As we all know, later that night, the ship collided with an iceberg and sank, with the loss of over 1500 lives. Here’s a detailed look at what was on the menu for the first-class passengers.

First Course
Hors D’Oeuvres
Oysters

Second Course
Consommé Olga
Cream of Barley

Consummé Olga is made with a quart of warmed consummé (clear broth, usually beef) and a pint of good port wine. Then julienne a stalk of celery, the white of a leek, the outside only of a small carrot, and soften in butter over low heat. Add a little more consummé and reduce to a glaze, and then finish cooking the vegetables in it. In a tureen, put the glazed vegetables along with julienned gherkins, and the consummé and wine mixture. (Escoffier, 593)

Third Course
Poached Salmon with Mousseline Sauce, Cucumbers

Mousseline Sauce is a hollandaise sauce that’s fortified with whipped cream. (Escoffier, 92)

Fourth Course
Filet Mignons Lili
Sauté of Chicken, Lyonnaise
Vegetable Marrow Farci

Tournedos Lili are seasoned steak fillets fried in butter, then arranged to form a crown, each on a crust of Potatoes Anna (basically, layered potato slices, generously buttered and baked in a hot oven for 30 minutes; Escoffier 2203), and then topped with an artichoke bottom, garnished with a slice of foie gras, and then topped with a slice of truffle, and served with a Périgueux sauce (Madiera wine, reduced veal stock, and chopped truffle; Escoffier, 47). In other words, this dish is gilding a lilly. (Escoffier, 1101)

Sauce Lyonnaise is a relatively simple sauce in comparison, flavored with sauteed diced onion, and equal parts white wine and vinegar, reduced to a glaze, and added to reduced veal stock (demi-glace). (Escoffier, 43)

Vegetable Marrow Farci is apparently stuffed squash. “Marrow squash, also known as vegetable marrow, is a very large, green summer squash. They are related to zucchini, and can grow to the size of a watermelon. They have a bland flavor, and are frequently stuffed with a meat stuffing.” The “farci” indicates that squash was stuffed. (source)

Fifth Course
Lamb, Mint Sauce
Roast Duckling, Apple Sauce
Sirloin of Beef, Chateau Potatoes
Green Peas
Creamed Carrots
Boiled Rice
Parmentier & Boiled New Potatoes

Chateau Potatoes are potatoes cut to the shape of olives, then cooked gently in clarified butter until golden and very soft, and sprinkled with parsley just before serving. (Escoffier, 2208)

Parmentier Potatoes is a pureed potato soup garnished with crouton and chervil, but it can also be served more like runny mashed potatoes. (Escoffier, 658)

Sixth Course
Punch Romaine

Punch à la Romaine is a mixture of dry white wine or champagne and a simple sugar syrup, plus the juices of two oranges and two lemons, with a bit of their zest, steeped for one hour. Strained and frozen, then mixed with a sweet meringue and then fortified with rum. It’s served like a sherbet, and acts as a palette cleanser. (Escoffier, 2932)

Seventh Course
Roast Squab & Cress

Squab is actually pigeon. Escoffier says, “Young pigeons are not very highly esteemed by gourmets, and this is more particularly to be regretted, since when the birds are of excellent quality, they are worthy of the best tables.”

Eighth Course
Cold Asparagus Vinaigrette

Ninth Course
Pate de Foie Gras
Celery

Tenth Course
Waldorf Pudding
Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly
Chocolate & Vanilla Eclairs
French Ice Cream

Escoffier has nothing to say about Waldorf Pudding, but research on the net turns up several improvised recipes (1, 2, 3, 4), none of which are authentic. They involve essential ingredients based on the famous Waldorf Salad, which has apples, walnuts and raisins, but I can’t help but suspect that these guesses may be off course. While it’s true that the one of the more common recipes that the Waldorf Astoria is known for is the salad, there’s no reason to conclude that these are the only ingredients that could possibly be in a dessert named after it. Update, 4/28/08 : I found some old cookbooks online that list recipes for Waldorf Pudding. One has apples, the other one doesn’t. Read all about it.

