Food & Dining in 1957

When Mayflower II set sail in 1957, she had no refrigeration, limited water supplies, and a small, temperamental stove for cooking. However, Walter Godfrey, the ship's cook, created a surprisingly diverse number of dishes for the crew, including porridge, eggs, bacon, and rolled oats for breakfast, various soups and baked vegetables for lunch, as well as fried fish, lobster salad, steak pie and other meals for dinner. Biscuits, beer, coffee, and tea were also present on the voyage as well. Many of the meats were preserved in salt, not unlike how food was preserved in the 17th century.

Click on the objects to learn about eating aboard Mayflower II in 1957!

Bath and A Steak

In a radio interview conducted on June 11, 1957 while Mayflower II was sailing across the Atlantic, Captain Alan Villers reported that the first two things he wanted when he reached shore were to "Have a damn good bath" and "Eat a steak. Well done for me, rare for the other fellows. With French fries." Villiers also reported a distain for bourbon, stating, "Bourbon? Never heard of that. What's that stuff? We got Scotch aboard here. It costs $1.10 a bottle. No tax."

In an interview conducted two days later on June 13, 1957, Villiers praised Walter Godfrey, the ship's cook, stating, "The food was the very best that I have ever had on a sailing vessel. We had an extremely able cook who has sailed around the Horn on several occasions."

Pilgrims Eating... Wheat Thins?

Nothing says "Pilgrim" quite like a bag of Wheat Thins, seen in the hand of this 2020 Mayflower II crew member on the left. Of course, for the 2020 sail, even though there was refrigeration available, non-perishable snacks like Wheat Thins, Doritos, Dunkin' Donuts (see photo above) and other chips and crackers were great energy boosters for a hard working and hungry crew. As for the costumes, while the crew wore modern clothing for the majority of the sail, they dressed in 17th-century style clothing for special events.