From what I’ve read of the menus on the Titanic, most of the third class passengers ate much better on the Titanic than they ever did at home. Indeed, I have read that the accommodations for many were better than what they had left before they emigrated.
Yeah a 3rd class ticket wasn’t cheap, even by today’s standards ranging from around 200-400 dollars. So the third class passengers weren’t desperately poor.
This is true--the narrator makes the viewer think the third class passengers were eating hardtack and swill. Most of them were headed for tenement buildings in the larger cities with rats and cockroaches waiting for them. I guess she saw the word "gruel" and assumed the worst.
in spite of what the maker of this video wants you to believe, the 2nd and third class menus were extremely good for the time. in fact, the second class menu would have been considered 1st class on any other ship and 3rd class was much more like 2nd class on other ships. so people were certainly very happy with their food on any class. Also, even if they had full life boats and more life boats a thousand people would have died. they could not even launch all the ones they had in time. so many myths about the ship are perpetuated. thank you for covering the menu, but the information provided is both misleading in context. from a long time Titanic student
I think you got distracted & didn't finish your thought in that last sentence. (I do this all the time.) You say, "is both misleading in context." One would expect an, "and", there, not a period. Both / and what? What was the second thing you meant to say?
Yeah, I felt like the maker of this video was judging that time period by todays standards. Things were different back then so you shouldn’t really make judgments like that. The 2nd and 3rd class were treated pretty well on that ship and the ones that survived even stated they felt that way.
My great grandparents came to America on a ship that didn’t treat them even half as good as the Titanic treated their 3rd class. The 3rd class people on Titanic were considered lucky coming to America in luxury. That wasn’t typical of most “3rd class” people
It’s also very important to remember that the titanic line was luxurious even by 3rd class standards. Many shipping lines had bare bones accommodations for steerage. The idea that the titanic served food to steerage passengers instead of forcing families to bring their own was pretty remarkable at the time. They also had beds with linens, toilets and open air decks for steerage. Steerage guests usually had to bring their own linens, mattresses, and food for the entire journey.
VERY true! I find nothing wrong with that third class menu. Its what I would normally eat now (well, not the gruel LOL) and I could have afforded a first class ticket!
@retroguy, the gruel was essentially hot cereal served as a snack (called a “supper” before bedtime. For many steerage passengers, an extra meal (even if it was just oatmeal, biscuits and coffee) served free was an almost unfathomable luxury.
@@TorontoJediMaster Yes, I know what "supper" is in the traditional sense. I'm quite an authority on etiquette. So what you're saying is that the gruel on the Titanic was NOT gruel in the traditional sense (some thin liquid made of meal like oatmeal boiled in water or milk) but rather more of a cereal kind of oatmeal or even perhaps like a farina?
After having experienced coach food on most of the major airlines I can tell you that the third class passengers are eating like kings compared to what I have endured in coach!!
I was thinking exactly the same thing, compared to what I've eaten crammed into seat 300-D in economy, the 3rd class menu on the Titanic looks really good.
I don’t think the plane could get off the ground carrying all the food served to Titanic passengers. If you want to enjoy the luxury of a trans Atlantic voyage and fine food, the Cunard line still offers that option.
I remember my Mom telling me the story of her Mother, emigrating from eastern Europe to America, traveling in steerage class. These passengers were told to bring food to help sustain them, as the only meal served by the ship was the evening meal. She said each passenger was given a metal bowl, a fork, and a metal cup. A couple of big pots were wheeled in and these contained the meal of boiled cabbage and potatoes, along with loves of black rye bread. The same thing every single day. You lined up, got a bowlful of this "food", a hunk of the bread, and a cup of water. Then you found a place to sit down and eat, because there were no tables. If my Grandmother traveled third class on the Titanic, she and her fellow travelers would have thought they were being treated like royalty!
now this is a good oral history take! i often wondered what is life for being some third class passenger days if we could hear their testimony/interview. but one's i found are words from former ellis island passengers who moved and grown up old decades later
@@sunshinesunshine94 Thank-you. Both my Grandmother and Grandfather were strong, hard-working, and courageous folks. My Grandfather worked in the coal mines in Pennsylvania and my Grandmother worked in the woolen mills and silk mills. They made a good life for themselves and their family, and were always grateful that America made it all possible. They have always been my heroes and my inspiration.
@@caspence56 That would be awesome if we all had known history in our family like that, I hope the world was kind to them when they arrived and glad that at least they had each other to rely on for love, Working the coal mine was probably great money at the time but also dangerous, seems though they were able to survive and start their family, which I'm guessing would have included Your mother, 🧡 Nice story thankyou for sharing that
3rd class menu: pretty much like my usual meal for the day 2nd class menu: food is something I'd eat on a special occasion 1st class menu: food that I probably would have at least once in my lifetime, if I'm lucky
Dude - if mutton chops and cheddar cheese is something you'll probably never aspire to, you have my sympathy. My dogs eat better than that every day, no lie.
I agree, all the menus sounded good to me. I would gladly take any of them. 3rd or 2nd class had the same option to pay for the grander food, they didn't because it was not in their budget. Which probably means it has never been in their budget and so they did not miss anything. The more expensive food cost more to procure, so the ship would need to charge more for it, so the business could stay a float (pun intended 😂).
I don't know why people knock the 3rd Class menu. Yes, it wasn't as fancy as what was served in 1st or 2nd Class. However, passengers in 3rd Class didn't expect anything fancy. Instead they got the same sort of food they'd eat at home (at least if they were from the UK, as the menu was definitely made with Anglo-Irish passengers in mind). Oatmeal, ham & eggs, roast beef, cold meats & cheeses, etcetera. I don't see anything wrong with those selections. They even got an option for a late snack (supper). For many people, this was probably better than what they ate at home and it was served to them. The bit on the menus about to report any complaints to a chief steward was to let them know that White Star was serious about giving good service to 3rd Class. The thinking was that if 3rd Class immigrants liked the service they received, they'd recommend the line to family and friends who would be immigrating later. 3rd Class passengers just wanted clean, comfortable cabins and good food. They got both.
It was also important to keep 3rd class passengers healthy. If they are turned away by immigration they had to be returned to their country of origin at the ship lines expense. Typically immigrants would be quarantined at immigration facilities however they could be denied entry completely and sent back. The expectation is the line would ensure passengers are healthy enough for travel before departure and were not getting ill in transit. If a large outbreak were to occur that could cost the line significant money. Large liners made most of their revenue from 3rd class passengers so you wanted to capture as much as that market as possible. 1st and 2nd class were very profitable however did not provide the revenue needed due to their small numbers. They understood that good nutrition an hygiene would aide in this. Food, ventilation/heating, and plumbing were heavily focused on in the Olympic class for 3rd class passengers. Although the 3rd class accommodations were spartan and the food simple by comparison they were not bad quality.
There was nothing wrong with the third class menu (these days many people just associate the word "gruel" with very watery and poorly prepared oatmeal, as if it couldn't be done right). Considering what the third class was on other lines ships, the people were getting a good deal. White Star Line prided itself for its quality (even if the third class food wasn't luxurious, food served there still needed to be prepared by the White Star Line quality standards and they wanted hear if there were issues with the food: third class passengers were the most numerous passengers buying the most tickets), with Titanic being the newest in shipping: so much so that the second class was comparable to the first class of many other lines ships.
The first class passengers would probably be eating second class food every day, and first class food for special occasions. The second class passengers were probably eating in a similar way, third class food normally, but second class food when they were on holiday, or on the Titanic. The third class passengers were probably not used to the food they were being served at all. Especially as Second class was the equivalent of first class on other ships, the third class was the equivalent of travelling second class on the older ships. At one time, the third class passengers would have to take their own food, crockery and cutlery for the entire journey with them, so being well fed would be important.
The 3rd class menu was probably a lot better than most of the 3rd class passengers got at home. And in those days it was rare enough that the ship would bother feeding those people in the first place - a lot of the time, such passengers had to bring their own food onboard with them. "Dinner" and "Tea" are still used today in northern working class communities in England.
I grew up in Appalachia & we never used the word, "dinner", for the evening meal. It was always supper. I still like to use that word. It's a good word & I hate seeing it go out of fashion as our society becomes more urbanized & sophisticated.
3rd Class menu was more varied and better quality than I expected. I'm sure the service was pretty basic, but at the end of the day they got plenty of food and it was pretty good quality. Not too bad for what they were paying for a ticket.
From your opening tease I was expecting nothing but beef stock soup and stale crackers for the 3rd Class diners. The Titanic's 3rd Class eats were way better that anything served on Amtrak today. NIce show, though.
in addition to what others have said about the quality of 3rd class meals, you have to remember that many of these passengers would not have had meat every day. On the ship, they got it at every meal!
