The Last Night on the Titanic

April 22, 2019
Food writer Hinke uses the Titanic as a jumping-off point to examine early-1900s cuisine and culture in this well-intentioned if unfocused history. Drawing on letters, testimonies, and the few menus that survived the Titanic’s 1912 sinking, Hinke shares recipes for food and drinks served onboard, as well as the stories of surviving passengers (such as fashion designer Lady Duff-Gordon, who was accused of bribing crew members to row their nearly empty lifeboat far from the ship). However, given that not many artifacts survived the ship’s sinking, Hinke frequently relies on educated guesses and relates stories only tangentially linked to the Titanic. She posits, for example, that caramel corn was served on the doomed voyage, basing her findings solely on the fact that it was popular at the time; she then discusses the Bloody Mary, invented in 1934 at the St. Regis Hotel (which was built by J. J. Astor, who died on the ship), as well as Delmonico’s restaurant in New York City (where a ship survivor might have passed on their way to the insurance office to file a claim). Throughout are descriptions of the ship’s restaurants, such as the Verandah Café, decorated in the style of the dining room in London’s Savoy Hotel. This ambling, pedestrian history will appeal only to the most passionate Titanic history buffs.