Conor McClelland, the proprietor and chef at Rayanne House in Holywood, Co. Down, who’s Guesthouse looks out over Belfast Lough, came upon a book of old Titanic recipes, which began a culinary journey into the past that led him to recreate the last meal on board the Titanic. ‘In the original, there could have been 13 courses but nine courses is really more than enough.  At that time, they would have served pates and terrines at the end of the meal just before desserts. But today, that would seem very strange.’ 

Instead, this chef has settled for a menu which starts with canapes a l’amiral before moving on to cream of barley soup flavoured with Bushmills whiskey.
‘There were cases of Bushmills on board the Titanic of course,’ he said. Conor, who runs the guesthouse with his wife Bernie, said the interest in the Titanic menu had been ‘phenomenal’.
‘The food is genuinely lovely. It was such a beautiful menu. There was so much attention to detail in the food that it really was a first-class feast.’

Good food and good ingredients are something that we have in abundance in this country so I am very much looking forward to more and more discoveries of interesting ways in which people are celebrating our most interesting cultural link to our history as we approach the wider celebrations and commemorations of 2011 and 2012.  If you have an interesting story to tell or know of a unique Titanic experience, please let us know at info@titanicdock.com. Bon Apetite