I’ve previously noted that ocean liner operations alleviated boredom by using any possible excuse for a party, and when there were no excuses, they had a party anyway. Each trans-Atlantic crossing on Canadian Pacific steamships had at least one gala dinner, with possibly more festive music than usual and opportunities for dancing. At a time when people normally dressed up for travel anyway, passengers were expected to dress up even fancier than other nights, with tuxedos if possible and at least suits and ties for the men and ball gowns for the women.

Click image to view and download a 2.5-MB PDF of this menu from the Chung collection.

This 1960 menu from the Chung collection has a die-cut front, so that the dark grey above the balloons and funnel is actually on page 3. The cover was painted by the mysterious Lendon, about whom I can find no information.

The menu itself is rather dull. The fish course is limited to halibut. The entrées include ham, turkey, and chili con carne. The salads include fruit and cottage cheese or lettuce and tomato. These aren’t the foods you serve to guests you want to impress.

Click image to download a 1.0-MB PDF of this menu.

Two years later, the gala dinner menu on CP’s newest ship, the Empress of Canada, was decorated with these robotic-looking people at what appears to be a medieval meal. This was apparently from a 19th-century lithograph that was based on a medieval miniature painting.

The menu is more impressive than the one from 1960. This one included ten appetizers and three soups, compared with five and two on the 1960 menu. The fish course was a choice between sole and trout. Entrées included calfs head, rock Cornish game hen, and heart of palm au gratin. A second set of entrées offered a choice between lamb chop, frog’s legs, or ham. A sorbet to cleanse the palette separated these courses from a roast duckling. There were eight different sweet desserts, followed by a savory dessert, compared with just four sweet and no savory on the 1960 menu.