Each of the 10 courses was served with a special accompanying wine. Following the tenth course, fresh fruits and cheeses were available followed by coffee and cigars accompanied by port and, if desired, distilled spirits.

You may also be interested in reading about what some of the other passengers on the Titanic were eating that night. Also, more information on the elusive recipe for Waldorf Pudding.

(A note about the Escoffier notation : The description of recipes listed here are taken from The Escoffier Cookbook : A Guide to the Fine Art of French Cuisine, by Auguste Escoffier. It is the defacto standard for french haute cuisine, and lists the 2,984 recipes contained in its pages numerically, and that is the number I give after each recipe.)

The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine, by Steve Rinella.

According to Escoffier, white stock is used for the base of white sauces. Brown stock should be the color of “fine burnt amber” and used for the base of soups and thickened gravies, and for meat glazes after it’s been reduced. He also suggests using it to moisten meat for braising.

In both cases, he suggests breaking the bones, and that if you want the stock to be gelatinous, you need to simmer the stock for at least 8 hours.

His recipes (below the break) aren’t limited to just chicken meat, either, and they’re naturally more involved than almost any other recipe for chicken stock that I’ve ever come across.

Brown Stock (Fonds Brun au Estouffade, or just Estouffade) makes 4 quarts

4 lbs. beef shins (flesh and bone)
4 lbs. veal shins (flesh and bone)
½ lb. lean, raw ham
½ lb. fresh pork rind, blanched
¾ lb. minced carrots, browned in butter
¾ lb. minced onions, browned in butter
1 bundle of herbs, including a little parsley, a stalk of celery, a small sprig of thyme, and a bay leaf

Bone the meat, and set aside. Break the bones as much as possible, sprinkle them with a little stock fat, brown them in a hot oven (350 for @ 1hour), stirring occasionally. Once browned, put them in a stockpot with the carrots, the onions, and the herb bunch. Add at least 5 quarts of cold water, and put the saucepan on to boil. As soon as the boil is reached, skim carefully, wiping the edge of the saucepan. (I’ve seen some recipes that suggest you just toss out the water at this point, and replace it with fresh water, having lost none of the flavor, but getting rid of the scum completely.) Put the lid half on, and allow the stock to simmer gently for 12 hours. Strain, and allow it to cool before putting it in the refrigerator for several hours, to make removing the fat easier.

Now, brown the meat in a new saucepan in some stock fat, then drain off fat entirely. Add half a pint of the prepared stock, cover the saucepan, and let the meat simmer until the stock is almost entirely reduced, stirring often and turning the meat. Now pour the remainder of the stock, prepared from the bones, into the saucepan and bring all back to a boil, simmering with the lid off. As soon as the meat is well cooked, the fat should again be removed from the stock, and it should be strained or rubbed through a sieve, after which is should be put aside to be used when required. (He goes on to say that if you are pressed for time, you can cut the meat into large cubes before browning it, and thus you’ll be able to render all its flavor in only an hour and a half.)

White Stock (Fonds de Volaille Blanc) makes 4 quarts

8 lbs. shin of veal, or lean and fresh veal trimmings
1 or 2 fowls’ skeletons, uncooked
12 oz. of carrots
6 oz. onions stuck with a clove
5 ½ q. of cold water
4 oz. leeks tied with a stalk of celery
1 herb bunch, including parsley, 1 bay leaf, and a small sprig of thyme

Bone the shins and reserve the meat, breaking the bones as small as possible, and simmer in a saucepan with just the water, skimming occasionally, for 5 hours. Strain, and add the meat and the vegetables, and add enough water to bring it back up to 5 quarts total. Bring back to a boil, and then simmer for another 3 hours; strain, and chill in the refrigerator so you can remove all the fat.

No salt should be added to either versions, since you’ll be reducing them later, and that would just concentrate it too much.