Recreating Dinner Aboard the Titanic

 Last night marked our commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the maiden voyage of the Titanic.  In an effort to recreate and experience a bygone era of luxury and leisure, setting the scene and presenting a sense of occasion is just as important as recreating the fabulous foods served on board.  Our tables included a scrolled menu, gaily tied with a fresh sprig of rosemary, symbolic for remembrance.  Bowls of spiced pecans and sugar crystals along with fresh flowers graced the elaborately decorated tables.  Small dishes held the toppings for the scones, lemon curd, clotted cream, and sweet violet confiture.

A First Class Titanic Dinner might include nine courses.  Our simple fare started with Macedoine de Fruits, a fresh fruit cup marinated in a sweet mint sauce and topped with sugared almonds.

Following the first course, we served a Spring Pea Soup, Potage Saint-Germaine.  This light soup is made from a puree of fresh green peas, romaine lettuce, and fresh parsley and garnished with a burnet leaf.  The menus aboard the majestic liner were heavily influenced by the French cuisine.

Our third course featured Asparagus Salad with Champagne Saffron Vinaigrette.  The Titanic was noted to be one of the first ocean liners to make fine food a priority, including the best fresh food. Over 800 bundles of fresh asparagus were stored on board.  
A platter of Canapes included Roast pork with peach Conserve, Canapes a l'amiral (shrimp hor d-oeuvres), and Asperges printanieres (Spring Asparagus Sandwich) with Crystallized Grapes.


We served fresh from the oven Traditional English Cream Scones dusted with confectioners sugar and garnished with star fruit to be enjoyed with the clotted cream, lemon curd, and sweet violet confit.
No Edwardian meal was complete without a selection of sweets.  And our dessert course included Petit Choux a la Almond Creme and a Coconut Sandwich that is known to have been served in the Second Class dining hall.

"On the night of the wreck our dinner tables were a picture!  The huge bunches of grapes which topped the fruit baskets on every table were thrilling...I stayed at the table from soup to nuts."

 -Second-class passenger Kate Buss