BUCKWHEAT CAKES

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 44, 20 August 1918, Page 9

BUCKWHEAT CAKES

FIRST TASTE BY KING AND QUEEN.

' King George and Queen Mary tasted American buckwheat, cakes for the first time on 25th June at the Eagle Hut of the American. Y.M.Q.A. The visit was a, surprise, made at the King's own suggestion. ■ Late in tile afternoon the secretary at the Eagle Hut received a telephone call. The official at the other end of the line said, in a matter-of-fact tone : "The King and Queen desire to call at the Eagle Hut, and will be there in a few minutes.

The secretary at first thought that somebody was trying to play a joke on him, but when he became convinced that the King and Queen were really coming, he stammered something about wanting time for preparation. The official explained that the visit was to be purely informal, and the King would prefer that no preparations of any kind be made, as he wanted to see the hut under ordinary working conditions. So no preparations of any kind were made. QUITE INFORMAL. The King and Queen soon afterward drove up and walked across a dirt court where five sailors from an American destroyer flotilla were playing catch with three British soldiers. The King and Queen climbed a dozen steep steps and stepped into the big entrance hall, which was crowded with American, Canadian, and British soldiers and Bailors, some eating and others playing billiards or writing letters. The King explained to the secretary that he had heard so much about the Eagle Hut "that he was determined not to go another day without seeing it.

"Our boys are sly, and you' have good things to eat," he said, smiling towards the tables Were a row of Americans 5 were devouring sandwiches and pancakes. ) "What is the most distinctive American dish you have here?" he asked. "I want to sample it." ■ ; The V.M.C.A. secretary did not have to think a minute before he answered :

"Buckwheat cakes is the best thing we have got."

FIRST IMPRESSIONS GOOD

' The King and Queen sat down at an oilcloth-covered table beside a group of khaki-clad American aviators and a few bluejackets from an American battleship. They each ate a plate of buckwheat cakes hot from the griddle, with a generous covering of genuine maple syrnp. Both finished their portions, politely refused a second helping, but declared themselves unanimously in favour of the adoption of buckwheat cakes into the British national menu.

After going through the Eagle Hut, examining the equipment, dormitories, and kitchens, the King and Queen proceeded uptown and paid a visit to the new Washington Inn, the hostelry erected for American officers by the V.M.C.A. in St. James-square. Here they insepcted all parts of the building, which is a remarkable architectural achievement, in that it was built in a tree-covered square without disturbing a single tree. This was one of the provisions made when the square was granted for the use of the V.M.C.A.

Both the King and Quean were greatly interested in the manner in which the architect avoided the trees, several of which,,however, have been built right into the building.' The Royal couple chatted for some time with a number of Army and Navy officers who. happened to bo in the building. '