During the quiet of the middle of the night as the Queen Elizabeth 2 plows through the waters of some ocean somewhere in the world, some of the pastry crew, which total a dozen, are working in the kitchen creating truffles which will be presented to the passengers at dinner each evening. By Phyllis Barr

Every night, whether the QE2 is at sea or in port, waiters toting large trays aloft covered with white cloths offer the passengers a selection of freshly made petit fours, including truffles.  There are only two exceptions to the daily routine of truffle making—very rough seas and very hot weather, for even with the stabilizers and the air-conditioning, these pose problems even for the QE2’s seagoing masters of the delicate art of making exquisite chocolate truffles by hand.

All food service on the QE2 is overseen by Executive Chef Klaus Kremer, who has been on the QE2 for fourteen years. The chocolate duties are overseen by Pastry Chef Anne McCarthy, who studied pastry and candy in the United States and Ireland, including a stint at the International School of Confectionery Arts in Gaithersburg, MD under the direction of the renowned Ewald Notter.

During the course of a year, says Kremer, “we use about 3 tons of dark chocolate and about one-and-a-half tons of white chocolate. We use over 2,400 pounds of dark and 900 pounds of white for the World Cruise [which lasts just a little over 100 days—Ed.] alone.”

As in most pastry kitchens, the chocolate used on the QE2 is not actually manufactured onboard the ship, but is purchased from a distributor, in the case of the QE2 the source is the Albert Uster company an importer of Swiss-made products for pastry kitchens. Although the chocolate comes from Switzerland, it is made from beans that come from South Africa and the Caribbean, especially the island of Grenada. The pastry kitchen does, however, make its own marzipan (sweetened almond paste), one of the many different fillings used in the truffles. Every few nights batches of thousands of truffles are made, entirely by hand, some with alcohol and some without, some dark chocolate and some light, and some with nuts. The types of alcohol added include rum, brandy, and Bailey’s Irish Whisky. Fruit filling flavors include raspberry, strawberry, and orange.

“The truffles really haven’t changed since the first voyage in 1969,” noted Mr. Kremer, although they are slightly lighter and with less alcohol than the days of its first voyage. The truffles are sometimes accompanied on the tray by cookies and chocolate-dipped strawberries.

Passengers can ask for special orders as they can for other courses as well.

Ms. McCarthy noted that, “People eat more truffles at the start of a cruise or transatlantic voyage than at the end.” She also said that Americans prefer lighter chocolate and Europeans, darker chocolate as well as those with more alcohol.

Because of that, they make the truffles somewhat lighter with less alcohol because so many of the passengers are Americans. For those who are diabetic, they make special candies with chocolate that is also made in Switzerland.

All of the truffles are made by hand. The fillings are scooped out and “hand rolled in chocolate” and then decorated. (The ship does not have the equipment for making chocolate shells and filling them said Ms. McCarthy.) The truffles then set for about a day in the refrigerator [for the flavors to mature and meld—Ed.] before being served. If there are extra, they can be frozen.

The Pastry crew also makes all the pastries on board, both for the restaurants (there are six—the Queen’s Grill, Princess and Britannia Grills, the Caronia, the Mauritania, The Lido ), and for parties and special events. Having a birthday or anniversary? A cake is made to order. Having a private party? Then one can order special pastries as well. A few years ago, this writer had a party with the theme of asparagus, and for the first time, one of the pastry crew made marzipan asparagus! Passengers can also order special desserts at dinner, including souffles of various kinds with sauces, such as coffee souffle with chocolate sauce.

What do Mr. Kremer and Ms. McCarthy eat when they are not aboard the QE2? Mr. Kremer eats chocolates that are made in Switzerland, and Ms. McCarthy eats Dairy Milk chocolate that is made in Ireland. They have both tried typical American candy such as those given out on Halloween and enjoy them.

Passengers on the QE2, many of whom are well traveled and have been on other Cunard ships, and ships of other lines as well are impressed with the quality of chocolates served aboard.

Dr. Nelson Arnstein, who collects ship memorabilia and whose apartment in Long Beach, California overlooks the first Queen Mary, was on the QE2 for the fourth time.  He has been on other ships countless times and said those of other lines do not have the truffles. He said they “taste so good.” Dr. Arnstein noted that chocolate helps to “counteract” the effect of eating so much food which makes one sleepy! He tries a variety of them each evening and prefers white chocolate and bitter chocolate. At home, he eats very little chocolate and said that the brand doesn’t matter.

