See every course of the R.M.S. Titanic’s final first-class dinner (meticulously recreated by a food blogger)

By Renée Suen | April 12, 2012

By Renée Suen | 04/12/2012

All aboard (Image: Renée Suen)

April 15 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, and Titanic-mania has become pretty much unavoidable: there’s a memorial cruise retracing the luxury liner’s doomed voyage, a 3-D rerelease of James Cameron’s 194-minute epic and, inevitably, collectables from the Royal Canadian Mint. The culinary world is by no means immune to all this, of course. Food blogger Paula Costa (of Dragon’s Kitchen) has taken the event to her food-loving heart, challenging herself to recreate the 11-course first-class dinner from the eve of the vessel’s demise. Although the Kitchener/Waterloo–based food blogger has previously hosted similar Titanic-themed dinners with others (mainly of the second- and third-class menus), this was her first solo effort. The project, based on the recipes found in Last Dinner on the Titanic by Rick Archbold and Dana McCauley, was a year in making, with weeks devoted to testing recipes and sourcing ingredients used during the Edwardian period. In the end, eight guests were invited to partake in the dinner, which involved $400 worth of ingredients, three days of preparation and assistance from a few sous-chefs on the evening of service itself. See Costa’s entire Titanic feast—including a chunk of iceberg from off the coast of Newfoundland—in our slideshow »

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This is how 21st-century diners unwind with their chocolate cigars after an Edwardian feast. From left: Lusted, Earle, Stone and Costa

Chocolate cigars: a tobacco-free substitute for the after-dinner course

Minakis prepared Turkish-style coffee for the after-dinner course. This was served with more port and “cigars”

Eleventh course: assorted fresh fruits and cheeses similar to those served on the Titanic. On the plate: four-year-old cheddar, Gorgonzola, Camembert, Roquefort and Edam. Costa served this course with a bottle of port (1997) that her father had given her (she’d saved it specially for the occasion)

Tenth course: chocolate-painted éclairs with French vanilla cream

Ninth course: pâté de foie gras. Here, spiced pork, veal, herbs and dried cherries surround a core of foie gras that’s served en croûte (i.e., baked in pastry with “chimneys” inserted to allow steam to escape)

While most of the recipes for the dinner were from Last Dinner on the Titanic by Rick Archbold and Dana McCauley, the book didn’t include one for the pâté de foie gras course. Costa researched online and prepared five different versions before settling on this recipe for the dinner

Eighth course: asparagus salad with champagne saffron vinaigrette. Costa stuck to tradition, serving the salad course after the roast (unlike in modern times, when the vegetables are served as a side)

Seventh course: roast squab on wilted cress. Costa admitted this was the course she was most nervous about serving, not because it was difficult, but because it had to be prepared à la minute

The roast squab course being finished at the pass (i.e., a side table in Costa’s open kitchen)

Sixth course: punch romaine. The boozy palate cleanser featured a prosecco and white wine slush sweetened with simple syrup. Costa gave each diner an optional shot of white rum to add to the course

Fifth course: lamb with mint sauce, potatoes Anna and minted green pea timbales. This was the evening’s second entrée

Costa finishes the lamb course with a generous drizzle of mint sauce

Friedman documents the dinner while Costa and Earle plate

A medium-cooked leg of lamb being sliced for the fifth course

Potatoes Anna: one component of the second entrée

Fourth course: vegetable marrow farci. The first entrée featured a hollowed-out vegetable marrow (a summer squash that’s related to zucchini and easily found at Asian supermarkets) stuffed with an aromatic mixture of herbs, onions, mushrooms and rice, then topped with Parmesan and panko (Costa’s twist)

Third course: poached salmon with mousseline sauce. A room-temperature dish featuring classic mousseline (like an airy, rich, dill-kissed hollandaise) over a cooled, court bouillon–poached filet of salmon

Second course: consommé Olga. A clear beef, veal and vegetable broth served over raw scallops and julienned vegetables

Every first-class meal is accompanied by a first-rate flight of wines. These were the bottles guests brought to pair with each course of Costa’s Titanic menu

Costa delivers a sparkling toast to christen the evening. Other guests included, from left: Peter Minakis, Neeraj Singh and Joanne Lusted *(Clean Eating* magazine, *Steven and Chris)*

Some of the guests, from left: Bev Wooding, Rossy Earle (SupiCucu), Sid Friedman and Sherry Stone

First course: oysters à la russe, the second hors d’oeuvres. Freshly shucked oysters were topped with a tomato relish spiked with vodka, horseradish and a hint of SupiCucu’s Diablo’s Fuego sauce.

