When it comes to the Titanic the first and third
class passengers get most of the publicity, while second class the coach class often
gets neglected. Well not today! Today we are talking second class lifestyle with a
first-class dish of sautéed chicken Lyonnaise served at the very last meal on Titanic. Thank you to Vite Ramen for sponsoring this video as we cover the second class, the forgotten class, on Titanic this time on Tasting History. So today we're covering the second class but the
dish that we're making was served to the first class as part of the fourth dinner course on the night of the sinking. So I chose to do this dish rather than a second class dish from that last
night because one it sounds really, really good and two because it could have very well been served to the second class just on a different night that we don't have a menu from. Often the dishes were served to both classes on different nights. When it comes to the recipe we must look to Auguste Escoffier. The restaurants on the Titanic were often meant to resemble those at the
Ritz Hotel where Escoffier was the head chef and his recipe for this dish is a little bit different
than its modern counterpart which is usually coated in flour and some herbs, but he calls for
a plain sauteed chicken with sauce Lyonnaise. "Heat 50 grams of butter in a pan, add 250 grams chopped onion, and cook slowly to a golden color. Add two deciliters each of white wine and vinegar, reduce
by two-thirds and add seven and a half deciliters sauce demiglace; simmer gently, skimming is necessary for 5 to 6 minutes and pass through a sieve." So the sauce is the star here otherwise
it's really just plain chicken, and his recipe I'm gonna cut down a little bit just so it makes enough sauce for four chicken breasts, and they should be fairly small chicken breasts. As I said this was part of the fourth course of 10 courses, so the dishes tended to be rather small. Just a
few bites of everything, but even then after 10 courses I would imagine one feels rather bloated, something you won't feel after eating ramen from today's sponsor Vite Ramen. Most instant ramens are packed with sodium and so shortly after eating them I regret my decision, but Vite Ramen is made with 50% less sodium and you feel healthier after eating it, and then if you do want more salt
you can add soy sauce or salt to your taste. The noodles are also made with high fiber quinoa and
packed with nutrients. They use real ingredients like miso powder from Japan and actual chicken, beef, and pork and they have vegan versions as well. But the thing that I love most about Vite
other than the fact that their owners watch Tasting History is that they're a small company that actually wants to do better, and I don't just mean that they pay their employees a living wage and have actual business ethics but also that they want to make their product better. Most recently they released Vite 3.0 which has improved based on customer feedback including from viewers of Tasting History. So to give Vite Ramen a try you can order using my link in the description and
use code tastinghistory for 10% off of your order, and receive an exclusive bundle that comes with
25 dollars worth of extras, everything you'll need to make ramen. But to make chicken Lyonnaise
what you'll need is: 2 tablespoons or 28 grams of butter, 2 small onions, about 150 grams chopped
julienne aka strips, a little less than a half cup or 100 milliliters of white wine, a little less than a half cup or 100 milliliters of white wine vinegar. Now this is the big difference between
this version and the modern version of this sauce, the amount of vinegar that Escoffier calls for and
you would not be wrong in cutting it by like 75% but for today since this is the amount he calls
for that's what I'll be using and now for the secret sauce of this sauce. You need one and
a half cups or 350 milliliters of demi-glace. Demi-glace is a rich brown sauce that is absolutely
magical but it can take up to eight to ten hours to make in the modern version and if you go buy
Escoffier's version it takes 48 hours to make. Luckily you can also just buy it concentrated and I'll put a link in the description to where you can get that. No doubt making it from scratch does taste better but that's a lot of work and I'm not sure that my palette could tell the difference. Now Escoffier calls for veal demi-glace which is a much darker rich brown. I am using chicken demi-glace which is a little bit on the lighter side but they're both magical. So first heat the butter over medium heat until melted, and add the chopped onion, and let them cook for about 10 minutes occasionally stirring until they are golden brown. Try not to let them burn like mine did. Clearly my pan has some hot spots. Also you want a nice deep pan for this. Then lower the heat a little and add the white wine and the vinegar, and let it simmer until it reduces to 1/3 of the original amount. Then pour in the demi-glace and let it simmer for another five to six minutes while you prepare your chicken by seasoning it with salt and pepper. Heat a bit of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and place the chicken in the pan and cook for
about five minutes. Then turn and cook for another five minutes. Like I said this dish would have