The bias of this video tried to slant towards how terrible the third class menu was, but any open-minded person watching leaves with the conclusion that for a ship in 1912 that menu was pretty darn good and probably 100 times better then what they were used to. I honestly thought it was going to be way worse.
I really believed it was going to be along the lines of a potato and beans ...or beans and rice ... There was so much class back then even the third class was treated with dignity and delicious food,
I actually liked the third class menu more than the first class menu. The former seemed more like casual dining comfort food. It was simple but hearty. I suspect that the stewards assigned to third class were not happy because they weren't getting the gratuities that their counterparts in first and second class were likely receiving.
Interesting. Did stewards get tips on steam liners in those days? I'm thinking that rather odd, like tipping an air flight attendant for serving the food. What about on the food car in trains?
Ridiculous. The 3rd class accommodations were excellent compared to other ships and many passengers were not used to flush toilets or being waited on by steward s at dinner. The food was good based on the fare paid. Those who paid as much as the first class passengers should expect a superior culinary experience.
The third class menu whilst still basic was probably a real luxury to third class passengers who no doubht would have lived on very poor diets at home. What I wonder though is, were each of the classes allowed to sample all on the menu or were they only allowed to have one breakfast dish for example? Where they allowed to have two small dinners instead of one? Any thoughts on this, I would love to hear! 👍
The 3rd Class menu was the type of food most of the passengers (those from the UK, at least) would've been used to. It wasn't fancy, but it was of good quality and they had it served to them. People forget that while 3rd Class was rather no frills, it likely was an improvement on the living conditions many of the passengers were used to at home.
I see you posted your question 6 months ago, but in case you were still wondering- the answer depends on the specific meal, the class, and (for certain meals, to some extent) even the gender and marital status of a given passenger. For breakfast, all classes probably had access to a buffet where they could choose whatever items they wanted among all that was available- at least for the men and unmarried women- the married women in first class only probably had the option of having a breakfast tray served to them in bed very soon after they woke (this was typical in that time period). For luncheon, the first and second class passengers probably chose 1 item from every category- for example, 1 soup from among the soup options, 1 fish or poultry item, 1 meat item, 1 dessert item, etc. in addition to choosing whatever items they wanted at the buffet. Similarly for dinner, the first and second class passengers again had more options, but a minor difference might have been that the first class passengers could go into their dining room, sit and converse at their smaller tables and take their meals "at-home style"- with waiters tending them individually- bringing out all the options available for each course one at time in covered platters from which the passengers used a serving fork and a serving spoon to pick out a portion if they wanted it (after all, this is what they would have been accustomed to in their daily lives since wealthy people of that time period had servants who waited on them at dinner every evening). Instead, the second class passengers, would have ordered the options they wanted, and then the waiters would have brought them the chosen meal on successive plates (similar to how most average restaurants serve meals in modern times). As for third class, there was no such individualization- upon entering their cafeteria-style meal hall, the only decision they had to make was whether or not they wanted the particular options being offered for a given meal- if they did, they ordered it and it was served to them all at once on a single plate. Of course, my explanation is conjecture since I was not on the Titanic, but I believe that it was probably done as I have described, based solely on my knowledge of eating habits, meal etiquette and differences in social class during that period in history. I hope that satisfies your curiosity.
@@verdecillo9940 Please don't use the word, "gender," as a synonym for "sex". They are not the same. Sex is a biological, physical characteristic. Gender has to do with one's role in society.
@@DonnaBrooks What? Where in my comment did I use those words as synonyms? I didn't even use the word "sex" at all. Please don't use TH-cam as your platform to be a social justice warrior- at least not on a video like this one which has nothing to do with political correctness or policing of speech- this video is about history. My comment was a direct response to Deirdre McIntyre's specific question, and, despite your opinion, it contains no wording that actually needs correction. In fact, according to your own distinction, my usage of the word "gender" is actually the appropriate choice in this case because I explain men's and women's habits and how their options are affected by the fact that they are "men" or "women" and by their "marital status"- that is indeed part of their "role in society" (note that I didn't use the words "male" or "female" nor did I reference anything about anatomy or physical characteristics). Side note: Even if I had conflated "sex" and "gender" (which I didn't), it would not really have mattered much anyway for this particular explanation regarding an aspect of the Titanic because, during that period of history (the early 20th century), there was not a distinction between "sex" and "gender" (at least not anything like the distinction that exists today- over a hundred years later). Indeed, in the year 1912, the word "gender" was virtually unheard of, and the average person would understand it as just its obsolete meaning of "sort"/"category" (or, if the person was particularly educated, as "grammatical gender"- a meaning it still has today).
My daughter and I went on a 14 day cruise of French Polynesian...French chef of course. The food was outstanding but after awhile, I craved something very plain...like a boloney sandwich...LOL! The steerage menu for the Titanic didn't look too bad actually!
Yeah, this video plays up how basic the third-class menu was, but it's really pretty decent! Lots of hot food and protein, desserts, and I imagine the quality was relatively good since that was the reputation they wanted to build. Considering that third-class passengers on other ships were often expected to bring their own food, it sounds like a pretty sweet deal.
The food in 3rd Class was the sort of meals that the passengers would've been used to at home (The British subjects, at least; the menu was definitely arranged for English tastes). It wasn't fancy but it looked hearty (oatmeal, ham & eggs for breakfast, roast beef at dinner, cold meats and cheeses for tea, and gruel as a late snack) and appetizing. Plus, they got four meals a day (if they opted for the late supper) served to them. For most working class people, this was far more luxurious treatment than they'd had at home. There were very, very few complaints about the quality of the food in 3rd Class.
I'm English. I once went to Italy and stayed in a four star half board hotel- breakfast and evening meal. And same as you- the food was amazing but after a few days I just wanted something plain like a cheese toasty or a sandwich or something 😂
I've had this in the UK when being away on business and eating out all the time. There comes a point where all you want is beans on toast and a glass of water.
While beer was freely available as part of the first class passengers menu when they were eating, it wasn't part of the second and the third class menu, but they could get beer and other alcohol drinks in the second and the third class. In the second class the passengers just decided what they wanted to buy and a steward would take care of the order for them even if they weren't in the second class smoking room where there was a bar. In the third class the passengers had to purchase their drink themselves in the third class smoking room and drink it either there or the third class general room (smoking room was for adult men only both in the second and the third class per social norms of the time, while the general room was for everyone: the second class didn't have a general room since the second class was more spacey than the third and the passengers there had other areas to mingle without a need for a general room like in the otherwise narrow corners of the third class).
The third class menu was better than anything we were ever served on my ship when I was in the Navy. The one saving grace was that we had a pretty decent bake shop. Texas Pete hot sauce was a given to make most things palatable.
Mp parents grew up in the great depression the third-class meal looks like something I ate every day. My mom was a fantastic cook though and she did quite well with what she had and I ate every day. Holidays were a different story though, that is when she went, first class. Homemade cakes pies cookies and German stolen, those were the good old days. The main meal was the best. Turkey, stuffing all the add -ons. When you do not get these things every day you appreciate them more. It has been thirty-five years since I have enjoyed one of these feasts.
All three menus were perfectly adequate. The 3rd class meal is exactly what I eat as a well placed American. Fist for breakfast is the same thing as me opening up a tin of Sardines in olive oil. Cruel is simply oat meal. Steak and potato’s today is a $40.oo dinner in any Resturant today. The Third Class dining room was perfectly cozy and comfortable. Again, the dining room looks like most restaurants today. I detect an enmity here…..the woke attitude that’s always looking for something wrong. I never trust the moralizer’s. These shipping company’s made their profits from the Third Class passengers if she did but know it.
PLEASE learn when to use apostrophes and when to NOT use apostrophes! Apostrophes are used for CONTRACTIONS of 2 words, like, "could've," or "should've." When you write "potato's", that's a POSSESSIVE. It means you are going to talk about something that BELONGS to a single potato, as in, "the potato's skin." If you mean more than one potato, it's POTATOES (plural). Also, "moralizer's" is possessive. The "moralizer's" what? Their hair, their shoe size, their garden, their dentist, their investment advice? What you MEAN is MORALIZERS (plural; more than one). I'm explaining this to you like a child because you write like a child. The illiteracy on YT is horrible. Did none of you take a single ENGLISH CLASS in school? Also, you are moralizing when you say you never trust someone. That's a moral judgement. So apparently you don't even trust yourself. Everyone moralizes. I agree that this woke shit is everywhere & needs to stop b/c it's regressive & counterproductive & a waste of everyone's time, at best. I was also going to point out that "cruel" (ha! I know that was an autocorrect & you meant "gruel" so I'm not blaming you for that!) is a thin liquid food made of the meal of some grain (like oats, but it could be cornmeal, for instance) cooked in milk or water. It's like a soup made with ground oatmeal (as opposed to rolled oats or steel cut oats). Today, you can get all kinds of "meal" in stores: "almond meal", for instance, as a substitute for baking ingredients that contain gluten. Interestingly, if you buy "oatmilk" today, you are either lactose intolerant, vegan, or prefer the taste over milk, but you certainly aren't dirt poor b/c that stuff is expensive compared to dairy! (I just bought 4 different types of "nog" (one oat, one coconut, & 2 different brands of almond nog) to compare them to see which I like best, since I don't eat eggs now but I always liked egg nog as a kid. They weren't cheap but I'm entitled to something nice once a year. (The flavor of the Chobani oat nog is way better than the other 3.) You also mentioned, "Steak and potatoes." I don't think this menu had steak for third class. I remember that it said roast beef. Just wanted to be accurate about that, since steak is more expensive than roast beef & considered a better cut of meat.
