1959 Great World Cruise
22 January Dinner Menu
By the late 1950s a regular pattern of Caronia cruises had been established. The menus offered on board had also settled into a pattern. A set minimum number of dishes under each heading would be maintained, without any loss in quality.
The menu on this page is the “Get Together” dinner at the start of the 1959 Great World Cruise. Needless to say, the Head Chef of the period would want to make an impression on this new complement of passengers!
One item on this menu, Roast Prime Ribs and Sirloin of Beef, gives us a clue. This would probably have been wheeled into the Balmoral Restaurant on a special trolley, manned by a Chef in his best “whites.”
The trolley was easily able to accommodate a whole side of roast beef. Built robustly of oak, it was fitted with a domed silver top, hinged so that it could rotate within the trolley itself. Heating was provided by charcoal embers, just like the heated bun-bins that were used at breakfast time. Of course, it was a Commis job afterwards to render the trolley to its spotless shiny self, ready for its next outing.
Also, a great deal of nonsense has been spoken about the “flowing” Caviar service on board Caronia, almost as if it was a “valueless” commodity. These tales are fanciful and don't reflect the care and attention that was properly paid. Find out how this was done, and with some style!
This menu is probably the epitome of the standard offered on board, at the height of Caronia's career. Considering that it's on board a ship at sea, many top-class establishments on shore at that time would be very hard-pressed to rival it!