Description
Over one hundred years ago, on the night of April 14-15, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland. The largest and most luxurious cruise ship, believed to be the safest in the world, sank within a couple of hours. Over 1,500 people were reported missing.
From the moment of the catastrophe, the arrogance of man was questioned, drunk due to his domination over nature.
Shortly before the First World War, the Titanic revealed both sides of the Belle Époque: a lifestyle inherited from the 19th century, refined to excess and a social fracture, amplified by British elitism.
The very structure of the ship bore its imprint, with its three strictly separated classes. Nothing better summarizes this bivalence than the legendary cuisine of the Titanic. Each class has its own dining room, its own menus, its own cuisine, its own ways of serving, its own protocol and its own decorum. An à la carte restaurant crowns it all: that of supreme distinction.
Patrizia Rossetti makes us relive this culinary world whose rituals, ostentation and overabundance leave us speechless. The sumptuous menus served on the large ship are revisited and updated. You can really feel all the elegance of a bygone era as you browse page after page. And then the contrast between the dishes served in the first class dining room with the more homely ones of those traveling in third class. Each dish includes full cooking. Also reviewed were historical details and biographies, nominal list of staff, supplies of food, wine, equipment (plates, glasses, cutlery, tablecloths, etc.), and all the specific elements essential for the operation of this machine designed to satisfy a demanding clientele.
This book offers adapted recipes, which offer us the flavors of a vanished world. They also allow us to relive the last hours of insolent nonchalance of a society fascinating in its arrogance. A great read for cooking and history enthusiasts at the same time. —— Claudio Bossi