The Last Dinner on the Titanic

It was the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic this weekend and the History Channel on DSTV dedicated several hours to documentaries about that tragic day for the past few weeks. Some historians and experts were trying to analyse and understand the wreckage to trace back the events that occurred between hitting the iceberg and the ship landing at the bottom of the ocean, while other shows were trying to finally put common misconceptions and conspiracy theories to bed. As it turns out, the sinking of the Titanic wasn’t as dramatic as James Cameron makes it out to be in his epic big screen version (which you are now also able to see in stunning 3D at Nu Metro and Ster Kinekor).

A few months ago, we had a feature on the blog asking about #yourlastmeal if you knew the world was to end tomorrow. We received many suggestions and placed them all onto our Pinterest page – have a look! While it may have been fun to plan our last meal, I doubt the passengers on the Titanic knew that the lunch & dinner they had on the 14th April 1912 would be their last.

Lunch Menu

The original lunch menu for the midday meal served on the 14th April 1912 was auctioned off for around $160,000. The menu belonged to Dr. Washington Dodge who was one of the 700 passengers that survived. It is regarded as one of the rarest pieces of Titanic memorabilia.

The menu offered up 40 choices including eggs Argenteuil, chicken, beef, grilled mutton chops, eight kinds of cheese, Norwegian anchovies, chicken a la Maryland, corned beef, vegetables, dumplings, and more. The third class passengers had a much different offering which was limited to bread & butter, potatoes, oats, corned beef and cabbage, currant buns, pickles and cheese, and peaches and rice.

The First-Class Dinner Menu

2 days ago, the Mount Nelson recreated a menu inspired by the last dinner on the Titanic with tickets costing R1,200 per person. The event sold out in 40 minutes! (Reference: Spill.co.za) I’ve added the original last dinner menu that was served in the first-class dining saloon of the R.M.S. Titanic below – I think it comes pretty close to the best #mylastmeal I can think of.

1st Course

Hors D’Oeuvres

Oysters

2nd Course

Consommé Olga

Cream of Barley

3rd Course

Poached Salmon with Mousseline Sauce, Cucumbers

4th Course

Filet Mignons Lili

Saute of Chicken, Lyonnaise

Vegetable Marrow Farci

5th Course

Lamb, Mint Sauce

Roast Duckling, Apple Sauce

Sirloin of Beef, Chateau Potatoes

Green Pea

Creamed Carrots

Boiled Rice

Parmentier & Boiled New Potatoes

6th Course

Punch Romaine

7th Course

Roast Squab & Cress

8th Course

Cold Asparagus Vinaigrette

9th Course

Pate de Foie Gras

Celery

10th Course

Waldorf Pudding

Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly

Chocolate & Vanilla Eclairs

French Ice Cream

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