What Do the Beatles Like to Eat? (1964)

 

What Do the Beatles Like to Eat?

By Clemintine Paddleford

New York Herald-Tribune

September 4, 1964

They say cornflakes and Peter, 27 years with the Delmonico Hotel and head of room service, couldn't understand that queer order. It was four o'clock in the afternoon, who would want cornflakes? Certainly not the raving up Beatle boys. 

    What else did they order? Peter was confused, "Eggs, I think. But they speak a foreign language." He did know they ordered Carr's water biscuits. The kitchen conferred, and it was decided the Beatles wanted a platter of hors d'oeuvres to serve with Carr's water biscuits. A beautiful, tremendous tray was arranged with all the wonderful things one can afford with an income running into the millions a year.

     There was a foie gras from Strasburg, caviar from Iran, smoked salmon from Scotland, Maine's fine lobster,  and eggs a la Russe, of course. Chef Richez who only speaks French, gave the tray an approved nod. He was pleased. Everyone was pleased, but not the troubadours. 

    The tray came back. The Beatles wanted cornflakes, four individual packages each, two quarts of orange juice, one dozen three-minute cooked eggs, no toast but Carr's water biscuits, not coffee, but pots and pots of tea. Four o'clock is breakfast time in the Beatle world. They are night birds and sleep during the day.

     It was the exact moment when the Beatles' breakfast trays were coming down the service elevator that John L Webber, the banquet manager, discovered eight  teenagers hiding nearby, ready to make a raid on the dishes. Imagine owning an egg cup into which a Beatle had dipped a spoon. Guards intercepted.

     John Francis Isard, General Manager of the Delmonio, said, "It's simply uncanny the way those kids know what's going up or coming down." At the moment, he feels there is some extra-sensory perception at work. "How did those screaming youngsters know the Beatles ertr having breakfast at four o'clock?" It's the same amazing direct communication the singers on the stage make with the audience.

     The press conference followed breakfast, and two hours later, the boys were on their way to the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium. They carried along a jar of Bovril, which is a strong British beef extract, which needs only boiling water to reconstitute into a throat-soothing, nerve-easing drink good for anything, for anybody. This is the drink of the Beatles before public appearances. 

    It was here in New York City, on their last visit, that The Beatles discovered the wonders of the Jewish delicatessen. They mean corned beef, pastrami, roast beef, tongue, chopped liver, smoked sturgeon, and Jewish salami. The platter gets garnishments of jumbo olives, dill pickles, pickled peppers, coleslaw, potato salad, tomatoes, and lettuce. There are cheeses, too.

     When it comes to serious eating, The Beatles favor beef above everything else. They laud our noble roast beef, all crisp and crackly in its brown succulents. Broiled, three inch steaks are divine and a novelty. England is no longer an island of beef, flesh surrounded by a warm Gulf Stream of gravy.

     Ringo claims, "I'm hung up on hamburgers." He likes them thick, crisp on the outside, juicy and pink inside. All four of them are mad about Hero sandwiches. Paul McCartney has a yen for grilled cheese sandwiches. John Lennon and George Harrison usually wait until someone else orders, then say, "I'll have that too."

    Crisps they enjoy with soft drinks, usually Cola. No wine, no 'arf and 'arf, no alcohol, and they never order sweets.

     The Beatles have yet to eat in an American restaurant. They dine in their suite, so their eating experiences are entirely big hotel. Certain things have been brought in for trials, such as Hero sandwiches. Everywhere they go, menus are studied carefully, but usually they stick to what they know, beef or the greatest Jewish delicatessen.

     At the Delmonico, they immediately spotted Beef Wellington, which is listed daily on the cold buffet. The lads marveled. They didn't know it was made outside England. "And beef and kidney pie is that too known in the United States?"

     That classic English team of fish and chips, they haven't had here, and are dubious in the first place. They explain, "we don't like your fish". They should go to some of our top fish restaurants. These fellows know little about good food. They have had no opportunity in their short fling into the world to develop special tastes. 

    We ask what home foods they miss most when away from home. "Nothing" was the answer. They just enjoy what the day brings. That may seem a jaded attitude. It is not. It is in the spirit of taking life in both hands and enjoying the best of it.