ROYAL LUNCH

In memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

ROYAL LUNCH

The Grand Hotel Europe, opened in 1875, is the oldest luxury hotel in St. Petersburg, located in the heart of the city.

The building of the hotel with a splendid Neo-Baroque façade, designed by the architect Ludwig Fontana, is an architectural monument . The famous stained-glass panel "Apollo on a chariot", a stained-glass ceiling, elegant wooden carvings in the Art Nouveau style adorn the restaurant "Europe” .

During its long history, the hotel has hosted guests from all over the world . Between these walls, Emperor Nicholas II honoured the Prince of Siam, Tchaikovsky had his dinner, Sir Elton John gave a concert and Whitney Houston sang . The highly qualified staff of the hotel restaurant also contributed to the worthy reception of Her Majesty Elizabeth II in St . Petersburg .

Dmitry Zakharchenko, manager of restaurant “Europe”, was honoured to serve the royal couple at the Mariinsky Palace . Today, a hotel employee who has served here for more than thirty years shares his memories of this event .

HISTORY

In October 1994, the first and only official visit to Russia by Her Majesty Elizabeth II took place . The Queen of Great Britain did not pass St . Petersburg without visiting . In the northern capital of the Russian Federation, Queen Elizabeth II arrived from Moscow by plane, and she had to leave for her homeland on the Britannia yacht, by sea, as the protocol for the monarch of the largest maritime power prescribes . The program of the two-day visit for the Queen and her husband included excursions to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Hermitage and the Mariinsky Theatre . On the afternoon of October 20, a solemn reception was also given in honour of the Queen on behalf of the mayor at the Mariinsky Palace – the building of the St . Petersburg Parliament . A solid team of the Grand Hotel Europe was involved in organising a banquet of such a high level .

PREPARATION

Organising a reception of this level is a great honour and a great responsibility . Preparations at the Grand Hotel Europe began six months in advance, and employees of all levels were involved in the process .

Tailcoats were specially sewn for the service team, which were required to serve the reception with the participation of the Queen . The general manager of the hotel flew to London to buy Taylor's Vintage Port, which, as it turned out, the Queen was especially fond of . The head of the hotel's housekeeping service, a Scot by origin, assisted the Queen during the reception: from opening the doors to serving towels . To organise the reception, the hotel team brought everything to the palace – from tables and chairs to stoves and knives .

MENU

According to the protocol, Her Majesty can make an official visit to another state only once, all subsequent trips are considered ordinary travel . This fact was taken into account when creating the lunch menu: during her first visit to St . Petersburg, the Queen had to be offered all the best dishes of Russian cuisine . So, the list included a dish consisting of five miniatures of traditional

snacks: pancake with caviar, aspic “zalivnoe”, sturgeon with horseradish, capital “stolichniy” salad and beef tongue . For dessert, a special treat was created – the Golden Autumn dessert – a marzipan apple stuffed with apple mousse . Lunch was opened with borscht a la St . Petersburg with smoked ribs, and the main course was salmon and sea bass kulebyaka with red caviar sauce .

ACCORDING TO THE PROTOCOL

Lunch in honour of the Queen for 75 people at the Mariinsky Palace was organised on behalf of Anatoly Sobchak, the mayor of St . Petersburg . At protocol events, everything is foreseen in advance and takes place according to established rules . However, there were some funny moments .

The queen's favourite port wine was found and specially brought to St . Petersburg for this event . But the unexpected happened – her husband Prince Philip refused drinks from the wine list and asked for beer . It is not usually served at banquets of this level . An employee was sent for beer to the nearest shop .

According to the protocol, guests can start eating only after the Queen picks up a knife and fork and brings the first piece to her mouth . The same applies to the end of the meal – you need to finish eating at the same moment when the Queen does . However, the guests from the Russian side did not know about this nuance of etiquette and continued to wield devices, not paying atten-

tion to the actions of the Queen . Some of them had to be delicately told that Queen Elizabeth II had already finished her meal .

BOOK OF THE GUESTS OF HONOUR

Distinguished guests from the UK highly appreciated the Russian cuisine, service and atmosphere of the reception .

After lunch, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip left their autographs in the guest book of the Grand Hotel Europe .

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Ekaterina Kudryashova, photo from the Grand Hotel Europe archive