Send SOS!  It’s the new call and it may be your last chance to send it!

Junior Wireless Operator on the Titanic, Harold Sydney Bride, to his senior, Jack Phillips

Last week marked the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, which gave us the occasion to observe one minute of silence to honour the passing of all those vegetarians who went down with the ship.  Not to make light of a tragic event in history but the thought crossed my mind when son was putting together a nifty 3-D cardboard Titanic ship with his dad:  were there any vegetarians aboard the Titanic?  Needless to say, contrary to popular belief Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet don’t count, even though both are eschewers of the flesh.  It’s possible but I would hazard to guess that if there were they were accidental types, likely servants or steerage class who would have been too poor to afford meat, unlike the Victorian and Edwardian wealthy who were big meat eaters.  The last meal eaten by the First Class attests to this. As served the night of April 14, 1912 in the First Class Dining Saloon on the R.M.S. Titanic*:

First Course:  Hors D’Oevres, Oysters

Second Course:  Consomme Olga, Cream of Barley

Third Course:  Poached Salmon with Mousseline Sauce, Cucumbers

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

Fifth Course: Lamb, Mint Sauce, Roast Duckling, Apple Sauce, Sirloin of Beef, Chateau Potatoes,

Green Pea, Creamed Carrots, Boiled Rice, Parmentier & Boiled New Potatoes

Sixth Course: Punch Romaine

Seventh Course:  Roast Squab & Cress

Eighth Course: Cold Asparagus Vinaigrette

Ninth Course:  Pate de Foie Gras

Tenth Course:  Waldorf pudding, peaches in chartreuse jelly, chocolate painted éclairs, French vanilla ice cream

Eleventh Course:  Assorted fresh fruits and cheeses

It seems fitting that the enlarged liver of some poor duck who spent his short life being force-fed by funnel got to be the 9th course of the final meal on the Titanic.  What a glorious end to such a miserable life.  At least he didn’t drown.  One wonders if the ship might have sank anyway under the weight of all those who managed to eat all eleven courses.  I noticed that there was no iceberg lettuce on the menu, which would have been a nice bit of irony:  the iceberg lettuce garnish on the Titanic that was avoided by all!

Speaking of iceberg lettuce garnish, it calls to mind a wedding reception that we went to many years ago. The bride had made arrangements in advance with the caterers for two vegetarian meals, but evidently they forgot or ignored the request so that the day of the happy event we were each served tomato and iceberg lettuce, arranged on the plates this way and that as if to disguise that we were being served a main course of garnish.  Hmmmm.

P.S.  To the 23 now infamous Tweeters who didn’t know the Titanic actually existed, well, I don’t know what to say.  Go read a history book or something.

*With thanks to Gary Fisher (http://www.armchair.com/recipe/titanic1.html)