It's been more than 110 years since the ill-fated RMS Titanic hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage, falling to the Atlantic seabed where the hull still rests today. More than 1,500 people died on 14 April, 1912, making it one of the most tragic maritime disasters of all time. Here, with a vintage menu selling for a record £84,000 (around $100,000), we shed light on what life – and the food – was like onboard the most famous liner in history.

Following the recent auction of the Titanic's only known surviving first class dinner menu, from 11 April, click or scroll on to discover what it reveals about the culinary offering and day-to-day life onboard the ship.

Believed to be the only remaining first class dinner menu from the night of 11 April, 1912 – three days before the tragedy – this piece went up for auction on 11 November, 2023 at Henry Aldridge & Son Ltd in Wiltshire, England, UK. With light water damage, it was described by the auction house as ‘a remarkable survivor from the most famous ocean liner of all time’. The lot, which was auctioned off alongside other Titanic memorabilia, including a first class tartan-patterned deck blanket, far surpassed its estimate of £70,000 (around $85,000).

The menu itself, which is embossed with a red White Star Line flag, shows that first class diners sat down to an extravagant feast on the evening after the ship left Queenstown, Ireland for New York. Opulent dishes included hors d'oeuvres and fresh oysters to start, followed by the likes of duck with port wine sauce, spring lamb with mint sauce and sirloin of beef with horseradish cream. Sumptuous desserts, such as apricot bourdaloue (a French-style apricot pastry tart) and Victoria pudding (a steamed pudding flavoured with jam and mixed peel), provided a fitting end to the meal.

Now read on to discover more about what life – and dining – was like onboard RMS Titanic for members of all classes.

Many factors led to the tragedy. The claim that the Titanic – at the time the largest ship ever built – was unsinkable, the unusual combination of weather that drove icebergs further south than usual and the lack of lifeboats all played a part in the shocking death toll. Yet it's the stories of the celebrities of the day that were onboard, the sheer size and splendour of the ship, and how it highlighted the Edwardian class divide that have captivated people through the decades. 

The Titanic was the most luxurious ship afloat and food onboard was a big part of the liner's appeal. Meals were included in the ticket price for nearly all passengers, with the exception of those in the à la carte restaurant. There was enough to cater for 2,200 people on what should have been a week-long voyage. Hefty provisions included 75,000lbs of meat, 11,000lbs of fresh fish, 40 tonnes of potatoes, 40,000 eggs, 7,000 heads of lettuce, 10,000lbs of sugar, 250 barrels flour, 36,000 apples, 1,500 gallons of milk and 15,000 bottles of ale. 

Fares from those emigrating to the New World were big business for shipping companies and many of those seeking a new life would have been in third class (also known as steerage). Titanic’s third class was said to resemble second class in comparison to other steamships, but was also more expensive. There were two modest dining rooms, communal rooms, deck space and even running water and electricity (a novelty for many). The cabins, illustrated in this picture, were separated into berths for single men located near the bow, while single women were housed at the other end of the ship near the stern and families.

The food and dining rooms were plain in comparison to the experience in first and second class, but were still a great improvement for steerage passengers of the time, who usually had to bring their own food. The dining areas were painted white with bright side lighting, long communal wooden tables and chairs and enamelled walls. Pictured is the third-class dining saloon (1911) on the RMS Olympic, the Titanic’s near-identical sister ship.

Food was surprisingly good quality for third-class passengers. The White Star Line (who owned the Titanic) offered freshly baked bread and fruit daily and meals were better than those most passengers could afford at home. For example, the Goodwin family, pictured here, would have eaten well. When the ship went down many steerage passengers lost their lives, including Mr and Mrs Frederick Goodwin and all their children. 

Breakfast was an important meal for Edwardians, and on the morning of the 14 April (the day before the sinking) passengers tucked into a number of foods typical of the period. There was oatmeal with milk, smoked herrings (pictured), jacket potatoes, ham and eggs, fresh bread and butter, marmalade, Swedish bread, tea and coffee.

On 14 April, the steerage lunch menu consisted of rice soup, fresh bread, cabin biscuits (often eaten to alleviate seasickness), roast beef and brown gravy, sweetcorn, boiled potatoes, plum pudding, sweet sauce and fruit.

