• Egon Ronay has been out eating egg'n'chips on Britain's
Page 58

If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
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.