Last Dinner On the Titanic by Rick Archbold

Most of the dishes, and the ingredients in them, would be recognizable to the modern diner, though there are a few anomalies. “It’s much more than just about the food, it’s about the social customs of the time,” says Rick Archbold, a historian and the co-author of “The Discovery of the Titanic” and “Last Dinner on the Titanic: Menus and Recipes from the Great Liner.” The latter came out in 1997, the same year the blockbuster film hit multiplexes, igniting Titanic mania around the globe and inspiring countless re-creations of the final meal around the world.

While the Titanic is often thought of in terms of Hollywood romances or deep-sea discoveries, considering the culinary life aboard the doomed ship offers unique insight into the tragedy and the lavish lifestyle it epitomized. Over several hours, a flurry of servers fetched 11 courses, such as lamb with mint sauce, roast duckling with applesauce and an entire course at the end of the meal dedicated to cold asparagus - a delicacy at the time. The kitchen facilities were state-of-the-art for the time, with electric mixers and separate refrigerators for each type of perishable aboard the ship, from 800 bundles of fresh asparagus to 1,221 quarts of oysters. MORE: NYC CHEFS COOK UP MEALS INSPIRED BY TITANIC’S LAST FIRST-CLASS SUPPER John Jacob Astor, then 47, and his pregnant 18-year-old second wife, Madeleine Benjamin Guggenheim and Isidor Straus, one of the founders of Macy’s. The “clear skies and low temperatures outside gave women passengers an opportunity to get out their latest Parisian gowns, their brilliant jewels,” one first-class passenger recalled.Īmong the hundreds of VIPs assembled in the expansive first-class dining room were millionaire Col. on April 14, 1912, a bugler summoned the passengers to dress for dinner, a meal that would range from raw oysters to pâté de foie gras. As a five-piece orchestra played in the background and waiters presented course after decadent course on silver platters, the first-class passengers of the RMS Titanic were oblivious to the tragedy that would soon follow.Īt 6 p.m.

Last Dinner On the Titanic by Rick Archbold