Cafe Parisian

[Steven Christian]

Might have been a problem docked in NYC during the summer months. NYC in the early part of the century was not the most sanitary place to be. Lots of flys. Tons of horse droppings.

NYC sanitation early 1900's at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

 

[Tim Gerard]

I was able to find, Cafe Parisien had specifically English Ivy, which apparently today is considered an invasive species in parts of the US, particularly the Northwest.

 

[Stephen Carey]

You don't get flies at sea - nothing for them to live on... Cockroaches however thrive, one of the reasons why inspections are so thorough, but you still can't get rid of the buggers. I was never on a ship that had fly screens and we only opened the ports at sea, not in port owing to noise, dust and... flies... Once air conditioning became the norm, the windows and ports wouldn't open anyway on the more modern ships otherwise you'd destroy the air con.
As for the ivy, it could have been either cloth replica or real. A dose of Flit from the Flit spray would fettle any beasties living in them, and "poison ivy" is not something you get in UK!

 

[Aly Jones]

What kind of pest control was their on board titanic.?

 

[Clockworkpiggy]

F.G. Bealing and son, in Highfield, Southampton supplied the palms, plants and flowers for Titanic, Olympic and other WSL vessels.

In “Titanic Voices”: “Bealing’s may also have provided the ivy climbing the trellised walls of the Cafe Parisien, Palm Court and Verandah Cafe, although as some of this was photographed by H&W’s own photographer it is not clear if this work was already done in Belfast, or the photographer came to Southampton on the crossing from Belfast.”

 

[Kate Powell]

Yes, it is difficult to say with the earlier photos taken by Robert Welch, Harland and Wolff's official photographer. Lots of finishing touches were added to the ship at Southampton including painting and adding plants, etc. Not sure about the ivy.

The best thread and posting for more on this, I've found, comes from Thomas Krom.

Answered - Potted Plants aboard Titanic. (Plant list)

I have read many references to potted plants onboard Titanic and am excited. As a horticulturist I am wondering if there is a botanical plant list. This would be expecteded in the design and ordering process and would specify the Latin names and numbers of the plants. Can anyone help in this...

www.encyclopedia-titanica.org

Hope this helps,

Kate

 

[RileyGardner17]

Here's a question I've pondered for some time but not found a satisfactory answer to. The Cafe Parisian was operated by the A La Carte staff. However, my understand is that the A La Carte operated as a standard restaurant, with bills due at meal's end. Was it the same in the cafe? If one sat down for tea, light fare or even a drink would you have to settle your bill or was it charged to the cabin for later settlement?

Another question: were staff exclusive to the restaurant and the cafe, or were they swapped out during various shifts? Meaning one evening your waiter from the restaurant might be the same who serves you the next morning in the cafe.

A stab in the dark here, but I'm also going to assume that what you could get in the Cafe Parisian was different from what you could get in the Verandah Cafe. Is there a surviving list of options?

 

[Kate Powell]

Here's a question I've pondered for some time but not found a satisfactory answer to. The Cafe Parisian was operated by the A La Carte staff. However, my understand is that the A La Carte operated as a standard restaurant, with bills due at meal's end. Was it the same in the cafe? If one sat down for tea, light fare or even a drink would you have to settle your bill or was it charged to the cabin for later settlement?

Another question: were staff exclusive to the restaurant and the cafe, or were they swapped out during various shifts? Meaning one evening your waiter from the restaurant might be the same who serves you the next morning in the cafe.

A stab in the dark here, but I'm also going to assume that what you could get in the Cafe Parisian was different from what you could get in the Verandah Cafe. Is there a surviving list of options?

It seems the meals and drinks offered at The Café Parisien did cost extra above the ticket fare, although when the bill needed to be settled remains unclear. The page below states that the same staff as the A la Carte Restaurant also cooked and served the first class passengers in The Café Parisien, overseen by Chef Luigi Gatti.

Passengers in The Café Parisien could choose meals from the A la Carte menu as the two dining places were so closely situated on B Deck with The Café Parisien offering a beautiful view out over the sea as they dined.

Titanics Café Parisien | Titanic Pages - Titanic History Website

I have heard the Café Parisien was very popular on Titanic's maiden voyage and it would be interesting to know more about the differences in the menus between the Café Parisien and the Verandah Café. I do hope some information about the food and drink choices survives.

 

[Randy Draffen]

Okay, this is basically hearsay, but I recall reading in a book years ago that the ivy on the trellises was artificial. If I recall correctly, live ivy was being grown for the ship but for whatever reason did not make it onto her before the maiden voyage. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[ScottyBK]

English portion sizes are much smaller than what most Americans are used to. When I watch Gordon Ramsay's UK cooking shows, his entrees are often smaller than a typical American appetizer. When he first started doing shows in the USA on Kitchen Nightmares he was shocked at the portions, asking if his meal was intended to feed the entire restaurant!

So when you read about these 11 course meals it probably wasn't neatly as much food as you'd think.Americans of today on board Titanic would be starved and complaining on Yelp! that they didn't get enough to eat.