Even the 3rd class tickets were $4000 (in todays money). The 1st class tickets were around 100k and the 1st class promenade suites were on average 400k
Those figures seem very high... source? I have a scan of a ticket in Steerage (3rd Class) on Cunards RMS Campania...from April 1910. Liverpool to New York Interestingly priced in USD... at $37.75 That seems to equate more to $1060 in todays money... Not a trivial amount sure... but given how MANY people paid these sorts of fares (8.2 million between 1900-1910)it was clearly not beyond the reach of too many...
Despite the safety issues of the day, the room and board offerings from Titanic was top of the line. Despite the fact that those who paid more received better accomodations, as it is today, *no one* was mistreated by substandard offerings.
Dinner is traditionally the main meal of the day, and a lot of people ate, and still do eat, their main meal around noontime. In this case, the meals are breakfast, dinner, and supper. If the main meal is in the evening, then the meals are breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The extravagance of 1st Class is obvious. This was the age of "conspicuous consumption". Second Class on Titanic was as good as First Class on other ships. However, you are judging the Third Class menu based on MODERN AMERICAN FOOD STANDARDS, not on the experiences of Third Class passengers in that era. For people who have NEVER seen a banana or orange in their entire lives to get fresh fruit every day was something special FOR THEM. Americans are SO affluent today that we throw away food w/o a thought that these passenger would normally never have the chance to even taste. Remember that the next time you let fresh fruit go to waste or when you don't clean your plate. We have GOT to stop judging everything & everyone by the standards & values of 21st century America. THINGS USED TO BE WORSE THAN THEY ARE NOW. THINGS CHANGE. THINGS GET BETTER. In Roman times, thousands of people would fill the colisseum to watch men fight to the death or to see people killed by wild animals. Today, people protest circuses with wild animals & some countries have OUTLAWED them (and rightly so, because they are cruel). Today "dancing bears" and other performing animals are increasingly looked upon as being victims of animal cruelty and abuse, and organizations are working to end those practices. (There are no more dancing bears in India b/c of the hard work of Free the Bears, International Animal Rescue, & other organizations who offered people help in getting a new means of income if they would surrender their bears, and then the bears were taken to rehabilitation centers where they can live in peace the rest of their lives. This just happened something like 6 years ago!! THINGS GET BETTER. PEOPLE BECOME MORE SENSITIVE TO INJUSTICE & CRUELTY. Quit acting like EVERYTHING is happening RIGHT NOW in THE UNITED STATES!! Get some perspective on the flow of history so you can see events and information in context. We are increasingly moving TOWARD another Guilded Age in which the difference in income between the very wealthy & everyone else is dramatically increasing. This wasn't the case in the 1950s & '60s, when labor unions were strong & people were moving INTO the middle class because of economic policies that gave them this opportunity. Now our economic policies favor the wealthiest people & labor has a fraction of the power it once had in protecting workers from exploitation to maximize profits. So let's get back to making policies that help THE MIDDLE CLASS & THE WORKING POOR TODAY, instead of looking back on another era that we don't understand & judging them with our current values based on our current standard of living. [Edited to correct a typo.]
I can’t understand what point you are trying to make. There were 3 classes of fares which were priced based on what customers were willing to pay. It is like going into McDonalds expecting to order Lobster Thermidor and pay the price of a happy meal.
I just finished watching a video the weird History channel talking about Hygiene on the Titanic and they made mention that most other cruise ships at the time didn't offer any food to third class passengers they typically had to bring their own food. So this was probably considered paradise.
You get what you pay for. And 3rd class really didn't sound so bad. I worked on cruise ships and I can tell you that I often ate in the crew mess rather than the staff dining room because sometimes I preferred that food.
Being from the country in Texas any of that would've been good to me even the third class the second class looked darn good I don't know what they were knocking it for.
i formerly lived in a third world country those foods alone is considered luxury and i cant believe that the luxury foods back then are now what i considered ordinary stable i could cook myself with the ingredients from my grocery
I can relate to practically all the comments below. The Titanic was a LUXURY Liner and as much as this video would like to imply that the third-class passengers (Steerage) were somewhat mistreated due to the menu that the White Star Line offered..nothing is further than the truth. Unfortunately, third-class passengers suffered greatly, as only 174 of its approximately 710 passengers survived. Grilled gates had been installed in the lower decks to keep different classes of passengers from interacting with each other, a sign of those times. Although stewards had keys to unlock the gates during an emergency, they did not have time to unlock all of them as the Titanic filled up with water after hitting the iceberg. Those in the lower decks had no idea what was happening and were left trapped and confused.
The narrator isn't being fair here. The menu on Titanic for 3rd class passengers was actually better than what most people that were poor or low income ate daily during that era. Honestly, its better than what many people eat now. Also, gruel was a normal staple back then. Gruel, oats, porridge, etc. were common meal items.
Titanic First and Second Class Meals were - Breakfast served from 8am - 10am. Luncheon served from 1pm -2.30pm. Dinner served from 6pm - 7.15pm (however in First Class you could start dining up to 8.15pm upon request). Third Class Meals were - Breakfast served from 8am - 10am. Dinner served from 12.30pm - 2pm. Tea served from 6pm - 7pm. Supper served 10pm - 11pm.
With all that food they gave you for lunch in first class, I'd need more than 4 hours before I dug into the typical 8 or 9 course meal they served for dinner! How the hell were they not all the size of a house they way they ate?
@@retroguy9494 Please remember, there is a difference between what was on offer on the menus, and what they actually chose and ate. You were not forced to eat everything or chose everything. It was an "ensemble" menu style. So, for example at lunch, you would sit down in the first class dining saloon, a waiter would come to your table and show you the menu. You would then pick what you wanted, and how much you felt you could eat, depending on how hungry you were.
@@johnking5174 Well, I suppose one would pick what they wanted from the breakfast or luncheon menu. In other words, one would not order both chicken AND fish for lunch (only one would be chosen). But as for dinner, my understanding, from the research I have done, particularly in first class where meals were included in the price of ones ticket, was that one could choose the entrée, but it would still come with 8 or 9 courses. It would begin with hors d'oeuvres (generally a kind of canape), followed by soup (which you could choose from 2), then salad (which actually had some kind of meat in it like squab). Then would come a fish course like salmon then followed by a sorbet to cleanse the pallet. This was followed by the 6th course which was the actual entrée (one could choose from things like lamb, filet mignon, etc.). This was then followed by a "sweet" course like spiced poached peaches with ice cream which was quite popular at the time. This was followed by dessert which was generally cheeses and fruits. THEN they served coffee and petit fours (kind of redundant in MY opinion as they already served a sweet course). Of course, in 1912 in the days before television and radio, for the wealthy, dinner WAS considered the entertainment for the evening and it would literally last for 3 or 4 hours. Since all of these courses were brought one after another to people in the dining room, I suppose one could actually refuse some of the courses even though they were included with your ticket, but somehow I think in the convention of the day, it would not be considered polite or appropriate to do so.
@@tweetypie1978 Well, yes, of course. Especially today where those multi course meals have more or less become a thing of the past. But for the wealthy at the turn of the last century, the main course or entrée came somewhere in the middle of a multi course dinner.
While there was a significant difference between first class and third class, third class on the Titanic was considered to be far better than on the average trans-Atlantic steamer
Seeking to describe 3d class as some sort of oppression via menu---while admitting 1st class paid hugely higher ticked fees. I don't eat any better than those passengers.
I think you are inaccurate in your assumption of the word "dinner". Dinner signifies the largest meal of the day in regards to lunch or supper (breakfast remains as breakfast, simply because one is breaking the fast that occurred when sleeping). Since supper was much smaller than the lunch for 3rd class, dinner was used for lunch in lieu of the word lunch.
I paid for steerage and all I got was three and a half meals per day, each with multiple freshly cooked items. This is clearly the worst thing that could possibly happen to me on this voyage.
