Searcys Platinum Jubilee Menus

As we look ahead to the Platinum Jubilee this June, we also look back on Searcys history throughout The Queen’s seventy years of service to Britain and the Commonwealth. From Coronation dinners in 1953 to the first ball at St James’ Palace in over 500 years, we’ve been at the heart of regal festivities throughout the decades.

By the time Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne in 1953, Coronations were already something Searcys were accustomed to. We had been in the business for three of them, Edward VII, George V and George VI, to say nothing of Queen Victoria’s two jubilees – but the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953 was one of the busiest periods in our history.

For three nights and two days leading up to the day of the coronation, Searcys lorries were making their rounds of houses on the procession route delivering lunches, teas and cocktails for the numerous parties held to watch the great event. Every order was delivered on time, complete with cutlery, china, glass and linen, but the trouble began when the Hire Department tried to recover the equipment the next day.  The traffic congestion caused by the crowds who came to view the decorations was so great that it became virtually impossible to collect the large amount of equipment needed for the many celebratory lunches and dinners being mounted the day after. In the same year as the coronation, Searcys achieved a remarkable feat in hosting the first ball in St James Palace since the 1600s, pulling out all the stops to bring the historic ballroom back to life for one magical evening.

This year, for the 70th Anniversary of the Coronation, Searcys chefs have recreated a number of these quintessentially British dishes with a modern twist, available throughout summer at select Searcys restaurants. For starters, we’ve got British summer asparagus soup.  With crispy hen’s egg.. Paying tribute to tradition, mains include roasted rump of Herdwick lamb, served with Jersey Royal potatoes, broad beans and petit pois, smoked garlic and nettle pesto. Puddings and cakes have always been a hallmark of coronation and Jubilee street parties across the country. For the occasion, our chefs are offering a trio of white chocolate and peppermint Arctic roll, a caramelised pineapple upside-down cake and finally, Eton Mess Pavlova, which takes inspiration from Eton School in Windsor, served with strawberry and basil coulis, strawberry jelly and crystallised rose petals.