Breakfast at Sea: TSS California Menu Card, 1 June 1930 – From Smelts to Ox Kidney

Tourist Class Breakfast Menu Card on Board the TSS California of the Anchor Line for Sunday, 1 June 1930, Featuring Traditional Breakfast Choices and Sauté of Ox Kidney, Fried Smelts, and Kippered Herring. | GGA Image ID # 154c986ddc

🍽 Review & Summary – TSS California Breakfast (1 June 1930)

By 1930, the Anchor Line’s California was catering to Tourist or Second Class travelers, offering a menu that balanced traditional Scottish/British favorites with a few touches of variety for international palates. While not as extravagant as a Cunard First-Class spread, the menu shows care in selection—offering both light fruit and cereal options and hearty grill and fish dishes. Passengers could enjoy a wholesome breakfast that reflected both economy and satisfaction.

🍳 Featured Entrées of the Day

Two items stand out as the featured entrées likely emphasized by the kitchen:

Fried Smelts – A delicate white fish, lightly breaded and fried, providing a refined but approachable option for seagoing breakfast.

Sauté of Ox Kidney – A bold and traditional British dish, sautéed in a rich gravy or reduction, offering hearty sustenance and a distinctly European flavor profile.

These entrées illustrate the California’s effort to appeal to both adventurous eaters and those wanting a simple, dependable breakfast.

• Grape Fruit
• Oranges
• Apples
• Bananas
• Compote of Prunes
• Compote of Figs

• Oatmeal Porridge
• Cream of Wheat
• Kellogg's Bran
• Shredded Wheat
• Toasted Corn Flakes
• Grape Nuts
• Force

• Fried Smelts
• Kpppered Herring

To Order

• Eggs: Fried, Turned, Boiled, Poached or Scrambled

• Sauté of Ox Kidney
• Mashed and French Fried Potatoes

From The Grill

• American, Wiltshire, Ayrshire Pale and Smoked Bacon
• Pork Sausage

• Assorted Cold Meats

• Radishes
• Watercress
• Spring Onions

• Griddle Cakes, Maple or Golden Syrup
  
• White and Graham Rolls
• Toast
• Muffins
• Scones
• Wheaten and French Bread
• Marmalade

• Tea
• Coffee
• Cocoa
  
• Cadbury's Cup Chocolate

⭐ Special & Engaging Items

Kippered Herring – A smoked herring, strongly flavored, very popular in Britain but less common in American households. It added a maritime authenticity to the breakfast table.

Cadbury’s Cup Chocolate – A branded hot chocolate drink, reflecting the luxury of recognizable European food brands even in Tourist Class.

Griddle Cakes with Maple or Golden Syrup – A transatlantic nod: Americans expected maple syrup, while British passengers often preferred the lighter golden syrup.

📜 Unusual or Potentially Confusing Items for Americans (1930)

Force Cereal – A once-popular whole-wheat flake cereal brand, no longer in production today. In 1930, it was marketed as a “sunshine” breakfast food with catchy slogans.

Ox Kidney – While familiar in Britain, offal dishes were uncommon on American breakfast tables. A steward might explain it as “a savory meat dish, similar to beef but richer.”

Kippered Herring – Americans might have thought of herring as a pickled delicacy, not as a hot smoked breakfast fish.

🥐 Variety & Balance

The menu struck a practical balance:

Light & Refreshing – Fresh fruits (grapefruit, bananas, apples, compotes).

Hearty Staples – Eggs any style, bacon, sausage, cold meats.

British Touches – Smelts, kippers, ox kidney.

Comfort Sweets – Griddle cakes, scones, muffins, and marmalade.

Beverages – Tea, coffee, cocoa, and branded Cadbury’s chocolate.

This ensured that passengers of different nationalities—British, American, or Continental—could find something familiar and satisfying.

💡 Engaging Detail

What makes this 1930 menu particularly engaging is the blend of branded products (Force cereal, Kellogg’s Bran, Cadbury’s chocolate) with traditional fare like ox kidney and kippered herring. It shows how shipboard dining was both modern and nostalgic, reflecting changing tastes while preserving maritime culinary traditions.