Passengers in third class ate much better than most of them would normally do at home. They got breakfast, dinner and tea (in that order). Dinner was at lunch time and was the main meal of the day, it was probably how they were used to eating, tea would be lighter. Cabin biscuits were a hard biscuit that was thought to prevent sea sickness. The only thing they were short of that day was green veg. In second class the cocoanut sandwich would not have been an American cookie. It would probably have been like a Victoria sandwich cake
During the time of the Titanic, most steerage class passengers on other ships had to bring their own food or pay extra to eat the food on board. They also had large open rooms of shared space for sleeping. The Titanic had a 3rd Class accommodations, not steerage, and would be considered greatly better than any other ship at the time. This was also a transport ship, not a Caribbean cruise vacation. It was to go from the UK to the US.
I could have afforded a first class ticket on the Titanic. But I find nothing wrong with the third class menu! Its STILL more than I eat in a day normally! In fact, from what I have read, compared to other steamers of the day, the Titanic actually had VERY good accommodations for third class passengers.
@@rishnayak4692 No, if I wanted it I would pay cash. However, I would just settle for a cheaper cabin. I don't believe in wasting money on ostentatiousness.
i just love the blatant reverse snobbery on display in this video. that was food i would LOVE to eat in the 3rd class and was a vast improvement over anything they would have had at home.
The second class menu looks the most appetizing to me. All the weird fish and gelatin dishes that wealthy Edwardians ate to show off always strike me as unappealing.
"Bisquits" is a British word for what Americans would call a "cookie". It's not like what Americans would call bisquits. So I'm wondering if the "crackers" you mention (cabin bisquits) aren't sweet? Something more like graham crackers than soda crackers. After all, "crackers" is already mentioned in the menu, even for the same meal. Having a warm glass of milk & a graham cracker before bed is something children would have done when I was a child in the '60s. So the gruel (a souplike food made by cooking the finely ground meal of some grain like oats in milk) & cabin bisquits could be the equivalent of a glass of warm milk & graham crackers, which would have made sense b/c WHOLE FAMILIES were traveling in 3rd class. They weren't just taking a vacay. They were MOVING. There were lots of children in Third Class. I'd love to know the recipe for those bisquits to see if my theory might be right. Also, when I was growing up, mom sometimes made, "cornmeal mush", which is just cornmeal boiled in water w/ some salt. Then you'd put butter on it in your bowl. You could add sugar or syrup. You could put milk on it. It was basically a hot cereal but we had it for supper.
I hate to sound like Barbara Bush but the third class menu was probably far better than most passengers were used to. Honestly it's better than what I eat on a daily basis.
Love your breakdown, but be fair and mention that third class menu, while being less diverse, was actually pure gourmet luxury compared to other ships. On some trans Atlantic liners third class was expected to bring their own food for the journey and didn't even have rooms. They had huge dormitories with beds little better than pallets. Some didn't even have access to ship doctor or a priest. Accommodation and food on Titanic's third class was what the accommodation was like for second class on other ships. Love your video though. Keep up the good work young lady. Love from Australia.
Oh that's interesting to hear. Thanks for the feedback and additional information! I'm sorry we weren't able to provide more of a comparison between other cruises of the time but we're glad you still enjoyed it.
The 3rd class menu was much, much better than what any working class person could have expected at the time. It sounds completely respectable to me as a 21st century man of the middle class.
People in first class were most likely overwhelmed by the food not because it was bad but because of how it was of such good quality and and quantity compared to what they would normally eat I would be happy with a 3rd class meal.
Whoever made this video didn't really do their due diligence. The Titanic was very luxurious for the standards of the time. Even for third class. Everyone on board 1st, 2nd, 3rd class along with the crew were well fed. The menu was in many cases better than what they would get to eat when not on board the ship. A generic retelling of the story with some unnecessary drama.
This video shows that they did no research into other ships that were plying the waters at the time of Titanic. Third class with White Star was about the same as 2nd on most other lines. WS made popular the wild notion of 3rd class cabins as well as promenades, dining saloons, and full dining service. Don’t knock Titanic’s third class till you look at the previous 50 years of cheap ocean travel.
Ironically enough even if I had been a millionaire I wouldn't have liked the first class food. It's too fancy for my taste. I went on a cruise a few years ago where they had a Cirque du Soleil style dinner show with a prefixed menu it was surf and turf filet mignon and salmon and I said can you please bring me a burger and fries lol.
Assuming good quality products the 3rd class menue is totally fine. Granted my families taste is "german working class" (irony: 3rd generation engineer) not "spolied 4th generation suburban nobility" but my dinner today sounds quite similar (peas and bay carrots not sweet corn) and was totally normal where I grew up (Middle class background, mist neighbours where engineers in the same Montan company as well)
Bearing in mind that even in 3rd class, it's still a multi-course meal and you could have as much as you wanted with each course. 3rd class waiters and stewards were held to the same high standards as in 1st, indeed stewards had to start in 3rd and work their way up to 1st in their careers. If you screwed up or were an ass, the Chief Steward would literally have your number (all stewards have numbered badges on their uniforms) and you could be confined to quarters, forfeit your pay, and be booted off the ship at the next port at worst. White Star were no fools, they knew that steerage was what made the real money, and made every effort to ensure the 3rd class were treated well. To cap it all off, on the back of each 3rd class menu card is a postcard, the idea being that you would send it back home to your family in the old country and say, "I had a great time with the White Star Line and ate well, see for yourself." It was a way to drum up further business, as most immigrants were one-time fares.
They had smoked herring.....when I traveled by steam ship back in the day we only had smoked herring eyeballs......and we were damned happy to have them.
From what I’ve read of the menus on the Titanic, most of the third class passengers ate much better on the Titanic than they ever did at home. Indeed, I have read that the accommodations for many were better than what they had left before they emigrated.
Two words: Indoor toilets.
@@DonnaBrooks On a cruise, the world is your toilet bowl! No need for indoor toilets...
Yeah a 3rd class ticket wasn’t cheap, even by today’s standards ranging from around 200-400 dollars. So the third class passengers weren’t desperately poor.
This is true--the narrator makes the viewer think the third class passengers were eating hardtack and swill. Most of them were headed for tenement buildings in the larger cities with rats and cockroaches waiting for them. I guess she saw the word "gruel" and assumed the worst.
For one, they're provided with food and have utensils. When in that era you have to bring your own spoons, forks, etc in other liners.
in spite of what the maker of this video wants you to believe, the 2nd and third class menus were extremely good for the time. in fact, the second class menu would have been considered 1st class on any other ship and 3rd class was much more like 2nd class on other ships. so people were certainly very happy with their food on any class. Also, even if they had full life boats and more life boats a thousand people would have died. they could not even launch all the ones they had in time. so many myths about the ship are perpetuated. thank you for covering the menu, but the information provided is both misleading in context. from a long time Titanic student
Second Class White Star, was better than 1st on other lines.
I think you got distracted & didn't finish your thought in that last sentence. (I do this all the time.) You say, "is both misleading in context." One would expect an, "and", there, not a period. Both / and what? What was the second thing you meant to say?
Yeah, I felt like the maker of this video was judging that time period by todays standards. Things were different back then so you shouldn’t really make judgments like that. The 2nd and 3rd class were treated pretty well on that ship and the ones that survived even stated they felt that way.
My great grandparents came to America on a ship that didn’t treat them even half as good as the Titanic treated their 3rd class. The 3rd class people on Titanic were considered lucky coming to America in luxury. That wasn’t typical of most “3rd class” people
Absolutely! The food in 3rd Class was basic but plentiful.
Third class meals in 1912 were nicer than first class meals on most airlines today
From what I read in books, Titanic still offered better accommodations for 3rd class than you would see on other ships in that day.
It’s also very important to remember that the titanic line was luxurious even by 3rd class standards. Many shipping lines had bare bones accommodations for steerage. The idea that the titanic served food to steerage passengers instead of forcing families to bring their own was pretty remarkable at the time. They also had beds with linens, toilets and open air decks for steerage. Steerage guests usually had to bring their own linens, mattresses, and food for the entire journey.
White Star, much like airlines today, made their money off of steerage. Passengers in steerage or tourist actually pay for the cost of the trip.
VERY true! I find nothing wrong with that third class menu. Its what I would normally eat now (well, not the gruel LOL) and I could have afforded a first class ticket!
@retroguy, the gruel was essentially hot cereal served as a snack (called a “supper” before bedtime. For many steerage passengers, an extra meal (even if it was just oatmeal, biscuits and coffee) served free was an almost unfathomable luxury.
Hey dear
@@TorontoJediMaster Yes, I know what "supper" is in the traditional sense. I'm quite an authority on etiquette.
