• Egon Ronay has been out eating egg'n'chips on Britain's
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glorious fleet of cross-Channel ferries. Lucky chap. The strange thing is, he has only just found out what any TIR driver could have told him many moons ago — don't bother.
"Ghastly, evil-tasting and disgusting," is Egon's erudite conclusion. My own verdict, after foolishly attempting breakfast on the Folkestone to Boulogne route not so long ago, was "aargh — get it away from me."
The ambience of the average ferry dining room does not impress Egon's 1989 PG Tips Just a bite guide either. "Filthy, smelly, depressing and crowded," with on-board staff described as "surly and unfriendly," it says.
Who dished up the worst fare? It was a close
run thing, it seems, but P&O's Viking Venturer treated its passengers to "cold, soggy, pasta, packet gravy and saturated, evil-tasting vegetables, served by unfriendly crew-members." Sally Line and Sealink do not have much to smirk about, either. Their food tasted "mass-produced, over-cooked and unappetising." P&O's Nordic Line ferries were "only just passable".
The only ferry company worthy of praise, during Egon's Channel-tasting session earlier this summer, was Brittany Ferries which offered the foodies "freshly-baked croissants, richly-flavoured Irish stew and prime cheeses."
Good, eh? The Hawk suggests you drop a line to Egon and his chums and offer them a regular update on whether or not your cross-Channel fare fares worse or better following his investigations.