Old seventies menu,when melons were gondolas

[ChrissyShenkle]

This was posted on my local Facebook from a hotel that's now closed
Hard to believe that fruit juice was a starter, and what the hell are eggs indienne?

Ooh, that takes me back.

I remember fruit juice as a starter, or it was served instead of sherry, which was always the pre-dinner drink.

off to Google eggs Indienne.

The glass would be on a little paper doily.

https://cookwithkathy.wordpress.com/2020/03/22/c03157/

yuk

I love old menus! Thank you for sharing.

I had usually had fruit juice as a starter when I was a child, in hotels in the 90s. In fact I went to a hotel in Scarborough in 2010 and they still had fruit juice as a starter. I found it rather charming.

Some good stuff on here:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/chat/5009463-why-was-a-glass-of-orange-juice-a-starter?

I think I remember the gondola, slice of melon with a cocktail stick and glacé cherry, like a wee sail

I worked in hotels in the 80s and the melon boat was served with a sprinkle of ground ginger. Didn't get it then, don't get it now.
The other yukky (imo) starter was grilled half grapefruit with brown sugar on top.

That takes me right back! I remember fruit juice as a starter, it was a real treat. I also remember half a grapefruit with a glacé cherry on top that you would sprinkle with sugar. Melon gondolas were basically a wedge of melon, also served with a glacé cherry and often sprinkled with ginger for a real taste of the exotic.

My favourite things were basket suppers - esp scampi and chips. That was a huge treat, something I’d get on holiday if I was lucky.

How was 'beefsteak mince' served I wonder? Was this an English steak hache?

I think that looks alright! Two pints of mayonnaise might be a bit ott though..

@Cuppachuchu Oh god yes the half a grapefruit. My mother always made a fuss about choosing that, she thought it was posh. And why the hell did they grill it???

it was tough being veggie in the 70s, and vegans had no chance.

Smoked salmon costs more than steak? Wow

We saw fruit juice as a starter on a menu in Jersey about five years ago.

I like the look of the eggs dish!

Berni Inn anyone? 😄

I went on a coach trip to a Best Western near York, year before last.

When we were an hour or so away, the coach driver said we had to choose our menu choices for that evening. We had a choice of three starters - soup, apple juice or orange juice!

That takes me right back!
I used to like the egg starters like egg mayonnaise and egg indienne (with mild curry flavoured mayonnaise). Coronation Chicken was a similar curry/mayonnaise dish of that era.

No sign of chorizo or chilli flakes on that menu!

My mother was very fond of throwing seventies dinner parties back in the day
One particular delight was half a tinned peach with a swirl of primula cheese in a tube, topped with half a walnut!

Yes please!

God I miss the 70s when food was plain and shit not wanky like nowadays.

Farmed salmon these days is much more common and has brought the price down.

My mum used to make delicious (more 80’s though I think) vol au vonts with chicken in some sort of white sauce. She used to make a tandoori marinade too that I’ve never been able to recreate. I suspect I’d have to trawl through ancient copies of good housekeeping to find the recipes

There were quite a lot of 70s recipes that involved a can of condensed soup...

She also did a pudding that she called soufflé piquita, I think she made it up
As far as I remember it was a sponge base, big dollop of ice cream in the middle surrounded by tinned pears, this was then covered in meringue and put in her chest freezer , taken out nearer the time and blow torched to within a inch of its life and almost taking out half the kitchen with it
Final flourish was chocolate sauce dribbled all over it

Yes! The Savoy in Nottingham.
Orange juice, prawn cocktail or soup to start
Rump steak, chips, peas and half a tomato for main
Ice cream, cheesecake, black forest gateau or cheese and biscuits for afters
And an Irish coffee with cream floating on top at the end. ❤️