So what you're saying is that the gruel on the Titanic was NOT gruel in the traditional sense (some thin liquid made of meal like oatmeal boiled in water or milk) but rather more of a cereal kind of oatmeal or even perhaps like a farina?
After having experienced coach food on most of the major airlines I can tell you that the third class passengers are eating like kings compared to what I have endured in coach!!
I was thinking exactly the same thing, compared to what I've eaten crammed into seat 300-D in economy, the 3rd class menu on the Titanic looks really good.
Try British Airways today for comparison. The food in all classes way inferior to Titanic.
We can get across the Atlantic much more quickly today. It's a shame quality of the meals hasn't fared as well.
In all fairness food has changed so much since then.
I don’t think the plane could get off the ground carrying all the food served to Titanic passengers. If you want to enjoy the luxury of a trans Atlantic voyage and fine food, the Cunard line still offers that option.
I remember my Mom telling me the story of her Mother, emigrating from eastern Europe to America, traveling in steerage class. These passengers were told to bring food to help sustain them, as the only meal served by the ship was the evening meal. She said each passenger was given a metal bowl, a fork, and a metal cup. A couple of big pots were wheeled in and these contained the meal of boiled cabbage and potatoes, along with loves of black rye bread. The same thing every single day. You lined up, got a bowlful of this "food", a hunk of the bread, and a cup of water. Then you found a place to sit down and eat, because there were no tables. If my Grandmother traveled third class on the Titanic, she and her fellow travelers would have thought they were being treated like royalty!
now this is a good oral history take! i often wondered what is life for being some third class passenger days if we could hear their testimony/interview. but one's i found are words from former ellis island passengers who moved and grown up old decades later
Just be glad she wasn’t on the Titanic. Thanks for sharing a great story.
This almost made me cry
Bless her heart 😔
@@sunshinesunshine94 Thank-you. Both my Grandmother and Grandfather were strong, hard-working, and courageous folks. My Grandfather worked in the coal mines in Pennsylvania and my Grandmother worked in the woolen mills and silk mills. They made a good life for themselves and their family, and were always grateful that America made it all possible. They have always been my heroes and my inspiration.
@@caspence56
That would be awesome if we all had known history in our family like that, I hope the world was kind to them when they arrived and glad that at least they had each other to rely on for love,
Working the coal mine was probably great money at the time but also dangerous, seems though they were able to survive and start their family, which I'm guessing would have included
Your mother, 🧡
Nice story thankyou for sharing that
3rd class menu: pretty much like my usual meal for the day
2nd class menu: food is something I'd eat on a special occasion
1st class menu: food that I probably would have at least once in my lifetime, if I'm lucky
This is a similar description for me.
Dude - if mutton chops and cheddar cheese is something you'll probably never aspire to, you have my sympathy. My dogs eat better than that every day, no lie.
@@whaheydeleeLiar.
@@williamjones7163 Really? Last night my dogs had wild caught salmon and sweet potatoes. Tonight they will have free range chicken breasts.
@@whaheydelee My dog catches his own salmon AND grows his own potatoes lol
Third class really isn’t bad at all. Even by today’s standard. Might have only been one page for the whole day but there’s still variety
It sounds like this lady is trying to stir up unnecessary class envy!!❤️
I agree, all the menus sounded good to me. I would gladly take any of them. 3rd or 2nd class had the same option to pay for the grander food, they didn't because it was not in their budget. Which probably means it has never been in their budget and so they did not miss anything. The more expensive food cost more to procure, so the ship would need to charge more for it, so the business could stay a float (pun intended 😂).
She's overdramatic.🙄
She's suffering Dunning Kruger Effect and thinks she is very clever
3rd class menus aren’t that bad to me. Considering on most other ships they would be provided nothing, it’s a pretty good deal on titanic.
I don't know why people knock the 3rd Class menu. Yes, it wasn't as fancy as what was served in 1st or 2nd Class. However, passengers in 3rd Class didn't expect anything fancy. Instead they got the same sort of food they'd eat at home (at least if they were from the UK, as the menu was definitely made with Anglo-Irish passengers in mind). Oatmeal, ham & eggs, roast beef, cold meats & cheeses, etcetera. I don't see anything wrong with those selections. They even got an option for a late snack (supper). For many people, this was probably better than what they ate at home and it was served to them.
The bit on the menus about to report any complaints to a chief steward was to let them know that White Star was serious about giving good service to 3rd Class. The thinking was that if 3rd Class immigrants liked the service they received, they'd recommend the line to family and friends who would be immigrating later. 3rd Class passengers just wanted clean, comfortable cabins and good food. They got both.
It was also important to keep 3rd class passengers healthy. If they are turned away by immigration they had to be returned to their country of origin at the ship lines expense. Typically immigrants would be quarantined at immigration facilities however they could be denied entry completely and sent back. The expectation is the line would ensure passengers are healthy enough for travel before departure and were not getting ill in transit. If a large outbreak were to occur that could cost the line significant money. Large liners made most of their revenue from 3rd class passengers so you wanted to capture as much as that market as possible. 1st and 2nd class were very profitable however did not provide the revenue needed due to their small numbers. They understood that good nutrition an hygiene would aide in this. Food, ventilation/heating, and plumbing were heavily focused on in the Olympic class for 3rd class passengers. Although the 3rd class accommodations were spartan and the food simple by comparison they were not bad quality.
There was nothing wrong with the third class menu (these days many people just associate the word "gruel" with very watery and poorly prepared oatmeal, as if it couldn't be done right). Considering what the third class was on other lines ships, the people were getting a good deal. White Star Line prided itself for its quality (even if the third class food wasn't luxurious, food served there still needed to be prepared by the White Star Line quality standards and they wanted hear if there were issues with the food: third class passengers were the most numerous passengers buying the most tickets), with Titanic being the newest in shipping: so much so that the second class was comparable to the first class of many other lines ships.
The first class passengers would probably be eating second class food every day, and first class food for special occasions.
The second class passengers were probably eating in a similar way, third class food normally, but second class food when they were on holiday, or on the Titanic.
The third class passengers were probably not used to the food they were being served at all. Especially as Second class was the equivalent of first class on other ships, the third class was the equivalent of travelling second class on the older ships.
At one time, the third class passengers would have to take their own food, crockery and cutlery for the entire journey with them, so being well fed would be important.
3rd class doesn't look bad at all to me.
I'm guessing by the end of Joe biden's term,
We'll all be lucky if we're eating as good as the third class was,
Their menu items look delicious 😋
Damn I got hungry just listen to the third class menu that's sound pretty luxurious to me
I wouldn't call it LUXURIOUS! I'd call it adequate. It's standard American fare today, except for things like porridge & gruel & cabin bisquits.
@@DonnaBrooks uhm, doesn't half of the USA eat porridge for breakfast?
For the era, the third class menu was unusually good.
The 3rd class menu was probably a lot better than most of the 3rd class passengers got at home. And in those days it was rare enough that the ship would bother feeding those people in the first place - a lot of the time, such passengers had to bring their own food onboard with them.
"Dinner" and "Tea" are still used today in northern working class communities in England.
I grew up in Appalachia & we never used the word, "dinner", for the evening meal. It was always supper. I still like to use that word. It's a good word & I hate seeing it go out of fashion as our society becomes more urbanized & sophisticated.
I remember reading that cabin biscuits helped alleviate sea sickness so they served a purpose.
How so? Were they like soda crackers??
@@DonnaBrooks look up the available articles on it right now.
3rd Class menu was more varied and better quality than I expected. I'm sure the service was pretty basic, but at the end of the day they got plenty of food and it was pretty good quality. Not too bad for what they were paying for a ticket.
From your opening tease I was expecting nothing but beef stock soup and stale crackers for the 3rd Class diners. The Titanic's 3rd Class eats were way better that anything served on Amtrak today. NIce show, though.
I'd be thrilled to eat the third class menu while travelling...heck right now would be grand!
in addition to what others have said about the quality of 3rd class meals,
you have to remember that many of these passengers would not have had meat
every day. On the ship, they got it at every meal!
The FRESH FRUIT would be EXOTIC to the third class passengers. I bet many of them had never seen a banana or orange in their lives!
The bias of this video tried to slant towards how terrible the third class menu was, but any open-minded person watching leaves with the conclusion that for a ship in 1912 that menu was pretty darn good and probably 100 times better then what they were used to. I honestly thought it was going to be way worse.
I really believed it was going to be along the lines of a potato and beans ...or beans and rice ...
There was so much class back then even the third class was treated with dignity and delicious food,
I actually liked the third class menu more than the first class menu. The former seemed more like casual dining comfort food. It was simple but hearty.
I suspect that the stewards assigned to third class were not happy because they weren't getting the gratuities that their counterparts in first and second class were likely receiving.
