Quiz: Food for thought
How good is your knowledge of popular restaurant dishes of 50 years ago?
1. What flamboyant dessert became wildly popular in upscale restaurants during the 1970s?
A) Tiramisu
B) Crème Brûlée
C) Baked Alaska
D) Banana Foster
2. Which classic dish, involving meat cooked in a hot broth at the table, gained popularity as a social dining experience in the 1970s?
A) Fondue Bourguignonne
B) Beef Stroganoff
C) Teriyaki
D) Pot-au-feu
3. What gelatin-based dish was often served in molds and featured vegetables, meats, or fruits in 1970s menus?
A) Jelly Surprise
B) Aspic
C) Trifle
D) Panna Cotta
4. What steak dish, frequently flambéed tableside, was a hallmark of fancy 1970s dining?
A) Filet Mignon
B) Steak Diane
C) Chateaubriand
D) Salisbury Steak
5. What French dish, made with thin pancakes and often flambéed with orange liqueur, became a showy dessert in many 1970s restaurants?
A) Mille-Feuille
B) Clafoutis
C) Crêpes Suzette
D) Galette des Rois
Answers below
Fun facts
Once the undisputed king of the American appetiser, the shrimp cocktail strutted onto the scene in the early-to-mid 20th century and absolutely owned the 1960s and 1970s. Served in a glass chalice with a ruffled lettuce leaf and a zesty cocktail sauce (usually a tangy mix of ketchup, horseradish and lemon juice), this dish practically screamed “classy dinner party.”
In Britain, the prawn cocktail version became the height of sophistication, thanks in part to chef Fanny Cradock. By the time the 1970s rolled around, no formal dinner in the UK, or indeed Australia, was complete without one. It was the edible equivalent of velvet wallpaper and a lava lamp.
Though it faded for a bit, the shrimp cocktail has had many nostalgic revivals — and, honestly, it’s too snappy to ever really disappear.
Answers
C) Baked Alaska
A) Fondue Bourguignonne
B) Aspic
B) Steak Diane
C) Crêpes Suzette
The Wrinkle is free to read, but if you like what I’m doing here, and/or
at Mister Brisbane and Radio Bert, you can choose to buy me a coffee.