A Titanic meal
One hundred and one years ago — on April 14, 1912, to be precise — the passengers on the Titanic enjoyed a meal that was, unbeknownst to them, their last on that ship.
For 1581 of them, it was their final meal on this earth.
Mrs. Walter Douglas, a survivor and first-class passenger, recounted, “We dined the last night in the Ritz restaurant.
It was the last word in luxury.
The tables were gay with pink roses and white daisies, the women in their beautiful shimmering gowns of satin and silk, the men immaculate and well groomed, the stringed orchestra playing music from Puccini and Tchaikovsky.
The food was superb: caviar, lobster, quail from Egypt, plover’s eggs, and hothouse grapes and fresh peaches.
The night was cold and clear, the sea like glass.” (www.delish.com)
The Titanic’s actual dinner was an 11 course meal, each accompanied by a different wine:
First Course ~ Hors d'Oeuvre
Canapes a l'Amiral
Oysters a la Russe
Second Course ~ Soups
Consomme Olga
Cream of Barley Soup
Third Course ~ Fish
Poached Salmon With Mousseline Sauce
Fourth Course ~ 1st Entree
Filet Mignons Lili
Chicken Lyonnaise
Vegetable Marrow Farci
Fifth Course ~ 2nd Entree
Lamb With Mint Sauce
Calvados~Glazed Roast Duck with Applesauce
Roast Sirloin of Beef Forestiere
Chateau Potatoes
Minted Green Pea Timbales
Creamed Carrots
Sixth Course ~ Punch
Punch Romaine
Seventh Course ~ Roast
Roast Squab & Wilted Cress
Eighth Course ~ Salad
Asparagus Salad with Champagne Saffron Vinaigrette
Ninth Course ~ Cold Dish
Pate de Foie Gras
Tenth Course ~ Sweets
Waldorf Pudding
Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly
Chocolate Painted Eclairs with French Vanilla Cream
Eleventh Course ~ Dessert
Assorted Fresh Fruits and Cheeses
After Dinner
Coffee, Cigars, Port
The actual recipes are unknown, but Rick Archibald and Dana McCauley’s 1997 book, Last Dinner on the Titanic, contains meticulous research from the period and other White Star cruises.
For those too cheap to buy the book (like myself), the recipes are reproduced on the blog www.thedragonskitchen.com with easy to follow steps and photographs.
These recipes are so complex that even one choice from one course —– such as the chocolate éclairs with vanilla crème — look like an all day project.
The Titanic’s last dinner is the subject of many tribute dinner parties.
One such event is held annually at the Stafford’s Perry Hotel in Petoskey — this year on April 13. I happened to be staying at the hotel for depositions in the days prior.
The hotel really does this event right, although with a more modest five-course version.
Staff dresses in period pieces; a local historian makes a presentation; and artifacts from the actual luxury liner will be on display.
I thought of the last meal on the Titanic in contrast to the recent Carnival cruise stranded in the Gulf of Mexico, that inconvenienced its stranded passengers with meals such as onion sandwiches and “condiment” burgers.
Fortunately, these folks lived to tell the tale — unlike the lost souls on the Titanic — who are reverentially honored with the Stafford’s Perry annual dinner.
Wish I were here for that, and not another deposition!
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Nick Roumel is a principal with Nacht, Roumel, Salvatore, Blanchard, and Walker PC, a firm in Ann Arbor specializing in employment and civil right litigation. He also has many years of varied restaurant and catering experience, has taught Greek cooking classes, and writes a food/restaurant column for “Current” magazine in Ann Arbor.
