Last meals for Titanic's nonwealthy

[Yuri Singleton]

I'd like to know what was on the menu for the crew, 3rd, and 2nd class passengers on board.
I know we've all seen the First Class Dinner menu from April 14th. (some of it doesn't sound that appealing to me actually)
But what did the rest eat? Stoking boiler fires was hard work. Those men must have been really hungry at the end of their shift. What kind of grub fueled the black gang that fueled Titanic?

Thanks,
Yuri Singleton

 

[Pat Cook]

Hi Yuri,

I can tell you about the 2nd class passengers. The menu boasted selections including Baked Haddock, Curried Chicken and Rice, Spring Lamb and Roast Turkey for the main entree, along with green peas, puree turnips, boiled rice, boiled and roast potatoes, followed by a choice of desserts of plum pudding, cocoanut sandwich and American ice cream, topped off with fresh fruit, assorted nuts, cheese, biscuits and coffee.

I found a photo of the menu (April 14th) in Walter Lords "A Night To Remember"

Hope this is of some help.

Best regards,
Cook

 

[Gavin Murphy]

Y and C!

I think the book "Last Dinner on the Titanic" by Rick Archbold may be able to fill in the gaps. Don't know off hand if it includes crew meals, but do know that the black gang on the Olympic were somewhat up in arms on at least one occasion with the rejected and surplus passenger food they were fed by WSL. They wanted traditional British comfort food like chips and pies, etc. Hardly what you would say is up market food for the carriage trade travelling first class!

I hope this helps.

G

 

[Bill Sauder]

Yuri:

Typically on steamships of the period, the ratings (seamen, stokers, greasers etc.)ate food similar to what was being prepared in third class. Officers, engineers, stewardesses, radio operators etc. ate off the second class menu.

Bill Sauder

 

[Stacie Winslow]

I found the entire menu on a web site when I was doing my research here is the page...

http://www.sol.co.uk/g/ggs/pupil/am/

it gives the first class menu to the third class menu

Hope it helps,
Stacie

 

[Gevers Sara]

Why is everybody so interrested in what they where eating? That's not what made them sink?!(Well,I think so...!)

 

[Lena Jelander]

The third class passengers got porridge, fish and eggs, bread, jam, tea and coffee for breakfast. Dinner contained soup, a meat dish, dessert and fruits. They also got "tea" (called "lunch" everywhere else on the ship), containing bread, dessert, jam and tea, as well as a late evening meal (cheese, biscuit, porridge and coffee).

 

[Deborah Russes]

I find it interesting to learn all kinds of things about the ship and its passengers and crew. It kind of brings the people to life. Learning about the Titanic goes beyond just the sinking. There is so much to look at...lifestule of passengers, where they were going and why, what they did on the ship to pass time, etc. I find it all fascinating.

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Lena, the Third Class passengers were served 'dinner' at what was lunchtime for the other Classes, and 'tea' when the others were served dinner. That was still the tradition when I grew up in a working class English household in the '50s and early '60s, when we started the day with breakfast, had our 'dinner' in the mid-day break and our 'tea' (the main meal of the day) in the evening. Even today, the people who serve school meals at lunch time are called 'dinner ladies'.

 

[Ashley Maher]

how long did the bodies on the ocean floor last before they perished?

 

[Ashley Maher]

Does the public book store have books that discuss this question???

 

[Ashley Maher]

I heard that they are going to some how make a tunnel of some sort so people could actually go down and see the Titanic! I sure hope they do that because I want to see Titanic as much as any one else does.Would'nt that be neat to see a legend??

 

[Fiona Nitschke]

Hi Ashley,

Your first question about decomposition is discussed a fair bit, but not in this thread which is about food (ewww). See various threads in the ‘Lost and Saved’ forum (https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/discus/messages/5667/5667.html?1058148328), and join in the discussion there.

Your book question: do you mean books about the menus for second and third class passengers? If so, there’s ‘Last Dinner on the Titanic’, a great book by Rick Archbold and Dana McCauley which has a lot of good information on what was cooked and eaten on Titanic, including recipes that a lot of people here have tried out for themselves. It was first published in 1997 and is fairly common, so your local library should have a copy.

As for seeing Titanic up close, the tunnel sounds a bit too much like an Arthur C Clarke scenario right now. For discussion of this sort of thing, have a look at the threads in the Discovery / Salvage / Exploration / Exhibits forum (https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/discus/messages/5932/5932.html?1058155479).

Now, back to food: surely it’s time for lunch?

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Ashley, you may wish to check out earlier threads on the matter of bodies as some of this is discussed at length. You may also want to click on and read The Forum Rules taking particular note of the Joining In part.

While topic drift does happen, bear in mind that this particular topic is about the meals eaten by the Titanic's non-wealthy, and as a moderator, I would appriciate your keeping contributions to this thread relevant to this question.

On the matter of bodies, you may wish to check out some of the threads in the Lost and Saved section.

Thank you for your co-operation.

 

[Dave Gittins]

Bob's memory is correct. It was breakfast, dinner and tea for the working class. Toffier types referred to breakfast, luncheon and dinner, as did some of Titanic's crew.

I sometimes wonder what the middle-eastern passengers made of the very English third class menu. It must have seemed very odd to them.