Nothing but best at State banquet

Press, 25 February 1977, Page 1

Nothing but best at State banquet

Classical French delicac-* ies, imported Hawaiian pineapples, and prizewinning New Zealand wines will be on the menu for the State farewell banquet for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in Christchurch. The preparation for the banquet, which will be held at the Chateau Commodore hotel on Sunday, March 6, has been under way since November. A total of 320 gtiests, including State officials, will attend. It will be a Royal occasion, with good food, good wine — and no smoking. It is usual etiquette for smoking to be prohibited until after the toast to the Queen, but the banqueting manager of the Chateau Commodore, Mr K. Bussell, said that for this occasion it had been decided to ban smoking completely. The guest list for the banquet is being carefully guarded. The obvious State dignatories will be present but just who is sufficiently who in Christchurch to attend has not been announced. A spokesman for the Department of Internal Affairs said yesterday that it was “not policy to release the guest list at this stage.” She said that work had still to be done on the final details of the guest list, and would not comment on how local guests were selected. The French delicacy on the menu is the truffle, a small fungus which grows underground. Truffles are highly prized, and a tame pig is often used to sniff them out. The truffles will be served in the main course as part of the Tornedos Rossini, which is a fillet of beef served on a crouton topped with liver pate and the truffles, and served with

a Madeira sauce. The truffles were brought from Eng-* land some time ago by the executive chef at the hotel, Mr D. French. A saddle of lamb will be served as an alternative main course. Venison terrine and avocado vinaigrette will be served as appetisers, and the soup will be a consomme with chicken quinnelles. All these are classical dishes, and it is the dessert which has been secially created by Mr French for the banquiet. Three dozen pineapples will be flown in from Hawaii next week, and the flesh will be served with liqueur, accompanied by pistachio nut ice cream in chocolate cups. The dessert wnll be served on platters and will be surrounded by spun sugar. Coffee and pet . f iurs will follow the dessert. Montana Flor Fino sherry will be served at the beginning of the banquet, and this will be followed by the 1974 Montana Bernkaizler Reisling and the 1973 McWilliams Cabernet Sauvignon.

Mr Bussell first w’rote to the Department of Internal Aff-' s in November, offering the hotel’s sumptuous great hall as the venue. After various negotiations the offer was accepted, and since then hours of preparation have gone into t'.e banquet. Mr Bussell said the instructions were to keep the menu simple, and that there was to be no shellfish, because the Queen did not eat it, and no strawberries, because the Duke did not eat them. Mr Bussell will have a staff of 50 working at the tables to serve the food and ■wine. He and Mrs Jean

Cooper will serve the food at the head table, and the assistant catering manager, Mr T. Meade, will serve the wine.

Mr Bussell and Mr Meade will be in tails, and Mrs Cooper in a long black dress. Che rest of the staff will have new uniforms for the occasion. There will be strict security, and no staff will be allowed in or out without a pass. One of the many tasks to be completed for the banquet is the flower arangements. On the head table an arrangement of ivy, white lace gladioli, white carnations and cream roses will extend the entire length. There will be long arrangements at each of the 32 other tables. Mrs Shirley Clarkson and Mrs Joan Allan will spend two days preparing the flowers arrangements.