Titanic menu to fetch more than £30,000 at auction

24 November BBC

A menu from a VIP lunch held to mark the launch of the Titanic is expected to fetch more than £30,000 at auction this weekend. Twelve lavish courses including eggs stuffed with foie gras, turtle soup and Sussex capon were enjoyed by 69 dignitaries at the event in the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast on 31 May 1911. The courses were matched with the finest wines and spirits as well as a palate cleanser made from lemon water, ice, champagne and rum.

Many of those in attendance would have mingled with the thousands who witnessed the launch of the ship at Harland & Wolff against a backdrop of booming rockets. They included Luigi Gatti, who would later be manager of Titanic's a la carte restaurant.The menu will be put up for sale at Henry Aldridge and Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wiltshire, on Saturday.