likely also been served to the second class and unfortunately through my research I found that the
second class is the least written about class on the ship which frankly I find odd seeing as most of us, at least me or I would have been in the second class. Though the middle class was smaller in 1912 and the Titanic reflected that. There were about 329 first class passengers, 710 third class, and only 285 second class, but if you were in the second class this is how your voyage on Titanic might have gone down. Pun very much intended. So there were a few places where as a passenger
you could have boarded the Titanic. In Southampton England at noon on April 10th, later that same day in Cherbourg on the coast of France or on April 11th in Queenstown Ireland where some of the very last photos of Titanic were taken. Interestingly most of the photos of the Titanic at least on
board are actually of her sister ship the Olympic, and I'll touch more on that ship and their other
sister the Britannic, all built in Belfast Ireland in a future episode. But if you were in the second class on titanic you probably were boarding at Southampton England. Likely you would take in the 8:30 AM train from London which was especially meant for Titanic's passengers. There were actually two trains: one for first class, and one for second and third class, and they were both a little bit late but the second and third class train didn't get to port until 11:30, only
a half an hour before the ship was meant to leave. Luckily since you weren't third class you
didn't have to go get checked for lice, rather you could just walk onto the ship on C deck. Immediately it would hit you that the Titanic was quite a cut above most other ships of the day,
they spared no expense. You'd descend a fine oak staircase to your cabin, though unlike in third class the second class cabins were much more varied. So much so that sometimes the best second-class cabins could be used for first-class cabins, and the worst second-class cabins could
be used for third-class cabins, but most were right in the middle. They were designed for two or four passengers, and if you were single you likely shared a room with a stranger. Great way to meet people. And if you didn't need all of the bunks some could be folded up into an upholstered sofa. Upholstered because you didn't have lice. The rooms had running water though it wasn't hot and
cold from the ship's pipes like in first class, but instead came from a tank that had to
be periodically filled. Like third class the ship's beams were often left visible, but like first class they were furnished with fine mahogany furniture, and a few even had carpet on the floor. You also had more storage than a third class passenger but one thing you didn't have was your own toilet or bath, those were still shared accommodations. Now most people at the time would
have considered second class really top drawer, better than first class on most other ships but there is always someone who's going to complain. During the Senate inquiry following the sinking
Imanita Shelley used her official affidavit as less of a discussion of the sinking and more
the way that you would complain in a Yelp review. "...instead of being assigned to the accommodation
purchased, we were taken to a small cabin many decks down in the ship, which was so small that it could only be called a cell. It was impossible to open a regulation steamer trunk in said cabin. It was impossible for a third person to enter said cabin unless both occupants first of all crawled into their bunks." She complained in a note to the ship's purser that "she was very ill and, owing to the freezing cold of the cabin was in great danger; and if the purser refused to act she, Mrs. Shelley,
would appeal to the captain." I would like to speak to the manager of the Titanic thank you very much. And sadly after working in restaurants for many years I have realized that complaining actually works, and it worked for her. She and her mother were upgraded to a better cabin but even then she said "This cabin, though large and roomy, was not furnished in the comfortable manner as the same
accommodation procured on the Cunard or other lines." Then she went on to complain about the
food, the toilets, and even the temperature of the air outside. Though they were too far north
for the season and there were icebergs about and so maybe she had a point there. Though she also complained about being uncomfortable in the lifeboat which included and I quote "A crazed Italian" but Mrs. Shelley was definitely in the minority because most second-class passengers seemed overwhelmingly happy with their cabins and with things like the fact that they had a barbershop on board and a library decorated in the 18th century Adam style where you could borrow a book or sit at one of the writing desks in a plush green upholstered chair, and write a letter home that could be posted from the Titanic as she was a royal mail ship. You could often do this while listening to the string quintet that played three times a day outside of the library. The second class also had some of the best promenade space on the ship. There were long covered spaces with deck chairs on B and C deck but if you really wanted to feel the wind in your hair then
