Oxford are finally seeing sense

Original post by nulli tertius

Remarkably, the Principal of Somerville who has created all this fuss, is also a shopkeeper’s daughter.

She may be a shopkeeper's daughter but she knew what supplement.

Gone are the days, it seems, when a chef or organiser would take a view as to the likely tastes of his large audience and plump for a popular starter followed by chicken or fish.

Reply 22

OxFossil

Octopus terrine? Pah! How standards have slipped. The ne plus ultra of sophisticated dining - as any fule no - will always be

Prawn Cocktail
Chicken In A Basket
Black Forest Gateau

Reply 23

username1738683

12

She's a racial agitator, a commie and a hypocrite who shagged Corbyn but we don't really care about any of that. She wants everybody in the world to come and live here, that's a bit silly. Hates England and Maths.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 24

Isinglass

16

Original post by OxFossil

Octopus terrine? Pah! How standards have slipped. The ne plus ultra of sophisticated dining - as any fule no - will always be

Prawn Cocktail
Chicken In A Basket
Black Forest Gateau

Ooh, Chicken in a Basket...

Along with Scampi in a Basket, gastro pub dining, 1978 style😎.

Takes me right back, that does...

Reply 25

OP

Original post by OxFossil

Octopus terrine? Pah! How standards have slipped. The ne plus ultra of sophisticated dining - as any fule no - will always be

Prawn Cocktail
Chicken In A Basket
Black Forest Gateau

with lashings of warm Blue Nun

:drool:

Reply 26

OP

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d8/70/66/d87066db30d8a4b499318f534ea2384a.jpg

Original post by nulli tertius

We can have a bit of fun with Lady Royall’s inverse snobbery, but really, what were the catering staff thinking of?

Octopus terrine might have been okay for a dinner party, but not for a formal dinner for a couple of hundred strangers.

I arranged a large dinner in an Oxford college last year for a gathering with less diverse eating habits than 200 multinational teenagers and I wouldn’t have dreamed of choosing anything as bizarre as that.

If you look at the menus for the Queen’s state banquets they are fantastically elaborate and always in French but the food almost invariably comes down to steamed fish in a sauce followed by roast meat in a sauce with most of the creativity given over to the puddings. It’s safe; it’s predictable; most of the guests will eat it.

Over the course of a year of formal halls, it would be right to try out the less conventional but the Freshers’ dinner is the first sit down meal and usually compulsory. They should have been taking their cues from HMQ.

i cannot think of anyone in HM's circle who would wish to eat the cephalopod.... oh wait

:teehee:

Reply 27

Original post by the bear

with lashings of warm Blue Nun

:drool:

Are you sure you have the words of that sentence in the correct order?

Reply 28

OP

Original post by zhog

She's a racial agitator, a commie and a hypocrite who shagged Corbyn but we don't really care about any of that. She wants everybody in the world to come and live here, that's a bit silly. Hates England and Maths.

hmmm you may be confusing the Principal of Somerville

https://static.timesofisrael.com/jewishndev/uploads/2016/05/Janet-Royall-640x400.jpg

with this lady:

http://thesteepletimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Dastardly-Diane-Abbott-MP.jpg

:dontknow:

Reply 29

nulli tertius

21

Original post by OxFossil

Octopus terrine? Pah! How standards have slipped. The ne plus ultra of sophisticated dining - as any fule no - will always be

Prawn Cocktail
Chicken In A Basket
Black Forest Gateau

I'm sorry:-

Melon balls
Tournedos Rossini
Baked Alaska

There is an elderly restaurateur near us. The walls of the stairs to his restaurant are lined with national and international cooking awards from the 1970s. It is a small place and the prices are incredibly cheap for the quality of his cooking. The menu is several times as long as in most restaurants; all the food is cooked to order from real ingredients and served silver service. However the menu is totally rooted in the 1960s and 1970s. All of the above dishes are available though rather than chicken in a basket, it is chicken Maryland. I would like to link to the website but there is no website.

It was always a place for those of a certain age to dine, but noticeably in the last 3 or 4 years it has become a place for local students to take a hot date. So you have a 18/19 year old lad with his girl in a posh frock eating a proper meal and being served as in the Savoy. Most of all, there is no gang of mates also eating there to take the piss out of them. It is quite romantic really. The details must be being passed by word of mouth as there is no advertising.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 30

OxFossil

Original post by nulli tertius

I'm sorry:-

Melon balls
Tournedos Rossini
Baked Alaska

Duw, duw. Dai Twice tried them tornado things once. Said he'd rather have a bit of brem butter. Boy narf he is, mind. I told him not to be so twp, but there you are, Trevor thinks he's the bees knees, so they ont do nothing else but chicken in the basket up at the Con Club since.

Reply 31

Doones

21

Original post by OxFossil

Octopus terrine? Pah! How standards have slipped. The ne plus ultra of sophisticated dining - as any fule no - will always be

Prawn Cocktail
Chicken In A Basket
Black Forest Gateau

Back in the day I was pleased to get a wine goblet of fresh* orange juice as a starter.

*Freshly poured from the carton in the fridge, not freshly squeezed - obv...

Reply 32

OP

Original post by OxFossil

Duw, duw. Dai Twice tried them tornado things once. Said he'd rather have a bit of brem butter. Boy narf he is, mind. I told him not to be so twp, but there you are, Trevor thinks he's the bees knees, so they ont do nothing else but chicken in the basket up at the Con Club since.

there's lovely :h:

Reply 33

I see from this morning's paper that Lady Royall was due to debate this matter with Giles Coren on BBC radio's 'Today' programme this morning but called it off. The reason is explained thus:

All this I looked forward to discussing with Lady Royall until I got a call at 10pm on Friday to say the debate was off. Why? “Baroness Royall has withdrawn because the student who was upset about the terrine is upset about all the media attention.”

One wonders why people who know themselves to be so easily upset place themselves into the firing line over so trivial a matter.

Reply 34

nulli tertius

21

Original post by Good bloke

“Baroness Royall has withdrawn because the student who was upset about the terrine is upset about all the media attention.”

One wonders why people who know themselves to be so easily upset place themselves into the firing line over so trivial a matter.

With respect the student didn't put himself or herself in the firing line. She mentioned something to her college Principal, probably at end of term collections. There is no suggestion the student wanted it spreading more widely.

The Principal decided to mention it in her January blog. That was picked up by the press. Then all of a sudden the Principal is wanting to go on the Radio 4 today programme over it to debate with a professional humourist.

God help anyone who mentions the quality of the loo paper to the good Baroness.

Reply 35