Interesting. Did stewards get tips on steam liners in those days? I'm thinking that rather odd, like tipping an air flight attendant for serving the food. What about on the food car in trains?
@@DonnaBrooks yes they got tips
Totally agree bout 3rd class food who complain eating beef n potaroes
The third-class menu looks pretty decent by today's standards. Nowadays Airlines expect you to pay for gross items.
Yes, I recall a time when the food served at airlines was included in the price of the ticket and it wasn't that bad.
The 3rd Class menu looks scrumptious!
Shoot, the 3rd class menu still looks pretty tasty to me!
Roast beef? Surprised they got this.
The third class menu had better food
Ridiculous. The 3rd class accommodations were excellent compared to other ships and many passengers were not used to flush toilets or being waited on by steward s at dinner. The food was good based on the fare paid. Those who paid as much as the first class passengers should expect a superior culinary experience.
I liked pretty much everything on all 3 menus.
The third class menu whilst still basic was probably a real luxury to third class passengers who no doubht would have lived on very poor diets at home. What I wonder though is, were each of the classes allowed to sample all on the menu or were they only allowed to have one breakfast dish for example? Where they allowed to have two small dinners instead of one? Any thoughts on this, I would love to hear! 👍
The 3rd Class menu was the type of food most of the passengers (those from the UK, at least) would've been used to. It wasn't fancy, but it was of good quality and they had it served to them. People forget that while 3rd Class was rather no frills, it likely was an improvement on the living conditions many of the passengers were used to at home.
Hey dear
I see you posted your question 6 months ago, but in case you were still wondering- the answer depends on the specific meal, the class, and (for certain meals, to some extent) even the gender and marital status of a given passenger. For breakfast, all classes probably had access to a buffet where they could choose whatever items they wanted among all that was available- at least for the men and unmarried women- the married women in first class only probably had the option of having a breakfast tray served to them in bed very soon after they woke (this was typical in that time period). For luncheon, the first and second class passengers probably chose 1 item from every category- for example, 1 soup from among the soup options, 1 fish or poultry item, 1 meat item, 1 dessert item, etc. in addition to choosing whatever items they wanted at the buffet. Similarly for dinner, the first and second class passengers again had more options, but a minor difference might have been that the first class passengers could go into their dining room, sit and converse at their smaller tables and take their meals "at-home style"- with waiters tending them individually- bringing out all the options available for each course one at time in covered platters from which the passengers used a serving fork and a serving spoon to pick out a portion if they wanted it (after all, this is what they would have been accustomed to in their daily lives since wealthy people of that time period had servants who waited on them at dinner every evening). Instead, the second class passengers, would have ordered the options they wanted, and then the waiters would have brought them the chosen meal on successive plates (similar to how most average restaurants serve meals in modern times). As for third class, there was no such individualization- upon entering their cafeteria-style meal hall, the only decision they had to make was whether or not they wanted the particular options being offered for a given meal- if they did, they ordered it and it was served to them all at once on a single plate. Of course, my explanation is conjecture since I was not on the Titanic, but I believe that it was probably done as I have described, based solely on my knowledge of eating habits, meal etiquette and differences in social class during that period in history. I hope that satisfies your curiosity.
@@verdecillo9940 Please don't use the word, "gender," as a synonym for "sex". They are not the same. Sex is a biological, physical characteristic. Gender has to do with one's role in society.
@@DonnaBrooks What? Where in my comment did I use those words as synonyms? I didn't even use the word "sex" at all. Please don't use TH-cam as your platform to be a social justice warrior- at least not on a video like this one which has nothing to do with political correctness or policing of speech- this video is about history. My comment was a direct response to Deirdre McIntyre's specific question, and, despite your opinion, it contains no wording that actually needs correction. In fact, according to your own distinction, my usage of the word "gender" is actually the appropriate choice in this case because I explain men's and women's habits and how their options are affected by the fact that they are "men" or "women" and by their "marital status"- that is indeed part of their "role in society" (note that I didn't use the words "male" or "female" nor did I reference anything about anatomy or physical characteristics).
Side note: Even if I had conflated "sex" and "gender" (which I didn't), it would not really have mattered much anyway for this particular explanation regarding an aspect of the Titanic because, during that period of history (the early 20th century), there was not a distinction between "sex" and "gender" (at least not anything like the distinction that exists today- over a hundred years later). Indeed, in the year 1912, the word "gender" was virtually unheard of, and the average person would understand it as just its obsolete meaning of "sort"/"category" (or, if the person was particularly educated, as "grammatical gender"- a meaning it still has today).
My daughter and I went on a 14 day cruise of French Polynesian...French chef of course. The food was outstanding but after awhile, I craved something very plain...like a boloney sandwich...LOL! The steerage menu for the Titanic didn't look too bad actually!
Yeah, this video plays up how basic the third-class menu was, but it's really pretty decent! Lots of hot food and protein, desserts, and I imagine the quality was relatively good since that was the reputation they wanted to build. Considering that third-class passengers on other ships were often expected to bring their own food, it sounds like a pretty sweet deal.
The food in 3rd Class was the sort of meals that the passengers would've been used to at home (The British subjects, at least; the menu was definitely arranged for English tastes). It wasn't fancy but it looked hearty (oatmeal, ham & eggs for breakfast, roast beef at dinner, cold meats and cheeses for tea, and gruel as a late snack) and appetizing. Plus, they got four meals a day (if they opted for the late supper) served to them. For most working class people, this was far more luxurious treatment than they'd had at home. There were very, very few complaints about the quality of the food in 3rd Class.
I'm English. I once went to Italy and stayed in a four star half board hotel- breakfast and evening meal. And same as you- the food was amazing but after a few days I just wanted something plain like a cheese toasty or a sandwich or something 😂
I've had this in the UK when being away on business and eating out all the time. There comes a point where all you want is beans on toast and a glass of water.
While beer was freely available as part of the first class passengers menu when they were eating, it wasn't part of the second and the third class menu, but they could get beer and other alcohol drinks in the second and the third class. In the second class the passengers just decided what they wanted to buy and a steward would take care of the order for them even if they weren't in the second class smoking room where there was a bar. In the third class the passengers had to purchase their drink themselves in the third class smoking room and drink it either there or the third class general room (smoking room was for adult men only both in the second and the third class per social norms of the time, while the general room was for everyone: the second class didn't have a general room since the second class was more spacey than the third and the passengers there had other areas to mingle without a need for a general room like in the otherwise narrow corners of the third class).
The third and second class on this ship were NICE! Much nicer than any other ship, third class was called steerage on other ships.
The third class menu was better than anything we were ever served on my ship when I was in the Navy. The one saving grace was that we had a pretty decent bake shop. Texas Pete hot sauce was a given to make most things palatable.
Were beans a thing?
Mp parents grew up in the great depression the third-class meal looks like something I ate every day. My mom was a fantastic cook though and she did quite well with what she had and I ate every day. Holidays were a different story though, that is when she went, first class. Homemade cakes pies cookies and German stolen, those were the good old days. The main meal was the best. Turkey, stuffing all the add -ons. When you do not get these things every day you appreciate them more. It has been thirty-five years since I have enjoyed one of these feasts.
All three menus were perfectly adequate. The 3rd class meal is exactly what I eat as a well placed American. Fist for breakfast is the same thing as me opening up a tin of Sardines in olive oil. Cruel is simply oat meal. Steak and potato’s today is a $40.oo dinner in any Resturant today. The Third Class dining room was perfectly cozy and comfortable. Again, the dining room looks like most restaurants today. I detect an enmity here…..the woke attitude that’s always looking for something wrong. I never trust the moralizer’s. These shipping company’s made their profits from the Third Class passengers if she did but know it.
Well said, David. You're not from the Land of Lincoln, by any chance?
PLEASE learn when to use apostrophes and when to NOT use apostrophes! Apostrophes are used for CONTRACTIONS of 2 words, like, "could've," or "should've." When you write "potato's", that's a POSSESSIVE. It means you are going to talk about something that BELONGS to a single potato, as in, "the potato's skin." If you mean more than one potato, it's POTATOES (plural). Also, "moralizer's" is possessive. The "moralizer's" what? Their hair, their shoe size, their garden, their dentist, their investment advice? What you MEAN is MORALIZERS (plural; more than one).
I'm explaining this to you like a child because you write like a child. The illiteracy on YT is horrible. Did none of you take a single ENGLISH CLASS in school?
Also, you are moralizing when you say you never trust someone. That's a moral judgement. So apparently you don't even trust yourself. Everyone moralizes. I agree that this woke shit is everywhere & needs to stop b/c it's regressive & counterproductive & a waste of everyone's time, at best.