head on up to the aft boat deck. You could lounge in the shadow of the fourth funnel which wouldn't even have any smoke coming out of it because that funnel was actually pretty much non-functioning
as a smokestack, but rather there for decoration and to help ventilate the lower decks. You would also have a great view of the stern but it would have been harder to look off the
side of the ship due to lifeboats being there. The first class had a lot more space on the boat deck that was unencumbered by those pesky lifeboats though the original design would have
had lifeboats there as well, 48 in all. Enough for everyone on board but, J Bruce Ismay chairman of the White Star Line believed the deck would look too cluttered and so dropped the number of lifeboats to 16 lifeboats and4 collapsible lifeboats making it all the worst that he made sure he was on one of those lifeboats when the ship went down. What's crazy is that even those
20 lifeboats were more than were required by law and that was because the law was rather outdated and was written not dependent on how many people were aboard, but the tonnage of the ship, and since it hadn't been updated in years it maxed out at 10,000 tons but the Titanic was 46,000
tons. Now when it comes to second class food, again it's really a first class experience. In fact both classes food was made in the same galley, or kitchen, and featured many of the same dishes. The biggest difference was simply the choice and quantity of those dishes. Instead of multiple restaurants, second class only had one. It spanned the width of D deck letting in lots of natural
light from portholes on either side and it could accommodate 394 passengers. It was well lit with lamps in the ceiling and had a piano to provide music during meals. In fact it was also kind of music that called you to your meal. While third class was called to meals with a bell and first
with a bugle, second class enjoyed the dulcet tone of a gong. You'd sit at large communal tables in mahogany and crimson leather, swivel chairs that were bolted to the ground, but it was not open seating. Everyone was assigned a different seat so you better hope that you're not sitting next to a
loud chewer because you might not be able to move. And while the meals aren't as decadent as first
class they are a lot more robust than third. An 8 AM breakfast included oats and hominy, fresh
fish and Yarmouth bloaters. That's a smoked and salted fish with a very unappetizing name. Ox kidneys, and bacon, ham, eggs and potatoes, scones and buckwheat pancakes with syrup. Take away the kidneys and bloaters and I'm on board. Now in third class the big meal of day was dinner
that was served at noon, but in second they had a smaller luncheon saving room for the evening
dinner. This started with a consommé tapioca then baked haddock with sharp sauce, then you
had a choice of entree of curried chicken, spring lamb with mint sauce, or roast turkey with
cranberry sauce. I love thanksgiving all year round. There were sides of peas, turnips, rice
and potatoes and then desserts of plum pudding, wine jelly, a coconut sandwich and American
ice cream. The first class enjoyed French ice cream which tends to be a little bit creamier and is made with eggs, though in my house American or French ice cream are perfectly welcome. The meal ended with cheese, fruit, coffee, and nuts assorted. This traditional setup of a meal is where the phrase from soup to nuts came from. In fact second class passenger Kate Buss
recalled "On the night of the wreck our tables were a picture! The huge bunches of grapes
which topped the fruit basket on every table were thrilling. The menus were wonderfully varied and tempting. I stayed at table from soup to nuts." Though another passenger Charlotte Collyer "thought
it was too heavy and rich" but admitted that "No effort had been spared to give even the second cabin passengers on that Sunday the best dinner that money could buy." After dinner the men often adjourn to the second class smoke room decorated in the Louis XVI style with chairs of dark green,
moroccan leather, and patterned linoleum tiles and of course featured a well-stocked bar. Benjamin Hart was actually playing cards there on the night of the sinking and didn't get to his room until 11:30. His wife Esther was also awake when he got there but she wasn't getting ready for bed because she spent most of the day sleeping and stayed up all night watching. See she had been anxious ever since her husband told her that they were sailing on the Titanic because she felt that
the ship's reputation for being unsinkable was "flying in the face of the Almighty." And she didn't believe that the ship would even make it through her maiden voyage. Her husband probably mocked her but only 10 minutes after he got to his room the entire room shook. Another second class passenger Lawrence Beesley also felt the jolt but didn't think anything of it. A moment later when the engine stopped he did decide to get up and go out just to see what had happened. He saw some men playing cards in the smoke room and what was going on, and they said that they had grazed an iceberg that they had seen pass by the window just a moment before. Now you'd think that this would be cause for alarm but it wasn't. They went back to their cards and Lawrence
