“I want you to duplicate the final dinner served on the Titanic. Ten courses for eight people.”
I stared at Otto Warbeck. Was he joking? Not visibly. The yacht owner had wrinkles in his forehead, but no smile lines. When I agreed to cater a dinner for him on the Chesapeake Bay, I hadn’t expected him to demand an elaborate, custom-made meal, not to mention one with really bad karma.
I ran my fingers along the granite counter near the glass cooktop, cool and hard like everything else on his yacht. “I’ve catered themed dinners before, Mr. Warbeck.” Only a few, since catering was a sideline to my job of managing an athletic club café. “My clients have always selected dishes from my standard menu. It has lots of choices.”
He stroked his neat salt-and-pepper beard. “Your grandfather assured me that your dinner party menus were flexible.”
My grandfather would say anything to get me a client. I’d walk away from this gig if it weren’t for the termite damage to the house I shared with Granddad. He needed help paying for the repairs, so I’d try to reach an agreement with the yachtsman. “Let’s sit at the table and talk about this, Mr. Warbeck.”
As I walked around the counter that separated the galley from the dining area, the floor swayed under my feet, reminding me that I wouldn’t be cooking and serving on solid ground. The boat would rock even more once it left the Bayport marina for the open water of the Chesapeake. Fortunately, I wasn’t prone to seasickness. But if the dinner guests felt sick in rough water, they might blame my food for their nausea. That wouldn’t do my catering business any good.
Otto held my chair as I sat down, a courtly gesture that went along with his formal manner of speaking. He took the seat to my right, at the head of the table. “As a collector of Titanic memorabilia, I really look forward to this dinner. It has a special meaning for me.”
“I can certainly prepare a special dish that isn’t on my standard catering menu.” One dish, not ten. “I’d love to give you your dream dinner party, but I can’t possibly cook and serve ten courses to eight people all by myself.”
“I expected you’d say that. I’ll pay your grandfather to serve as sous chef. He told me his Codger Cook newspaper column features easy five-ingredient dishes, but surely he can assist you with more complicated dishes. He knows his way around a kitchen.”
Granddad’s cooking expertise was like a soufflé, mostly hot air. He’d wangled the job of food columnist by tweaking my recipes. “I’ll need time to test recipes. Can you postpone the dinner?”
“I cannot. The date, the place, and the guests have aligned for this occasion. Saturday is April fourteenth, the anniversary of the last dinner on the Titanic.” He pulled a card with rounded corners from his breast pocket. “Here is the first-class dinner menu from that fateful night.”
I gaped at the gilt-edged card he’d passed to me. On a surface barely larger than five by seven inches, the menu listed more than twenty dishes. “This is a restaurant menu.”
“And I don’t expect you to turn the galley into a restaurant kitchen. Just choose one of the options listed for each course.”
The ten courses on the menu included dishes I’d never heard of—Consommé Olga, Punch Romaine, and Waldorf Pudding. “I’ll have to do research to find recipes for these dishes.”
“There are no surviving recipes for the dishes served on the Titanic, so you have leeway with the recipes, as long as you come up with something similar to what’s on the menu.”
Hooray, a chink in his armor. I learned he had another weak spot when a woman in her twenties came aboard. I took her to be his daughter, but she proved to be his trophy wife.
“Can we have s’mores at the dinner party, Otto?” she said.
He winced. “Even if s’mores existed in 1912, they wouldn’t have been served on the Titanic. You know I’m striving for authenticity with this dinner. I don’t want the ambiance of a backyard barbecue.”
And the last thing this dinner needed was another dish, I thought.
His wife was unmoved by his objection. “I saw a classy tabletop s’mores maker that uses chafing dish fuel. We could serve the s’mores as an ice breaker.”
I don’t know if she intended the pun, but she got her way.
Previously, Granddad and I had gotten to the bottom of a few suspicious deaths. When we boarded Otto’s yacht the night of his Titanic dinner, we had no idea we’d become involved in s’more murders, but we started to wonder about Otto’s motives when the guests showed up. They included two people he’d only just met, as well as his ex-wife and her surly son.
Now I ask you: Would you go on a small yacht for a Titanic dinner re-creation if someone you barely knew invited you?
Giveaway: Answer that question in a comment below for your chance to win a copy of S’MORE MURDERS (print copy for US entries, e-book outside the US). The giveaway ends August 2, 2018. Good luck everyone!
You can read more about Val in S’more Murders, the fifth book in the “Five-Ingredient” mystery series. The first book in the series is By Cook or by Crook.
Managing a fitness club café and collaborating on a cookbook with her grandfather are Val Deniston’s usual specialties, but she’s about to set sail into nearby Chesapeake Bay—straight into a murder case . . .
Since catering themed events is a good way to make extra cash, Val agrees to board the Titanic—or at least cater a re-creation of the doomed journey on a yacht. The owner of the yacht, who collects memorabilia related to the disaster, wants Val to serve the last meal the Titanic passengers ate . . . while his guests play a murder-mystery game. But it is the final feast for one passenger who disappears from the ship. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Now Val has to reel in a killer before s’more murders go down . . .
Includes delicious five-ingredient recipes!