A friend of Costa’s heard about her project and donated a piece of an iceberg harvested from the Atlantic Ocean. It was used as part of the plating for the oysters à la russe

First course: Canapés à l’amiral. This was one of two hors d’oeuvres served with prosecco. This one featured rostini topped with a creamy shrimp butter, poached shrimp and fish roe

Costa piping the shrimp butter onto crostini for the hors d’oeuvres course.

Food blogger Paula Costa preparing her epic feast

Kitchen helpers: Peter Minakis of Kalofagas.ca and chef Rossy Earle (SupiCucu) lend a hand. Notice the recipes pinned up on the kitchen cupboards; those are pre-tested recipes printed from Costa’s blog

The 11-course menu:
**First course:** Hors d’oeuvres (canapés à l’amiral, oysters à la russe)
**Second course:** soup (consommé Olga)
**Third course:** fish (poached salmon with mousseline sauce)
**Fourth course:** first entrée (vegetable marrow farci)
**Fifth course:** second entrée (lamb with mint sauce, potatoes Anna, minted green pea timbales)
**Sixth course:** punch (punch romaine)
**Seventh course:** roast (roast squab and wilted cress)
**Eighth course:** salad (asparagus salad with champagne saffron vinaigrette)
**Ninth course:** cold dish (pâté de foie gras)
**Tenth course:** sweets (chocolate-painted éclairs with French vanilla cream)
**Eleventh course:** dessert (assorted fresh fruits and cheeses)
**After dinner:** coffee, cigars, port

Costa tackled the, ahem, titanic feat by breaking down duties into this checklist, spreading the work out over three days

The 11-course formal first-class meal required an equally formal table setting, complete with table chargers, linen napkins and polished cutlery

Costa’s dining room, with a table set for her eight guests. In addition to the decor, a soundtrack (compiled by Ryan Trickey) helped create the mood with music from the era

6 thoughts on “See every course of the R.M.S. Titanic’s final first-class dinner (meticulously recreated by a food blogger)”

David says:

April 12, 2012 at 1:32 pm

My god, that is a lot of food for one meal. No wonder they all sunk to the bottom of the ocean!
Anne-Marie says:

April 12, 2012 at 4:01 pm

What an amazing feat to have accomplished! Bravo Paula!
Rossy says:

April 13, 2012 at 9:45 am

It was a magical evening. The food, the music, the ambience, the guests… Paula did a fantastic job.
Ania says:

April 13, 2012 at 4:03 pm

Unbelievable! I would have loved to be a part of something like this. Bravo indeed!
Pamela Foster says:

April 17, 2012 at 7:41 am

I am so thrilled that you were able to have your dinner so beautifully captured on film for posterity in honor of the 100th anniversary. As a foodie historian, I was inspired by the TV drama Downton Abbey to blog about the lavish food and dining rituals of the Edwardians, and took up the challenge this year to cook my way through the last meals of all three classes of Titanic.
Dana McCauley’s recipes in The Last Dinner on the Titanic make the book is a must own book. All passengers on Titanic were treated to the best food they had ever eaten, and the kitchen staff outfitted with the most modern equipment of the time.
Foodies cook out of love, and sharing these dishes was my way to pay homage to lives lost, those who survived, their families, and to the City of Halifax who bore the unimaginable burden of recovery efforts.

Pamela Foster
http://downtonabbeycooks.com
skidd1024 says:

April 17, 2012 at 8:36 am

I am extremely impressed. Right now I am planning a tapas dinner for 24 and it is taking a ton of testing and planning. But I am loving it. Kudos for putting in the time and effort to do this and make it so special.

Comments are closed.

See every course of the R.M.S. Titanic’s final first-class dinner (meticulously recreated by a food blogger)

6 thoughts on “See every course of the R.M.S. Titanic’s final first-class dinner (meticulously recreated by a food blogger)”

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