In third class there was no dinner, which was considered a middle- and upper-class idea. Instead, tea and supper were served. Tea consisted of cold meat, cheese, pickles, fresh bread and butter and tea. Pudding was stewed figs and rice. Supper was gruel (a type of thin porridge), cabin biscuits and cheese.

Sadly, for hundreds of people tea and supper was the last meal they ate. The greatest loss of life was among third-class passengers whose cabins and public areas were in the lowest part of the ship and so were most vulnerable when disaster struck. Around 75% perished, the majority of which were men. 

Living a little more luxuriously, second-class passengers had comfortable cabins with shared bathrooms, access to a library, a men-only smoking room (common practice at the time), a large, handsome dining room and promenade decks. Pictured is a period illustration of a second-class stateroom on the RMS Titanic.

While not as grand as first-class dining facilities, the second-class dining room was still a sight to behold. It was an attractive space big enough to seat all second-class passengers, with oak-panelled walls, coloured linoleum floors, long tables and mahogany swivel chairs. Pictured here is the second-class dining room on the Olympic.

Although there was less choice for second-class passengers than those in first class, the largely British food was still of a high standard and a step up from third-class victuals. This impressive breakfast menu from the 11 April shows hearty options and plenty of protein, including Yarmouth bloaters (smoked herring), ox kidneys and bacon, sausages, grilled ham and fried eggs. Pictured is a second-class breakfast menu, as seen on display at the SeaCity Museum in Southampton, England, UK.

There was plenty of filling fare in a second-class breakfast too, including oats, hominy (a type of grits), three types of potatoes, Vienna rolls, Graham rolls, soda scones (pictured) and buckwheat cake. For something sweet, there were various conserves but the only nod to vegetables was watercress.

On 12 April, second-class guests – such as schoolteacher Lawrence Beesley (pictured on the right in the gymnasium on the Titanic) who survived the sinking and later wrote a book about the tragedy – tucked into pea soup, spaghetti au gratin, corned beef, vegetable dumplings, roast mutton, roast beef, jacket potatoes, sausages, ox tongue, pickles and salad.

For dessert, there was tapioca pudding, apple tart, fresh fruit, cheese and biscuits and coffee. These American and British dishes, cooked in the same galley as first class, made up a hearty lunch – albeit a less elegant one than that served in the á la carte restaurant two decks above.

The last meal many second-class passengers ate comprised of a starter of consommé with tapioca, then a choice of mains including baked haddock with sharp sauce (a tangy sauce with a vinegar base), curried chicken and rice, spring lamb with mint sauce or roast turkey with cranberry sauce. Sides were peas, pureed turnips, boiled and roast potatoes and rice. Pictured is a copy of a second-class dinner menu on the 14 April.

Guests, blithely oblivious to the tragedy about to occur, consumed plum pudding (pictured), wine jelly, American ice cream, assorted nuts, fruits, cheese and biscuits and coffee for dessert. One second-class passenger commented that 'no effort had been spared to give even the second-class cabin passengers… the best dinner that money can buy'.

Titanic’s first-class passengers, such as American socialite Molly Brown (pictured), expected the best and would feast like royalty every day. These rich and often celebrated guests could easily afford first class, a ticket for which cost between £30 (around £2,700/$3,300 today) and £870 (£76,000/ $930,000 today). As was the fashion in upper-class circles, the food was French with some classic British and American dishes.

For first-class passengers the upper part of the Titanic was as sumptuously decorated as a high-class hotel. There were lavish staterooms, a grand staircase, swimming pool, Turkish bath, gym, squash court, leisure rooms and multiple dining rooms all resplendently decorated. Pictured is stateroom B-58 on the Titanic, decorated in Louis XVI style.

The enormous Jacobean-inspired dining saloon was situated in the middle of the ship to give diners the smoothest passage. It was lined with white painted wood panelling, beautiful leaded-glass windows obscured the portholes and tables were laid for two to eight guests. A bugle sounded that signalled guests head to the reception room, where they sipped cocktails before dinner. Breakfast was served 8-10am; lunch 1-2.30pm; and dinner 7-8.15pm. Pictured here is the first-class dining saloon on RMS Olympic.

