belfast

Titanic First Class Menu Recreated in Belfast

Filed under: Dining

Have you ever wondered what it was like to eat first-class aboard The Titanic? Wondered what luminaries like John Jacob Astor IV and Benjamin Guggenheim dined on before the luxury liner hit the iceberg and began taking on water?

Chef and proprietor Conor McClelland of Rayanne House in Holywood, near Belfast, Ireland spent two months researching the last menu served on board the ill-fated ship.

The nine-course experience recently launched at his establishment for the Titanic Made In Belfast Festival in the guest house's private dining room. "It was such a beautiful menu. There was so much attention to detail in the food that it really was a first-class feast," said Mr McClelland at the opening.

The banquet, last served on April 14 1912, includes foie gras pate, asparagus and watercress salad served with Champagne, and rose water and mint sorbet. Chef McClelland has sourced the ingredients from local suppliers. He and his wife Bernie were lucky enough to find an original wine list too. "In those days a different wine would have been served with each course, which isn't the case today. The wines served back then were European...so we can offer similar ones," said McClelland.

The menu has been only slightly altered to suit the modern palate. For example, a foie gras pate would have been served just before the dessert, which is not a custom followed today.

McClelland trained in Galway before working as a chef in both the Black Forest and New York. He returned to the Belfast area with his wife Bernie seven years ago to open Rayanne House. The 11-bedroom guest house features a private dining room that can accommodate between eight and 36 diners.

Tags: belfast, Rayanne House, titanic, Titanic First Class menu, titanic last supper, Titanic Made In Belfast Menu, Titanic menu

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Ireland's Tallest Building To Be Home To Apartments

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Windsor House in Belfast, Ireland isn't the prettiest building I have ever seen but it is, for now, the tallest building in Ireland. It will also now be home to luxury apartments. Building company P Elliott, has bought Belfast's Windsor House for around 44 million euros with the plan to turn it into fancy apartments. The building has a prime location in the city business district. Both Dublin and Ireland are becoming home to more and more high-rise complexes and costs have soared in both cities.

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Tags: apartments, belfast, ireland, towers, windsor house, WindsorHouse

The Merchant Hotel's Pricey Cocktail

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spirits

Another very expensive cocktail is vying for the title of the world's most expensive drink. CNN reports that the Merchant Hotel in Belfast, ireland says their $1,410 Mai Tai may make it into the record books. The hotel reports that it has already sold two of the drinks since they began to offer it two weeks ago. The drink is made from an extremely rare bottle of Wray and Nephew Rum. Only six of the 17-year-old bottles were created. Unlike other fancy drinks which boast gold bits or diamonds, this one earns its price based strictly on ingredients and the fact that when the bottle is gone the drink will no longer be available.

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Tags: belfast, cocktail, expensive, ireland, merchant hotel, MerchantHotel

Merchant Hotel Opens For Business

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

We first heard about this hotel last summer and now it is finally open for business. The Merchant Hotel in Belfast, Ireland has transformed the former headquarters of the Ulster Bank, on Waring Street into a luxury boutique hotel of 21 bedrooms and five suites. It took two years to restore the property and the company behind the project, Beannchor spent more than £400,000 on antiques and artwork. Rooms cost from £220 to £600 for the grand suite. Rooms have air-conditioning and flat-screen televisions. Each bedroom is named after a different Irish writer. There is also a commercial gallery in the hotel lobby, showcasing the work of Northern Ireland's best artists. Guests can also hire the hotel's Bentley Arnage.

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Tags: belfast, ireland, luxury hotel, merchant hotel, MerchantHotel, new hotel, travel, vacation