A Titanic Appetite Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

It's a fitting dedication and a wonderful way to begin both the book and this quiz. According to Archbold and McCauley, the "Titanic" boasted sixty chefs and assistants, and a kitchen support staff of thirty-six. There were also hundreds of waiters, assistant waiters, stewards and stewardesses aboard, many of whom unfortunately perished. Of the 685 staff on board the ship, only 214 were saved.

Answer: Beer

The numbers were: Beer - 20,000 bottles, mineral water - 15,000 bottles, wine - 1,500 bottles, and spirits 850 bottles, all for a voyage of a few days!
At www.titanic.com can be found a fascinating list of the great liner's provisions, which included 40,000 fresh eggs and 7,000 heads of lettuce.

Answer: A red pennant and white star

"Titanic" was a ship of the White Star Line.
If you are interested in what the china looked like, it can be seen at
http://www.titanic-titanic.com/white%20star%20crockery.shtml

Answer: The Roast Beef of Old England

You might remember the scene in James Cameron's movie "Titanic" where the Molly Brown character is annoyed by the bugler.
The "Titanic" band often played "Alexander's Ragtime Band", and survivor accounts vary as to whether "Song d'Automne" or "Nearer, my God, To Thee" was the last song played as the ship sank. This isn't necessarily as suprising as may seem, as survivors named what they themselves heard last. ("Near, my God, to Thee" was an immensely popular funeral hymn in late Victorian and in Edwardian times).

Answer: Belgian waffles

First Class passengers could also have herring, salmon, three kinds of potatoes, and buckwheat cakes for breakfast, but not Belgian waffles, which in Belgium are apparently not eaten for breakfast anyway but rather for lunch or as a snack.
Not only was "Quaker Oats" served on the ship, but the company's director, Walter Douglas, was among the First Class passengers.
A very popular item on the breakfast menu was cornbread, eaten in great quantity by the American passengers. The ship's bakers had already started making the next day's cornbread when the iceberg struck the vessel's hull.

Answer: Brawn, cheese and pickles, currant buns

The oatmeal porridge selections are from breakfast. Dinner for the "Titanic"s Third Class was a heavy meal served in the middle of the day and always began with soup. Tea was the last substantial meal and was served in the late afternoon. Other White Star Line Third Class tea selections included bread, jam, and of course tea. Passengers who wanted "supper" before retiring were permitted cabin biscuits, cheese, gruel and coffee. (All in all, wouldn't you rather pay to eat in First Class? No gruel there!)

Answer: Three

A surviving menu from April 14, 1912, shows three courses in the Second Class Dining Saloon. The meal began with consommé. For a second course, diners could choose from haddock, chicken, lamb, or turkey, with suitable accompaniments. Dessert was plum pudding, wine jelly, "cocoanut sandwich", ice cream, fruit, nuts, and cheese biscuits.
Dinners in the ship's à la carte restaurant had eight or nine courses, while the First Class Dining Saloon featured eleven.
Surviving menus from the "Titanic" have sold for many thousands of dollars when auctioned, proof of the abiding interest in the ship's history.

Answer: Captain Edward J. Smith

The Widener party for Captain Smith was, by all reports, a brilliant one, but no record of its menu has survived. It was noted that Captain Smith drank no alcohol during the dinner.
On the night of the sinking, Mrs. Walter Douglas dined with her husband in the à la carte restaurant (which many passengers called the "Ritz") and later recalled her meal as consisting of "caviar, lobster, quail from Egypt, plover's eggs, and hothouse grapes and fresh peaches".

Answer: An alcoholic ice, served as a palate cleanser in between courses

The great French chef, Auguste Escoffier, was a proponent of this type of dish. His influence on Edwardian haute cuisine was strong and can be seen in the elaborate, multi-course meals typical of the era. Punch Romaine was served on the "Titanic"s last night as a sixth course, in between the remove course and the roast.
For a look at the eleven-course last dinner menu, see http://www.titanic-titanic.com/titanic%20dining.shtml

Answer: Having your guests call each other by their first names

Edwardian etiquette was strict, and unless people were intimates, they referred to each other as Mr., Mrs., or Miss. Gentlemen did not shake ladies' hands, and always stood whenever a lady rose, entered, or left the room.

The book "Last Dinner on the Titanic" provides a wealth of information on hosting a "Titanic" dinner party, including tips on how to scale down an eleven-course meal (with eleven wines) for modern constitutions so that your guests don't need a lifeboat to get home. Bon voyage and bon appétit!