Last Dinner on the Titanic Menus and Recipes from the Great Liner

by Rick Archbold and Dana McCauley

Book Overview

A cookbook designed to recreate the atmosphere of dining on the famous, doomed luxury liner serves up such recipes as Lobster Thermidor, Quail's Eggs in Aspic with Caviar, and Poached Salmon with Dilled Mousseline Sauce and Cucumber.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078686303X
• ISBN13: 9780786863037
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 1.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.1" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Go Down In Style

Congratulations! You're on your way to purchasing one of the best cookbooks around, a truly gourmet mix of history and culinary art second to none. First and foremost, "Last Dinner on the Titanic" is a cookbook, and an amazing one at that. The recipes recreated here are indeed taken straight from that fateful Atlantic crossing in April 1912. The recipies are (for the most part) thoughtfully and interestingly grouped by menu from the area of the ship in which they were served, e.g., the First Class Dining Room, the Parisian Cafe, the Third Class Dining Room, etc. Thus, you get a broad spectrum of foods of the time, or at least the Chef d' Cusine's interpretation of foods of the time. And what a spectrum it is. You can pick and choose from Tripe Stew to Filet Mignon Lili to Lobster Thermidor with Duchesse Potatoes to "American Ice Cream". Or, if you're up to it, try and take on the entire First Class Menu from the night the Titanic went down, with all 11 courses in all of their glory. I have now made several of the recipes from the book and they are (a) not too terribly difficult; and (b) extremely good. Don't get me wrong -- I'm sure making all of this on a ship in 1912 was extremely challenging; but for those of us at home in 2004, the modern conveniences (food processors especially) make these recipes a little easier to tackle. That's the great think about this book -- you can actually use it, although you will also be fascinated by the historical aspect as well. The Canapes L'Amiral and the Roast Sirloin Forestiere are partiuclarly good dishes. Second, and almost as good as the food itself, the authors do a tremendous job of weaving history into this cookbook. When I got this book, I almost read it cover to cover just because it is so darn interesting. The history is not stuffy like an old text book; rather, it is extremely vivid and interspersed with photos, drawings, and anecdotes both from passengers who survived and those who did not. So you not only get the food of the period, you get the "feel" of the period as well. The authors even give you a tailor-made plan for throwing a real Titanic party if you want, right down to what to wear and how to fold the napkins! I could go on and on about the great stuff you'll learn, but I'll just say as a final selling point that every person who has seen this book in my house picks it up, sits down, and leafs through most of the entire thing. Yes, it's really that compelling and interesting, even 95 years later. So grab it right now, and bon appetit and bon voyage!

Fascinating and full of surprises

One of the key surprises in this book is the fact that third-class passengers on the Titanic ate better than we do. A large color photograph on page 114 shows a water stained menu recovered from the body of a third-class passenger.It says that the third-class breakfast on the morning of April 12, 1912 was oatmeal porridge and milk, smoked herrings, jacket potatoes, tripe and onions, fresh something something (seawater has eaten away the print) and butter, marmalade and (illegible again) bread. Beverages were tea and coffee. Who eats a more nutritious breakfast now?Dinner in the third-class dining saloon was vegetable soup (made from scratch), roasted pork with sage and onions, green peas, boiled potatoes, plum pudding with sweet sauce, cabin biscuits and (a real delicacy for the time) oranges. When was the last time you had a plum pudding with sweet sauce or vegetable soup made from scratch? If it's been too long, you can make these and other things on the third-class dinner or tea menu, using recipes in this book.Titanic's third-class accommodations were clean and comfortable and its two dining saloons were white and well lit. They had to be. The Titanic expected to compete with many other ships for the trade of millions of immigrants bound for America. And that's where the White Star steamship line hoped to make its money, not from the flashier passengers in first- and second-class.Food in second-class was pretty grand, rather like a middle-class family's Sunday dinner when somebody important was expected to visit. A second-class menu for April 14, 1912 says that the first course was consomme with tapioca. Second course offered a choice from among baked haddock with sharp sauce, curried chicken and rice, lamb with mint sauce or roast turkey with savory cranberry sauce. Side dishes were turnip puree, green peas, boiled rice and boiled or roast potatoes. Turnip puree was delicious, actually, judging by its recipe. The dessert course in second class offered more choices than the third-class menu, but plum pudding and sweet sauce were there, just as in third-class.The book gives recipes for anything in these first, second and third courses which really needs a recipe. There is even a recipe for making a special second-class dessert delicacy: American Ice Cream. First-class meals were spectacular, and they were served in a variety of cafes, saloons, restaurants and reception rooms. You'd prefer the meals in first class to those in third- or second-class. You can trust me on this.And so, another pleasant surprise is that the book gives menus and recipes for a vast, complete first-class dinner which you can make for yourself and some especially fortunate friends. Plus, there's a two-page make-ahead chart. It tells how to divide your dinner-making chores into several groups, starting three days before dinner.

