WAR TIME MENUS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3030, 17 March 1917, Page 14

WAR TIME MENUS

HINTS TO LONDON DINERS. \

Two important orders come into fores simultaneously in Great Britain in January last: tho first, issued by the Board of Trado, limiting the number of courses that can be served at any "place of public eating" in tho United Kingdom; the second, issued by General Sir Francis Lloyd, limiting tho amount that may be paid for a meal in the London district by officers and men of His Majesty's Forces in uniform. Anyone who tried to obtain a three-course luncheon—say, fish, joint, and Bweets—was taught in the most practical way one of the lessons the nation has to learn in this third year of war. The waiter simply told him that to serve such a lunch ■would be against the law. Tho new regulations lay down the following limits:— Meals beginning between G p.m. and 0.30 p.m., three courses; meals beginning at any other time, two courses. The following were reckoned as courses: Pish, joint, and vegetables, poultry, or Rame and vegetables, pudding or sweets. But the following were only half-courses: Soup (unless containing solid meat), hors d'oeuvre (unless containing fish, meat, poultry, or game), simple dessert. Cheese was left out of account.

Thus meals composed as follows were allowable:

Lunch.—Soup (i), joint and vegetables (1), dessert (i), cheese (0). Dinner.—Hors d'oeurvre (J), fish (1), poultry and vegetables (1), cheese (0), dessert (J), or Pish U), joint and vegetables (1), sweets (1), cheese (0). If the letter of tho law were strictly followed a difficult problem might arise as to what constitutes a meal in a tea shop. It would also appear as though the man who orders a double portion of any one course slips through tho net. For sailors and soldiers (in uniform) there is the further Order regulating the amount that may be paid for a meal. The table of maximum prices is given below:— "Luncheon (whether table d'hote or a la carte), excluding liquors, but including table money and war-tax 3 G Tea 1 G 'Dinner (whether table d'hote or a la. carte), excluding liquors, but including table money and war-tax • 5 6 'Supper (whether table d'hote or a la carte), excluding liquors, ' but including table money and war-tax 3 6 PCoffee, with milk and sugar (but not cream), 6d. extra.] These military regulations do not apply at present outside • the Metropolitan Police area, each command district mak-