Bob Crimmins, who is from New Jersey, is a ship enthusiast who has traveled on the QE2 twelve times since 1983 and other ships as well. Crimmins said the “truffles are wonderful, wonderful, and they enhance the meal and add to the romance of a trip. I eat all kinds, but my favorite are dark chocolate with vanilla, raspberry or rum fillings.” They are “a nice touch,” he added.  He also enjoys the chocolate dipped strawberries, the candied ginger set out in dishes at the entrance to the restaurants, and the cookies with white chocolate in the Lido. Crimmins saves the chocolates—not made on the ship—which are put on the pillows each night, and gives them to the people in his office who have not had the opportunity to sail on QE2. At home, he eats chocolate ice cream and Tobler chocolate.

Rose Everett, a retired couturier who has traveled around the world on the QE2 many times, as well as dozens of other trips, always has truffles at the end of dinner Her favorite are light chocolate with fillings with liqueur. Although some of the other cruise lines she has traveled with offer chocolates, the QE2 “has more varieties than the others. I also enjoy the chocolates put on the pillow at bedtime.” At home in Manhattan, Ms. Everett eats Hershey’s and Milky Way, and brownies.

Marjorie Martin, Esq., an Administrative Law Judge in New York, does the transatlantic trips. Martin’s favorites are hazelnut and raspberry-filled truffles, and she likes milk chocolate. “I am a big chocolate eater,” she said, favoring at home Evelyn’s on John Street in Manhattan which makes its chocolates by hand At one point, she added, she was spending many dollars a month to buy chocolate on a store on Madison Avenue that no longer exists. She also eats Hershey and Snickers Bars.

Andrew Waud, originally from South Africa and now living in New York is a partner at a major accounting firm in New York. Waud said that he tried most of the truffles, preferring dark with rum. They are, he said, “most appropriate, but an indulgence we did not need, but could not resist.” When he was on Princess cruises with his wife, they did not serve them. At home he eats Cadbury’s “which we bring back from the UK or buy at UK stores over here.” His favorite flavor is Bourneville, which is the darkest. He does not like Hershey’s. “We [also] seem to hold on to Easter eggs too long—sometimes until the following Easter. In Lyon, France, a few yeard ago, we saw an article about the best chocolate in the world and walked miles in the rain to find it—Bernachon. We bought some home but still decided Cadbury’s was better.”

Margaret Webster, who is retired and lives on Long Island, was on her fourth QE2 trip but has accumulated over 300 days at sea on various ships and lines. She said that the chocolates “were a nice topping to dinner. I take mine to the cabin to eat later. They are a nice treat.” Her favorites are the ones with the soft center and she likes light milk chocolate. Ms. Webster has been on a Holland America Line (owned by Carnival as is the QE2) cruise, and there was a chocolate buffet with everything made with chocolat and chocolate sculptures. At home she eats Lindt.

As for me, I am allergic to chocolate! However, I must admit that I enjoyed looking at them as there are miniature works of art.

Phyllis Barr

Phyllis Barr is President of Corporate Culture Marketing(SM) at Barr Consulting Services. She can be reached at ladyhistory@earthlink.net or you can visit her web site, www.thehistorylady.com.

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Some Statistics about the QE2

Built by John Brown & Company, Ltd. of Scotland, the keel of the QE2 was laid in 1965 and launched in in 1967 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. It measures 963 feet in length and its breadth is 105 feet. The draught is 32 feet, 7 inches. Its first voyage was in 1969 when it traveled from Southampton to New York.

The ship has nine diesel-powered engines. Its regular speed is 28.5 knots (32.7 MPH). There are four flash evaporators that make fresh water from seawater for the running of the ship. It has two pairs of Denny Brown stabilizers capable of reducing rolling during rough seas by 60%.
The QE2 carries a crew of 980 and can carry 1750 passengers. There are 926 cabins, 1 bank, 9 bars, 1 casino, 6 restaurants, 10 shops, 2 jacuzzis, 2 swimming pools, 1 Synagogue, and 1 theatre.

For a typical six night transatlantic trip, the ships stores hold 2,850 packets of cereal, 75 pounds of caviar, 2,405 pounds of butter, 1,790 dozen eggs, 420 pounds of smoked salmon, 535 pounds of strawberries, 60 pounds of foie gras, 2,395 pounds of beef, 1,000 bottles of Champagne, and 1,850 bottles of wine.

[The statistical information on the ship was compiled from three brochures made available to passengers on the “life and times” of the ship, and other sources.]