great for titanic dinner parties

excellent recipes for those willing to take the time.I cooked 5 of the first class entries all of which were very good,especially the beef barley soup.The third class pork roast also sounds like it has the ingredients to be something special.great book , great cook book.it really adds something when you have the dinner and watch the movie.

At 9PM you're eating the fish...

This is one of the best books I have ever bought! As a long time fan of the TITANIC and an amateur cook I could not resist this book; despite the tragic fact that the LAST DINNER ON THE TITANIC was literally the LAST meal of over 1,500 men women, and children. Despite that chilling touch, this is a wonderful book, and the food is fantastic! The book is lavishly illustrated, and I was a bit reluctant to take such a lovely book into the kitchen and risk a spill, although I'm very glad I did! The binding is such that it lies flat on my counter, and the pages don't turn themselves or snap shut 1/2 way through a recipie, (This is a VERY important feature in a cookbook!). Its type is a bit smaller than I like in a cookbook, but is still large and clear enough that I can read the recipies while cooking. The recipies themselves are some of the easiest to follow and most clearly written I have encountered. I really enjoyed cooking the Chicken Lyonnaise and the Lamb with Mint Sauce; and they came out sucessfuly the first time too! (If you knew my cooking ability that is quite a tribute to the recipie!) Most of the dishes also seem to be relatively "idiot proof" (perhaps because the White Star Chefs had to turn out several hundred servings of each during the course of the evening??) though there is plenty to challenge the more experienced chef's as well, such as Lobster Thermidor, and Minted Green Pea Timbales. I have been very happy with everything I have cooked from the book so far. Menus for Third, Second, and First Class (as well as the First Class Ala Carte Resturant) are all included, as are tips for hosting a TITANIC themed dinner party. The authors discuss the flowers and fruit baskets that seem to have been omnipresent (at least in first and second class), suggest wines to be served with each course, and even provide tips on what music to play at the party! (Suprisingly though the authors failed to mention the new RHINO CD from Ian Whitcomb and The White Star Orchestra "TITANIC: Music As Heard on the Fateful Voyage.") One of the best features of the book is the Make Ahead Chart for the 1st Class Menu. Thanks to this chart, a reasonably competent chef can bring virtually all of the dishes to an almost compleat state well before the dinner is due to start. This means you can cook most of the dinner in the morning and afternoon, take your lady friend to the movie in the early evening, and still be able to serve her an authentic (and reasonably compleat) TITANIC dinner for a late supper. (How's THAT for a romantic evening?) If there is a 2nd edition I would hope that the authors would include some of the other recipies that are mentioned on the surviving TITANIC menus (especially the "Swedish Bread" and other items from the breakfast menu). I would urge everyone interested in Cooking, the TITANIC, or romance to BUY THIS BOOK!

An Excellent record of a little known facet of the Disaster.

On April 14, 1912 Capt. Edward Smith attended a dinner party held in his honor in the Titanic's Ala Carte resturant. "Last Dinner on The Titanic" tells the story of that night fromn the Diner's point of view,using the menus and very tasty recipes eaten that cold night. The book also tells how to host the perfect Edwardian dinner party. Complete with Hundreds of pictures and Illusrations. This volume is an Excellent account a little known facet of life aboard the "Titanic" and in her era. It would make an excellent addition to any Titanic scholar or cooks Library.