went back to his cabin. A while later he heard people going upstairs and so once again he decided to leave his room and went outside and noticed that the ship was listing forward ever so slightly. He thought that maybe a few compartments had flooded in the front but Titanic
was made for that so everything would be okay, and again he went back to his cabin then he heard
a crew member calling for all the passengers to come out onto the deck with their life belts, and
so he put on some warmer clothes and his life belt and went up out on deck. But again he thought it
was just a precaution and said that everything was calm and nobody was panicking, and then they saw
crew members uncovering the lifeboats. Men were told to stand back while the women and children
got into the boats though they were slow to do so feeling that the boats were less safe than staying
on the ship, and so Lawrence stood and watched several boats lower half full. Still no panic, then when lifeboat 13 was ready to go down, again not entirely full, a crew member looked around and
called for more ladies and nobody came, so he told Lawrence you better get in which he did. But as the boat lowered down they realized they couldn't find the pin to release the boat from the ropes, and it turned out that the Titanic was pumping water out of the side of the ship which formed a stream that pushed their lifeboat right beneath lifeboat 15 as it lowered. It very nearly crushed them and
would have had someone not had a knife and cut through their pulley ropes so they could push away from the ship at the very last moment. Then they rode out into the darkness and it was dark. It was a moonless night, and the only light was from some stars and of course the ship itself. Also there was no wind so the water was perfectly calm. He said that from a distance everything on the
ship looked normal except that he did notice that the water was now covering the bottom row of portholes. Then at 2 AM things took a turn. "She slowly tilted straight on end with the stern
vertically upwards; as she did so the lights in the cabins and the saloons... flashed once more and then went out altogether. At the same time the machinery roared down through the vessel with a groaning rattle that would have been heard for miles... It was not yet quite the end. To our amazement she remained in the upright position for a time which I estimate is five minutes. It was certainly for some minutes that we watched at least 150 feet of the Titanic towering up above the level of the sea looming black against the sky. Then with a quiet slanting dive she disappeared beneath the waters. Then there fell on our ears the most appalling noise that human being ever heard- the cries of hundreds of our fellow beings struggling in the icy water, crying for help with a cry that we knew could not be answered. We longed to return to pick up some of those who were
swimming, but this would have meant the swamping of our boat and the loss of all of us." This is one of the best accounts of what the people in the lifeboats saw as the Titanic finally sank
and second class did fare far better than third, but even then 166 were lost and only 119 survived. And among the survivors was the worrying night owl Esther Hart and her daughter Eva who later credited their survival to her mother's refusal to sleep at night. Unfortunately Esther's husband
Benjamin could not get into one of the lifeboats and he died in the disaster. Now we will be getting to the first class stories which in many ways are the most interesting but first we're going to cover the crew. Often in books they are just as neglected as the second class but without them the ship wouldn't have moved, everything would have been dirty and there would have been nobody to make some chicken Lyonnaise. So once the sauce is ready pour it through a sieve and then pour that onto the chicken and then garnish with a bit of the onion, and here we are sauteed chicken
Lyonnaise from the last meal on the Titanic. That's oh that's so good. That is so complex you-
you get the onions but it's not oniony at all. It's more just dark with a gentle gentle sweetness.
A lot of times today they end up putting tomato paste or even sugar in it to make it sweeter. It
doesn't need that. It's so wonderful and it's- the vinegar is a little- a little sharp. I would
probably cut the vinegar in half at least but but it's not bad. It's just, it almost overpowers
some of the other flavors that I want to be tasting. I do think that a demi-glace made
with veal would be even better just warmer but this is kind of nice and light, and you
still get the chicken flavor. It's not overpowering. It's fantastic. So more Titanic ahead. Make sure to like this video, follow me on Instagram @tastinghistorywithmaxmiller and I will see you next time on Tasting History.
made my mouth water, that sauce sounds delicious
I had no idea that most of the second class foods where the same as first class.
I’m not a huge fan of chicken breast because it’s normally so dry, but this recipe looked amazing. The sauce sounded delicious and the chicken seemed juicy and plump.
Im really looking forward to the next video!