Have you ever eaten a meal onboard that left such a delicious lasting impression you decided to re-create it at home? I am sure there are a fair few of us who have but less of us that would then admit it didn’t quite go to plan. Well to be honest not going to plan is an understatement, to say it failed miserably would be far more appropriate.

I am a very picky eater especially when it comes to red meat and seafood so I make my own ‘food’ life difficult from the get go when onboard and probably don’t try quite as many new things as I really should. When I do step out of my comfort zone though more often than not I end up falling in love with my new found dish. It takes a rather special meal though to then make me get into the kitchen back home.

I like to eat, simple as that and I get far more pleasure from eating than I do cooking. It’s not that I can’t cook because I can (some things) I just don’t want too. I don’t get any pleasure from it what so ever and end up getting stressed because I can’t seem to juggle several things at once when there is an oven involved.

On my most recent cruise I fell in love with one particular prawn dish that I went back for several times. It has only been in the last several months I have developed an undying need for tiger prawns (not the little fiddly ones you can hardly see) and I just can’t get enough of them. It’s now bordering on some kind of very weird addiction but I tell myself its ok because at least it’s a healthy one.

The dish in question was a starter dish and consisted of several tiger prawns sitting delicately in a delicious chilli and garlic buttery sauce, served with fresh rosemary bread. It really was to die for and I was surprised how much I even liked the bread. The restaurant manager joked with me one evening and said ‘please bear with me madam, I need to inform the fishmonger that we are going to need more prawns’ I just gave him ‘the look’ and carried on to my table. I could take the friendly banter on this occasion but only because I knew there were prawns involved.

When I returned home I actually did attempt (attempt being the key word here) to try and re-create the meal. Well, actually I attempted two prawn dishes, one sweet chilli with rice and the other as mentioned above.

The sweet chilli version came out wonderful and I have since discovered I prefer it with some spring onion added- result on that one! The garlic and chilli ones however, I am still WAY off and getting more and more frustrated with it by the week!

Because I can’t seem to get it right I have decided that it would be much easier if P&O Cruises could just GIVE ME THE RECEIPE!!! Now I don’t want be greedy! I don’t want the entire recipe I just want to know what the basis of the actual sauce is that the prawns are sitting in. I thought it was melted butter, tried that and no, it is either definitely not butter or I am not using the right one, at all.

All I want to do is make them and then eat them, is that honestly asking too much?! It’s between me and my wits so please, can someone tell me?! If you can’t tell me because it’s a guarded secret then I shall let you come and cook them for me instead, EVERY DAY, just because I’m nice like that.

The dish is served on the Marco Pierre White, Café Jardin evening menu onboard Oceana, just in case anyone was wondering or has inside information! Better yet if someone can actually put me in touch with Marco I shall forever be in your debt although, would he even tell me?! 😉

Author: Danielle