menu knowledge and I have no hesitation in asking aGalley Manager to see the guests for these specific cases, as a simple negligence might resultin serious illness an a definite poor in ratings. I am extremely happy of the handling of Indianguests onboard. Menu need to be provided to the guest the night before, so they are madeaware of what is available including Jain food, but this is all the guests are going to get. Theseare the standards and this is what we serve. I spoke with F&B Director to ensure Indian flyersare in the room on Embarkation, so guests are aware of what is going on and it stops right atthe beginning of the cruise all these AVOs for Indian food, as Indian guests are never happywith it. Executive Chef on the other hand will have to ensure on a daily basis that Galleycomplies with Gold Anchor Standards Indian food items.Food knowledge and training is also a must. Too many waiters and some Head waiters are stillstruggling with menu knowledge ingredients and English guests are so picky and have nomercy when it comes to complain, so the capacity to eliminate or limit guest chance tocomplain is a must.I have also spoken to Restaurant Manager Ivelin regarding crew food. Too many waitersconsume guest food and this trend has to stop. Ivelin is trying his best to stop waiters takingfood on the line for later consumption, but still too many staff is violating Company policy,which if not rectified will also results in Culinary Review non compliance.

WindjammerWindjammer Caf is the busiest venue on the ship and guests love it. They also prefer to gofor dinner regardless if it is a formal night or not like, certainly completely different trend fromthe Caribbean. 700 to 800 guests seems an average number for Casual dinner. There isdefinitely a higher consumption in Carvings, meats, vegetables and especially for desserts, wellreflected in a higher food cost. The Jain food has been fully implemented and as it is availableto all guests and people do eat it, a full time cook has been allocated for this duty, which meansalso when the ship will be back in the States, that extra par will have to be kept.

7/28/2019 Senior Chef Report ID 31 May 2008

3/4

Galley SpecialistsGalley Specialist needs to focus on even plates and plate covers distribution among decks. Toomany times I have found waiters not using 9 inches plate covers and then I found too manycovers in the dish wash area. Same applies for 9 inches plates and shell plates. A better

distribution needs to come in place and monitor china breakage.Inventory

There have been a lot of lessons learnt on the 4, 10 and 11 days runs regarding food trends andfood consumptions. I had a meeting on the last day of the cruise with both F&B Directors,Executive Chef and Inventory Manager. I have asked the Inventory Manager to provide a costcomparison between what it is consumed on a Freedom class ship out of Miami andIndependence and difference of prices paid for all fruit, vegetable and dairy products. Davidassured me that he is ahead of the game and that such report will soon be compiled. In order toensure store keepers are well aware of the product changes, control better the food boxes andtake count of stock on hand, I do recommend an extra 2 par level store keepers inProvision area for the European season , certainly the current one extra par is not sufficient.Inventory Manager is also faced for instance with issues related to cheeses: he orders somevarieties and new ones are instead delivered, which creates confusion also on Galley side onwhat to order and not. Executive Chef Ivo is on a daily basis in the stores to check what isavailable and what needs to be used to avoid spoilage. The next 14 days cruise should be ableto cover all runs that ship does and to have enough data on hand to control product onboard

based on guests consumption. It is crucial that ship continues to monitor food cost and on theother hand to maintain standards so far achieved.Royal Caribbean has invested a lot of money on this European season and to take shortcuts tomake food cost, I do not think that it is the Company goal. The Inventory report onconsumption and cost differences will be able to identify and highlight differences in cost andconsumptions.

Portofino and Chops GrilleI spent 2 full days in both venues last cruise to ensure standards were in place. I found toomany non-compliances to be rectified, which show the need to have one Windjammer SousChef to spend one full day from preparation to service, generally a port one, in each venue andto ensure standards are met and exceeded. This is the only way standards can be maintained.Portofino has a limited number in Rosenthal pasta bowls. They have been ordered, but it willtake sometime to receive them. At least a total of 60 skewers are needed in Portofino at alltimes.

PastryCorporate Chef Robert Mead just left few days ago and provided a full report on pastryoperations.

CONCLUSION

7/28/2019 Senior Chef Report ID 31 May 2008

4/4