11 Items From 'Titanic’s' Final Menus

We know a lot about the final hours of the RMS Titanic, from the ship's collision with the iceberg to its descent into the sea. Thanks to menus recovered from the tragedy, we even know what the passengers ate for their last meals onboard the ocean liner.

Titanic's first-class guests paid hundreds of pounds (the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars today) for their tickets, and their meals were reflected in the price. The decadent luncheon and 10-course dinner menus from April 14, 1912, are snapshots of haute cuisine in Edwardian Britain in addition to being eerie remnants of a doomed voyage. To step inside the last moments of luxury on the Titanic, read through the menu highlights below.

1. Poached Salmon with Mousseline Sauce and Cucumbers

For dinner on April 14, some guests aboard the Titanic ate fish served with a sauce of unsweetened whipped cream and hollandaise with sliced cucumbers on the side.

2. Chicken à la Maryland

Named after the U.S. state, this lunch dish consists of breaded and fried chicken served with gravy. It was often garnished with bananas.

3. Cockie Leekie

This Scottish soup served at lunch is made from leeks, chicken, and rice.

4. Roasted Squab and Cress

This entrée dish centered around a roasted young pigeon was the seventh course of the last dinner on the Titanic.

5. Egg à l'Argenteuil

This item on the April 14 lunch menu is a fancy name for scrambled eggs and asparagus.

6. Consommé Olga

Served as part of the soups course of Titanic's last meal, consommé Olga is clarified beef stock cooked with port wine and served with sturgeon marrow as a garnish.

7. Corned Ox Tongue

A cured beef tongue dish was served as part of the lunch buffet.

8. Pâté de Foie Gras

Foie gras—a.k.a. goose liver spread—appeared on the dinner menu's ninth and penultimate course.

9. Mashed, Fried, and Baked Jacket Potatoes

This item was served for lunch the day the Titanic hit the iceberg. As the name suggests, jacket potatoes are potatoes served in their skins.

10. Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly

This colorful item was served at the end of the 10-course dinner on April 14. Chartreuse is a dessert liqueur with a green or yellow hue.

11. Waldorf Pudding

Another dessert item on the dinner menu was this steamed cake made from apples and walnuts.

A version of this article was originally published in 2021; it has been updated for 2022.