Sunday 17 June 2007

The Cook's Tour


There are matchbooks and then there is the king of matchbooks.

No expense was spared in this example from the Captain Cook Floating Restaurant in Sydney.


The fish is embossed, the print is gold metallic ink and the inner sleeve features a large striker on the back with the matches themselves tipped with gold fleck. From the phone number, we estimate that this matchbook dates back to the mid-1970s.

Imagine cruising Sydney Harbour with a glass chablis in hand, having enjoyed a plateful of fine freshly, cooked seafood relaxing with a smoke as you peruse the dessert menu.

Of course you can't.

Such a thing seems unthinkable now. Finishing dinner and then lighting up for a smoke is now akin to picking your teeth with salad fork at the table. It's just not done.

And quite rightly too. Nothing ruins the delicate flavours of freshly cooked salmon than the overwhelming odor of burning tobacco from the neighbouring table. And yet that port and cigars goes hand in glove is a mystery for the ages.

While the Captain Cook pictured below may no longer exist, Captain Cook Cruises certainly does and they still do a dinner cruise around the Harbour City.

1 comment:

Jon Gemenis said...

Thanks for the memories. It was my father's restaurant.