‘The one next door to the Hotel Australia was my choice’, recalled Margaret Fulton, doyenne of Australian cookery:
Crumbed cutlets and other crumbed foods such as croquettes were much in demand. Many students worked their way through university in the kitchens at Cahills, gaining some extra-curricular knowledge by learning the fine art of crumbing. These crisp and golden-coated dishes enclosing tender lamb cutlets, or creamy melting centres of minced chicken, beef, or lamb were set off with a sauce to suit the dish. Very classy. For dessert, the highlight for young and old was a banana split or an ice-cream sundae served in a pressed glass dish. They were topped with crunchy, toasted nuts, fresh fruit, and sauces to die for. Chocolate fudge and caramel or butterscotch sauces were first seen at Cahills. The caramel sauce became famous and was later sold in jars.
She is talking about Cahill’s Restaurants, a chain established by sister and brother Theresa and Reginald Cahill in Sydney. Beginning in 1933, by the end of the1960s there were 22 restaurants across Sydney city, North Sydney and Double Bay. They were a feature of Sydney dining until the mid-1980s
