Country Club

We were invited by a colleague of Jeff's at the university to a special dinner at the country club last Saturday. It was an interesting (and slightly macabre) theme, the last dinner aboard the Titanic! The original meal was an eleven-course feast that would leave most modern diners gasping for air. The reproduction was a "modest" nine courses only. It comprised:

Consomme Olga
Asparagus Salad with Champagne-Saffron Vinaigrette
Poached Salmon with Mousseline Sauce
Chicken Lyonnaise
Filets Mignons Lili
Lamb with Mint Sauce
Punch Romaine
Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly
French Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Petite Fours

In order to serve such fine meals three times daily to so many passengers, the Titanic had separate refrigerators for each type of perishable; meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, eggs, and dairy; and separate cold storage for vintage wine and spirits. From mundane supplies such as cereals (10,000 pounds) and sugar (5 tons), to more exotic items such as asparagus (800 bundles), the Titanic was full to overflowing with the best fresh food.

“We dined the last night in the Ritz restaurant. It was the last word in luxury. The tables were gay with pink roses and white daisies, the women in their beautiful shimmering gowns of satin and silk, the men immaculate and well-groomed, the stringed orchestra playing music from Puccini and Tchaikovsky. The food was superb: caviar, lobster, quail, plover’s eggs and hothouse grapes and fresh peaches. The night was cold and clear, the sea like glass.”

- First class passenger Mrs Walter Douglas