I was also going to point out that "cruel" (ha! I know that was an autocorrect & you meant "gruel" so I'm not blaming you for that!) is a thin liquid food made of the meal of some grain (like oats, but it could be cornmeal, for instance) cooked in milk or water. It's like a soup made with ground oatmeal (as opposed to rolled oats or steel cut oats). Today, you can get all kinds of "meal" in stores: "almond meal", for instance, as a substitute for baking ingredients that contain gluten.
Interestingly, if you buy "oatmilk" today, you are either lactose intolerant, vegan, or prefer the taste over milk, but you certainly aren't dirt poor b/c that stuff is expensive compared to dairy! (I just bought 4 different types of "nog" (one oat, one coconut, & 2 different brands of almond nog) to compare them to see which I like best, since I don't eat eggs now but I always liked egg nog as a kid. They weren't cheap but I'm entitled to something nice once a year. (The flavor of the Chobani oat nog is way better than the other 3.)
You also mentioned, "Steak and potatoes." I don't think this menu had steak for third class. I remember that it said roast beef. Just wanted to be accurate about that, since steak is more expensive than roast beef & considered a better cut of meat.
@David Bell You sound pretty "woke" and "moralizing" yourself.
Even the 3rd class tickets were $4000 (in todays money). The 1st class tickets were around 100k and the 1st class promenade suites were on average 400k
And now you can get a 7 night cruise with way better unlimited food for $500 (today's money).
Those figures seem very high... source? I have a scan of a ticket in Steerage (3rd Class) on Cunards RMS Campania...from April 1910. Liverpool to New York Interestingly priced in USD... at $37.75 That seems to equate more to $1060 in todays money... Not a trivial amount sure... but given how MANY people paid these sorts of fares (8.2 million between 1900-1910)it was clearly not beyond the reach of too many...
Despite the safety issues of the day, the room and board offerings from Titanic was top of the line. Despite the fact that those who paid more received better accomodations, as it is today, *no one* was mistreated by substandard offerings.
Dinner is traditionally the main meal of the day, and a lot of people ate, and still do eat, their main meal around noontime. In this case, the meals are breakfast, dinner, and supper. If the main meal is in the evening, then the meals are breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
all the menus look lovely. Proper fresh food, NOTHING ultraprocessed
The extravagance of 1st Class is obvious. This was the age of "conspicuous consumption". Second Class on Titanic was as good as First Class on other ships. However, you are judging the Third Class menu based on MODERN AMERICAN FOOD STANDARDS, not on the experiences of Third Class passengers in that era. For people who have NEVER seen a banana or orange in their entire lives to get fresh fruit every day was something special FOR THEM. Americans are SO affluent today that we throw away food w/o a thought that these passenger would normally never have the chance to even taste. Remember that the next time you let fresh fruit go to waste or when you don't clean your plate. We have GOT to stop judging everything & everyone by the standards & values of 21st century America. THINGS USED TO BE WORSE THAN THEY ARE NOW. THINGS CHANGE. THINGS GET BETTER. In Roman times, thousands of people would fill the colisseum to watch men fight to the death or to see people killed by wild animals. Today, people protest circuses with wild animals & some countries have OUTLAWED them (and rightly so, because they are cruel). Today "dancing bears" and other performing animals are increasingly looked upon as being victims of animal cruelty and abuse, and organizations are working to end those practices. (There are no more dancing bears in India b/c of the hard work of Free the Bears, International Animal Rescue, & other organizations who offered people help in getting a new means of income if they would surrender their bears, and then the bears were taken to rehabilitation centers where they can live in peace the rest of their lives. This just happened something like 6 years ago!! THINGS GET BETTER. PEOPLE BECOME MORE SENSITIVE TO INJUSTICE & CRUELTY. Quit acting like EVERYTHING is happening RIGHT NOW in THE UNITED STATES!! Get some perspective on the flow of history so you can see events and information in context. We are increasingly moving TOWARD another Guilded Age in which the difference in income between the very wealthy & everyone else is dramatically increasing. This wasn't the case in the 1950s & '60s, when labor unions were strong & people were moving INTO the middle class because of economic policies that gave them this opportunity. Now our economic policies favor the wealthiest people & labor has a fraction of the power it once had in protecting workers from exploitation to maximize profits. So let's get back to making policies that help THE MIDDLE CLASS & THE WORKING POOR TODAY, instead of looking back on another era that we don't understand & judging them with our current values based on our current standard of living. [Edited to correct a typo.]
It's been written that "Steerage" on Titanic was better than "Second Class" on many other ships.
The titanic was first ship to serve full meals to 3rd class! Way ahead of its time!!
I don't see anything wrong with the 3rd class meal
I can’t understand what point you are trying to make. There were 3 classes of fares which were priced based on what customers were willing to pay. It is like going into McDonalds expecting to order Lobster Thermidor and pay the price of a happy meal.
I just finished watching a video the weird History channel talking about Hygiene on the Titanic and they made mention that most other cruise ships at the time didn't offer any food to third class passengers they typically had to bring their own food. So this was probably considered paradise.
3rd class menu doesn't look too bad actually
I was expecting the 3rd class menu to be pretty grim, but no, I’d happily eat that.
You get what you pay for. And 3rd class really didn't sound so bad. I worked on cruise ships and I can tell you that I often ate in the crew mess rather than the staff dining room because sometimes I preferred that food.
All the food sounds really good. But I really like Second Class and Third Class.
The food for all the classes doesn’t seem that bad.
Being from the country in Texas any of that would've been good to me even the third class the second class looked darn good I don't know what they were knocking it for.
i formerly lived in a third world country those foods alone is considered luxury and i cant believe that the luxury foods back then are now what i considered ordinary stable i could cook myself with the ingredients from my grocery
First class passengers sound like a pain in the ass!
I can relate to practically all the comments below. The Titanic was a LUXURY Liner and as much as this video would like to imply that the third-class passengers (Steerage) were somewhat mistreated due to the menu that the White Star Line offered..nothing is further than the truth. Unfortunately, third-class passengers suffered greatly, as only 174 of its approximately 710 passengers survived. Grilled gates had been installed in the lower decks to keep different classes of passengers from interacting with each other, a sign of those times. Although stewards had keys to unlock the gates during an emergency, they did not have time to unlock all of them as the Titanic filled up with water after hitting the iceberg. Those in the lower decks had no idea what was happening and were left trapped and confused.
The narrator isn't being fair here. The menu on Titanic for 3rd class passengers was actually better than what most people that were poor or low income ate daily during that era. Honestly, its better than what many people eat now. Also, gruel was a normal staple back then. Gruel, oats, porridge, etc. were common meal items.
Titanic’s 3rd class was largely considered comparable to 2nd class on most other vessels.
I WOULD NOT HAVE FELT DEPRIVED IN SECOND CLASS! IT SOUNDED LIKE FUN AND COMFORT TO ME!
Actually, my daily menu is simple like the third class menu!!!
In fact,
they have more things on there there
than I eat daily!!!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Titanic First and Second Class Meals were - Breakfast served from 8am - 10am. Luncheon served from 1pm -2.30pm. Dinner served from 6pm - 7.15pm (however in First Class you could start dining up to 8.15pm upon request). Third Class Meals were - Breakfast served from 8am - 10am. Dinner served from 12.30pm - 2pm. Tea served from 6pm - 7pm. Supper served 10pm - 11pm.
With all that food they gave you for lunch in first class, I'd need more than 4 hours before I dug into the typical 8 or 9 course meal they served for dinner! How the hell were they not all the size of a house they way they ate?
@@retroguy9494 Please remember, there is a difference between what was on offer on the menus, and what they actually chose and ate. You were not forced to eat everything or chose everything. It was an "ensemble" menu style. So, for example at lunch, you would sit down in the first class dining saloon, a waiter would come to your table and show you the menu. You would then pick what you wanted, and how much you felt you could eat, depending on how hungry you were.
@@johnking5174 Well, I suppose one would pick what they wanted from the breakfast or luncheon menu. In other words, one would not order both chicken AND fish for lunch (only one would be chosen). But as for dinner, my understanding, from the research I have done, particularly in first class where meals were included in the price of ones ticket, was that one could choose the entrée, but it would still come with 8 or 9 courses. It would begin with hors d'oeuvres (generally a kind of canape), followed by soup (which you could choose from 2), then salad (which actually had some kind of meat in it like squab). Then would come a fish course like salmon then followed by a sorbet to cleanse the pallet. This was followed by the 6th course which was the actual entrée (one could choose from things like lamb, filet mignon, etc.). This was then followed by a "sweet" course like spiced poached peaches with ice cream which was quite popular at the time. This was followed by dessert which was generally cheeses and fruits. THEN they served coffee and petit fours (kind of redundant in MY opinion as they already served a sweet course).
