The Mystery of the Disappearing Roast Beef……… well almost!

You know how I love my food, I make no secret of it! So just before we headed off on our recent Fred Olsen cruise a colleague said to me that on Balmoral there is always roast beef on a Sunday in the Ballindalloch restaurant and it was not to be missed. Now I do love a goodly roast, in fact, Sunday isn’t Sunday without a roast dinner. Call me old-fashioned but I cook a roast every Sunday, come rain or shine, it is just something I do and something I enjoy very much. So you can imagine how much I was looking forward to having a roast dinner that somebody else had cooked for me.

On the Sunday morning, once we were back on board after our rib adventure, a few people mentioned the roast beef too – it is obviously a well know thing but I must admit I hadn’t heard about it before. Anyway, having missed breakfast we were queuing outside the Ballindalloch at 12 noon sharp, salivating in the extreme! While we were waiting we perused the menu for lunch and evening meal, no mention of beef, in fact, one of the main courses that evening was a roast turkey. What?

When we were seated, we looked at the menu, no roast beef. There are two self-service counters in Ballindalloch, a thorough search of each turned up nothing, no sign of beef at all. My disappointment knew no bounds. How so ever, I was hungry so I ordered a bowl of soup, we both helped ourselves to a plate of salad with various niceties and a goodly dressing, and then had some sort of sliced gammon with veg. All in all a handsome lunch, but not roast beef. Having eaten more than enough to sink a small cruise ship, we were just about to leave the restaurant when I grabbed a passing waiter (not literally) and asked about the mysterious disappearance of the roast beef, “It’s over there” he said, pointing to the far corner of the restaurant, and there it was, tucked away, almost hidden in a corner – roast beef, well done or medium, Yorkshire’s, roast potatoes, veg and a splendid beef gravy!!! Just for future reference, as you walk into the Ballindaloch you will find the beef on the left-hand side just behind the self-service counter.

Well, dilemma! What to do? I had come for roast beef and roast beef I was going to have! I positively waddled out of that restaurant and needless to say, an afternoon nap followed – I was too stuffed to do anything other than lying on my bed. Four courses, even by my reckoning, is well over the top.

Was it worth it? Oh yes, the roast was magnificent I can assure you! Next time, I will be in the know!

As always, the food on Balmoral did not disappoint. Yes there were a few random starters and deserts, and I did notice a lack of traditional British deserts, but on the whole, as good as ever.

For now, happy cruising folks! To chat about cruising, or roast dinners, just give me a call on 0800 408 6084 🙂