Food is entertainment on Queen Elizabeth

This week we caught up with Mark and Nick Oldroyd, two Cunard, culinary experts. Mark and Nick joined the Cunard fleet as Demi Chefs de Partie on board Queen Elizabeth 2 over 20 years ago. Fast forward and now Mark is Executive Chef on board Queen Elizabeth, while his twin brother Nick is Corporate Executive Chef, dividing his time between the Fleet and our shoreside office.

On a recent day trip to Durdle Door in Dorset, while standing on top of the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, Nick had a perfect view of the many ships at anchor in Weymouth Bay, which is currently also home to Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria. While Nick was hiking up the cliffs, Mark and the Galley team were getting ready to serve lunch on board Queen Elizabeth.

Mark about food onboard
To make sure our crew start the day well we always have eggs or pancakes on the menu with a Filipino breakfast dish for our colleagues from the Philippines.

For Lunch and Dinner we have daily changing menus and our crew can chose from a European, Filipino or Vegetarian dish. In addition we will always feature a Chef’s Special. We make sure that everyone can have their healthy five-a-day, and we offer a large selection of salads. Desserts are freshly made and ice cream is also part of the daily menu for anyone with a sweet tooth.

Here are some photographs of colourful side dishes and desserts served to people who are in quarantine:

Special themed dinners like ‘Surf & Turf’ and ‘Pasta & Pizza’, as well as dishes like the Australian pies from our season Down Under, are also very popular and allow us to use food items that would otherwise go to waste.

Nick about life on land
Even though I’m on annual leave at the moment, I’m still continuously supporting the Guest Experience and People teams with rotations for all three ships.

Mark and I recently made Southampton our UK home so I’ve been busy exploring the New Forest and England’s South Coast, while also spending time with our family in North Yorkshire.

In October, after my leave, I’ll return to Queen Mary 2 and have already started planning for the menus, as well as the culinary treats the Galley teams will prepare for everyone across the fleet during the festive season.

Culinary video stars!

Many of you may actually recognise Mark and Nick from their promotional culinary videos which are posted on the Cunard Facebook page and to date have attracted over a hundred thousand views from all over the world. Nick started off the series with a very popular video about how to make Cunard’s Luxury Fruit Scones followed by his favourite Belgian Chocolate Orange Fallen Cake! Mark starred in equally entertaining and informative videos showing the world how to make perfect Bakewell Muffins and Bircher Muesli. More videos featuring Cunard’s culinary favourites will be featured from October.

Team work makes the dream work

Both Mark and Nick agree that above all, team work is most important, especially under the current difficult circumstances and while working in small teams. In order to make things happen you have to actively support your colleagues on the work floor and assist co-workers from other departments. For many, on board meal times have become the entertainment of the day. And after a hard day’s work it’s great to be able to share positive feedback with the team.

Next week we’ll be bringing you a day in the life of…Queen Victoria – so keep an eye out for that!