Purchase Link
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About the author
Maya (Mary Ann) Corrigan combines her passion for food and detective stories in her Five-Ingredient Mysteries: By Cook or by Crook, Scam Chowder, Final Fondue, The Tell-Tale Tarte, and S’more Murders. They feature a café manager and her live-wire grandfather, the Codger Cook, who solve murders in a historic town near the Chesapeake Bay. Maya previously taught writing, American literature, and detective fiction at Georgetown University and Northern Virginia Community College. When not reading, writing, cooking, or eating, she enjoys travel, crossword puzzles, and trivia. Visit her website at mayacorrigan.com, for more about the series and for trivia about mysteries:
All comments are welcomed.
I’d be suspicious if I were invited to a Titanic dinner recreation at sea. Especially by someone I barely knew. Not sure I’d go. But my curiosity would be piqued and a yacht ride sounds like fun.
Hi Sharon, A few characters in my book also decide to go along because a yacht ride sounds like fun! Thanks for your comment!
No, I would not!
Hi Gram, The characters in my book would have been better off if they’d made the decision you would. 🙂
Thanks for commenting!
No, I don’t think I would!
That would have been a better decision for the characters in my book. Thank you for commenting.
Yes, I would. Another new adventure is always fun.
Hi Doward,
Good to hear from you again. I agree that it’s hard to pass up a new adventure. Thank you for commenting.
I wouldn’t leave land to go to a dinner party with a stranger. What if it was awful? You would be captive on the boat! No thank you! I would however read about such an adventure! Sounds like a lot of leeway to have bad things happen!
Hi Barbara, Being on a boat is like being on an island with no escape. Good idea to be cautious! Thank you for commenting!
Yes I would
Hi Martha,
Thank you for your comment and good luck in the raffle!
I wouldn’t go alone, but it would be a tempting offer.
Hi Gloria, The characters in my book would have been better off if they resisted that tempting offer! Thank you for commenting.
I would probably say, “Thank you, but no.” I am not comfortable in situations where I don’t know the people or what to be expected.
Hi Robin,
Thank you for your comment. I also prefer gatherings where I know the people.
Good luck in the raffle!
I would be the guest Val worries about — I tend to get motion sickness very easily. Consequently, I would probably bow out of the invitation — unless the yacht was big enough that it wouldn’t be tossed around. However, maybe Chesapeake bay would probably be pretty calm, so, if it was a big yacht, and I had some of my friends attending, I might give it a try… (boy, that’s a lot of waffling!)
Hi Celia,
Thank you for your comment. I’m a waffler too when I have to make a decision. Good luck in the raffle!
No, I would not go due to many factors. We see and read the news every day and we all know that there are dangerous people in this world. For the sake of a boat trip it’s not worth being in a horrible situation if that were to happen.
Congratulations on your release and I’m wishing you all good things. I’d love to read your book and would be delighted to win a copy. Thank you.
Cynthia B
Hi Cynthia, You raise some important cautions about the situation in the book. Thank you for your kind wishes. And good luck in the raffle.
‘Reel in a killer before s’more murders happen’. I love this line. Sounds like a fun book, a great mystery, a boatload of zany characters. Perfect Summer reading.
Hi Helen, Thank you for commenting. You’re right about the book being a good summer read. Good luck in the drawing.
I would be hesitant about going but I think my curiosity would get the better of me. A re-creation of a Titanic dinner at sea sounds way to interesting to pass up. I am looking forward to reading this book!
Thanks for your comment, Ashley, and good luck in the drawing.
I would be OK with going, if I knew another person who was going. The meal sounds interesting. I cannot wait to read this book. Thanks for a chance to win!
Good luck in the raffle, Lori. I hope you enjoy the book.
yes I think I probably would if I could I would be too intrigued not to.
Yes i would go if for no other reason but curiosity.
johnnabooks(at)hotmail(dot)com
Susan and Joanna, You both have the same reason to accept the invitation–curiosity. Thanks for commenting.
well that and I never get out lol and it would be an interesting experience plus yummy food
I would prefer to go to a Titanic re-creation dinner on land. I don’t think I would tempt fate by going to the dinner if it was on the water.
Hi Dianne, Thank you for your comment. The water does take the experience over the top. Good luck in the raffle.
No way! Do not like water, do not like boats, and really the Titanic, nope not me. Thanks for the chance to win. Love this series
Hi Kay, Thank you for commenting. I’m glad you enjoy the series and hope you like this one, even thought it relates to the Titanic.
Yum! Yes, please!
Hi Amy, Thanks for your comment. Food is always a big temptation. Good luck in the raffle.
No, I would not.
Good question! I probably would not!!
I don’t think that I’d feel comfortable going to a Titanic re-creation dinner event, no matter if I was invited by someone I know or not.
No…and on the water…uh no…cues spooky music…dum de dum dum…although I would be curious…
Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com
Mary, Linda, Jana, and Marilyn, Four No’s in a row! I hope you enjoy reading about a Titanic dinner even if you wouldn’t go to one yourself. Thank you for commenting.
Great cover! Love the Titanic-themed dinner menu idea.
Hi Meg, Thank you for commenting and for the kind words about the cover and the theme.
I would not go. I can’t swim and I would be afraid to trust that person if I don’t know them. I guess I am not that adventurous.
Hi Terry, Thank you for commenting. The dinner host in my book has a variety of ways to coax reluctant guests to come aboard.
Yes, I think I would I’ve done my share of reading about the Titanic and I’d probably jump at the opportunity for a “titanic” moment!
Hi Christy, Thank you for commenting. The Titanic is a fascinating topic. Good luck in the drawing.
No, but I may have 50 years or so ago when my sense of adventure – and balance – was more advanced!
**** WINNER ****
S’more Murders is Kay Bennett/Patty K.
Congratulations!