Holland America introduces new dinner theater concept

No one will ever claim again that dinnertime on Holland America is dull. The cruise line has announced that it will bring its “Signature Master Chef’s Dinner” to all of its ships by this fall. The dinner show has already debuted on the ms Volendam and the ms Amsterdam will feature the program as early as May.

What is this dinner, you ask? It’s a meal and a production show rolled into one. A several-course meal is served amid a waltz of napkins, vegetable and pepper grinder juggling, and a kickline finale. Costumed servers and dancers, as well as a band, perform as they deliver your food and while you eat. The dinner performance is the brainchild of Master Chef Rudi Sodamin, one of the hospitality industry’s most accomplished chefs who is known for bringing innovation to the dinner table.

Whether you find this kind of event highly enjoyable or incredibly cheesy will depend on your personality. Me, I like kitsch as long as the food is good, and with baked brie in phyllo dough and a bittersweet chocolate mousse on the menu, I’d be happy even if I were forced to wear a “sequined, full-length green ‘salad’ gown” as one of the singers does. And as Holland America is not known for campy touches, I would bet the wacky dinner is conducted with a touch of class and a whole lot of enthusiasm.