Of course, in 1912 in the days before television and radio, for the wealthy, dinner WAS considered the entertainment for the evening and it would literally last for 3 or 4 hours. Since all of these courses were brought one after another to people in the dining room, I suppose one could actually refuse some of the courses even though they were included with your ticket, but somehow I think in the convention of the day, it would not be considered polite or appropriate to do so.
@@retroguy9494 you know that in most places entrée is starter because that's what it actually means! Entrée then main course then dessert course
@@tweetypie1978 Well, yes, of course. Especially today where those multi course meals have more or less become a thing of the past. But for the wealthy at the turn of the last century, the main course or entrée came somewhere in the middle of a multi course dinner.
While there was a significant difference between first class and third class, third class on the Titanic was considered to be far better than on the average trans-Atlantic steamer
Seeking to describe 3d class as some sort of oppression via menu---while admitting 1st class paid hugely higher ticked fees. I don't eat any better than those passengers.
All those menus look good to me. I would be very happy with 1st, 2nd or 3rd class, although a little beer would be nice.
The third class menu is actually not that bad imo. I was expecting a lot worse at the beginning of the video.
I think you are inaccurate in your assumption of the word "dinner".
Dinner signifies the largest meal of the day in regards to lunch or supper (breakfast remains as breakfast, simply because one is breaking the fast that occurred when sleeping).
Since supper was much smaller than the lunch for 3rd class, dinner was used for lunch in lieu of the word lunch.
I paid for steerage and all I got was three and a half meals per day, each with multiple freshly cooked items. This is clearly the worst thing that could possibly happen to me on this voyage.
Passengers in third class ate much better than most of them would normally do at home. They got breakfast, dinner and tea (in that order). Dinner was at lunch time and was the main meal of the day, it was probably how they were used to eating, tea would be lighter. Cabin biscuits were a hard biscuit that was thought to prevent sea sickness. The only thing they were short of that day was green veg. In second class the cocoanut sandwich would not have been an American cookie. It would probably have been like a Victoria sandwich cake
All the menus were fantastic !
During the time of the Titanic, most steerage class passengers on other ships had to bring their own food or pay extra to eat the food on board. They also had large open rooms of shared space for sleeping. The Titanic had a 3rd Class accommodations, not steerage, and would be considered greatly better than any other ship at the time.
This was also a transport ship, not a Caribbean cruise vacation. It was to go from the UK to the US.
imagen paying huuuuge amout of money only to drown in the atlanic.
100% someone thought "why did i pay so big amout of money to end up like this"?
lol
Third Class Menu is better than some of fine dining restaurant nowadays.
The 3rd class menu was the best any of these people had eaten in their entire lives.
I could have afforded a first class ticket on the Titanic. But I find nothing wrong with the third class menu! Its STILL more than I eat in a day normally! In fact, from what I have read, compared to other steamers of the day, the Titanic actually had VERY good accommodations for third class passengers.
Your srsly rich, 122K bucks for a 7 day voyage, that's crazy expensive
@@rishnayak4692 I said I could have afforded it. I didn't say I would actually PAY it!
@@retroguy9494 I presume you would take a loan?
@@rishnayak4692 No, if I wanted it I would pay cash. However, I would just settle for a cheaper cabin. I don't believe in wasting money on ostentatiousness.
I'm sure this man has worked his tail of for his money..I'm happy for you..I'd actually prefer the things from the 3rd and second class menu
i just love the blatant reverse snobbery on display in this video. that was food i would LOVE to eat in the 3rd class and was a vast improvement over anything they would have had at home.
There was also a little-known fourth class. They had to eat stuff from Olive Garden.
The second class menu looks the most appetizing to me. All the weird fish and gelatin dishes that wealthy Edwardians ate to show off always strike me as unappealing.
"Bisquits" is a British word for what Americans would call a "cookie". It's not like what Americans would call bisquits. So I'm wondering if the "crackers" you mention (cabin bisquits) aren't sweet? Something more like graham crackers than soda crackers. After all, "crackers" is already mentioned in the menu, even for the same meal. Having a warm glass of milk & a graham cracker before bed is something children would have done when I was a child in the '60s. So the gruel (a souplike food made by cooking the finely ground meal of some grain like oats in milk) & cabin bisquits could be the equivalent of a glass of warm milk & graham crackers, which would have made sense b/c WHOLE FAMILIES were traveling in 3rd class. They weren't just taking a vacay. They were MOVING. There were lots of children in Third Class. I'd love to know the recipe for those bisquits to see if my theory might be right.
Also, when I was growing up, mom sometimes made, "cornmeal mush", which is just cornmeal boiled in water w/ some salt. Then you'd put butter on it in your bowl. You could add sugar or syrup. You could put milk on it. It was basically a hot cereal but we had it for supper.
I love when .... these young youbers like 12 tomatoes discovers titanic. stop taking the credit!
I hate to sound like Barbara Bush but the third class menu was probably far better than most passengers were used to. Honestly it's better than what I eat on a daily basis.
Third class menu looked pretty good to me.
Love your breakdown, but be fair and mention that third class menu, while being less diverse, was actually pure gourmet luxury compared to other ships. On some trans Atlantic liners third class was expected to bring their own food for the journey and didn't even have rooms. They had huge dormitories with beds little better than pallets. Some didn't even have access to ship doctor or a priest. Accommodation and food on Titanic's third class was what the accommodation was like for second class on other ships. Love your video though. Keep up the good work young lady. Love from Australia.
Oh that's interesting to hear. Thanks for the feedback and additional information! I'm sorry we weren't able to provide more of a comparison between other cruises of the time but we're glad you still enjoyed it.
The 3rd class menu was much, much better than what any working class person could have expected at the time. It sounds completely respectable to me as a 21st century man of the middle class.
People in first class were most likely overwhelmed by the food not because it was bad but because of how it was of such good quality and and quantity compared to what they would normally eat I would be happy with a 3rd class meal.
Meanwhile, I wonder if I'll get a cup of water on a plane LOL!
Titanic had the most competitive/luxurouis 3rd class in the world for the time!
Whoever made this video didn't really do their due diligence. The Titanic was very luxurious for the standards of the time. Even for third class. Everyone on board 1st, 2nd, 3rd class along with the crew were well fed. The menu was in many cases better than what they would get to eat when not on board the ship. A generic retelling of the story with some unnecessary drama.
This video shows that they did no research into other ships that were plying the waters at the time of Titanic. Third class with White Star was about the same as 2nd on most other lines. WS made popular the wild notion of 3rd class cabins as well as promenades, dining saloons, and full dining service. Don’t knock Titanic’s third class till you look at the previous 50 years of cheap ocean travel.
The second class menu sounds delicious 😂
Ironically enough even if I had been a millionaire I wouldn't have liked the first class food. It's too fancy for my taste. I went on a cruise a few years ago where they had a Cirque du Soleil style dinner show with a prefixed menu it was surf and turf filet mignon and salmon and I said can you please bring me a burger and fries lol.
is it me or did the 2nd class menu sound the best out of all 3?
Hmmm. I'll take the second or third class menu anytime over the first class. Much more my style of food.
Apparently this organization that made this video does not believe you get what you pay for.
Assuming good quality products the 3rd class menue is totally fine. Granted my families taste is "german working class" (irony: 3rd generation engineer) not "spolied 4th generation suburban nobility" but my dinner today sounds quite similar (peas and bay carrots not sweet corn) and was totally normal where I grew up (Middle class background, mist neighbours where engineers in the same Montan company as well)
being a picky eater myself honestly 2nd class meal looked much better than 1st
Bearing in mind that even in 3rd class, it's still a multi-course meal and you could have as much as you wanted with each course. 3rd class waiters and stewards were held to the same high standards as in 1st, indeed stewards had to start in 3rd and work their way up to 1st in their careers. If you screwed up or were an ass, the Chief Steward would literally have your number (all stewards have numbered badges on their uniforms) and you could be confined to quarters, forfeit your pay, and be booted off the ship at the next port at worst.
White Star were no fools, they knew that steerage was what made the real money, and made every effort to ensure the 3rd class were treated well. To cap it all off, on the back of each 3rd class menu card is a postcard, the idea being that you would send it back home to your family in the old country and say, "I had a great time with the White Star Line and ate well, see for yourself."
It was a way to drum up further business, as most immigrants were one-time fares.
The photographs here only vaguely resemble what was served over 100 years ago.
For many in Third Class I would imagine it was better than they had at home.
They had smoked herring.....when I traveled by steam ship back in the day we only had smoked herring eyeballs......and we were damned happy to have them.
Makes me wonder what would have happened to any third class passenger foolish enough to voice a complaint.
In late medieval England,
at least for the better off,
there were again four meals.
Breakfast and lunch, and dinner and then supper.
Those menus all seem good to me.
That third class menu was fabulous! Better then most Jerican diets!