For an extra cost, first-class passengers could book to dine at restaurateur Luigi Gatti’s intimate à la carte restaurant nicknamed the “Ritz” (pictured). The elegant space was fully carpeted with French walnut-panelled walls and picture windows. Small tables were lit by crystal lamps and guests could eat any time between 8am and 11pm, which made it a popular choice. Gatti and the majority of the kitchen staff died when the Titanic sank.

As well as the dining saloon and luxurious à la carte restaurant, first-class passengers had other places to eat including the Veranda Café and the Café Parisien (pictured). Both had wicker chairs and ivy coloured trellises, the former resembled the outdoor terrace of a country hotel and the latter a café on a Parisian sidewalk, despite being completely enclosed.

The main difference between breakfasts in first and second class was that diners in the top tier could have food such as omelettes, chops and steaks cooked to order. There were also four types of cooked egg to choose from, three types of potato and more fish options including smoked salmon. 

On the 14 April, guests in the dining saloon could opt for one of four starters, including fillets of brill and egg à l'argenteuil, then choose items from the grill and the extensive buffet that included veal and ham pie, potted shrimps, galantine of chicken, Norwegian anchovies, beetroot and tomatoes. Pictured is a first-class menu on display in The Little Museum of Dublin, donated by the family of a Titanic survivor.

Dessert was a generous selection of English and French cheese that included Camembert, Roquefort, Cheddar and Stilton, washed down with a tankard of Munich lager (for an extra cost).

The last meal for first-class diners was a grand affair that included starters of canapés and oysters, a second course of consommé Olga (a clear veal soup garnished with scallops), a third course of poached salmon with mousseline sauce, and a fourth course of filet mignon Lili or chicken Lyonnaise with marrow farci (stuffed vegetables).

The mains catered to most people’s tastes. There was lamb, duckling and beef, with buttery roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, minted peas, carrots and rice. After a rum-infused palate cleanser of punch romaine (the sixth course), guests moved on to roasted squab (pigeon) with wilted cress, asparagus salad with Champagne saffron vinaigrette and pâté de foie gras with celery. In fact, with a grand total of 11 courses, it’s hard to imagine how they fitted it all in.

To round off that fateful meal, there was Waldorf pudding, peaches in Chartreuse jelly, chocolate and vanilla éclairs, French ice cream, assorted fresh fruit and cheeses. While some first-class diners would have eaten in one of the cafés or the à la carte restaurant, for others this would have been their last meal – a few hours later, more than 120 first-class passengers died, mainly men. 

People remain in awe of the Titanic, especially its glamour and opulence, so when a first-class menu of the first lunch aboard the ship went up for auction in 2018 it fetched £100,000 ($122,000). Dated 12 April, 1912, it belonged to Second Officer Charles Lightoller. In 2012, the last lunch menu sold for £76,000 ($92,800). Pictured is a first-class menu on display at Bonhams auction house, New York City, in 2012.

In 2012, the Hullett House Hotel in Hong Kong (pictured) hosted a £1,470 ($1,800) per head dinner to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking. The 10-course dinner was inspired by the final meal served in the first-class dining saloon and included bottles of wine salvaged from the wreck. 

Rayanne House in Belfast, Northern Ireland, (where the Titanic was built) usually offers a nine-course Titanic menu inspired by what first-class passengers would have eaten. Courses include poached salmon with mousseline sauce, filet mignon with foie gras and truffle, and spiced peaches in Chartreuse jelly.

To learn more about the food and drink served on the doomed liner read Rick Archebold’s The Last Dinner on the Titanic and RMS Titanic Dinner is Served by Yvonne Hulme, the great niece of musician John Law Hulme who died while working on the ship.

There are numerous exhibitions and memorials dedicated to the Titanic in the UK. Titanic Belfast, in Northern Ireland, offers the definitive Titanic Experience, while Seacity Museum, in Southampton, England, tells a tale of a town where more than 500 households lost a family member. Mersey Maritime Museum, in Liverpool, England, explains the city's place in the Titanic's story.

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