Cooks, Cooks, Cooks.....

[markpekrul]

As I make my way through the Victualling Crew list, I've come up with a few questions regarding some specific titles and job duties. I'll start here with kitchen staff - I am curious about 3 individuals: Harry Stubbings is listed as "2nd Class Cook", and he is the only person so-designated; in fact no other member of the kitchen staff has a class designated. Do we know what this means? Was he generally in charge of the preparation of meals in 2nd? If so, it would stand to reason there'd be a "3rd Class Cook" listed somewhere. but there isn't. Should he just be listed as a "Cook"?

Also, William Slight is listed as "Larder Cook" and William Simmons is listed as "Passage Cook" - do we know what these titles mean?

 

[Thomas Krom]

Harry Stubbings is listed as "2nd Class Cook", and he is the only person so-designated; in fact no other member of the kitchen staff has a class designated. Do we know what this means?

Mr. Stubbings was the chef who made sure the second class meals were prepared, so you are indeed right. It's the same for William Simon Catcott Simmons who was in charge of the third class meal.

Also, William Slight is listed as "Larder Cook" and William Simmons is listed as "Passage Cook" - do we know what these titles mean?

Simmons was the third class cook, not the passage cook. Allow me to show you a list to explain every function in the Titanic's galley and pantries on D and F-deck and their functions:

Job	Translation or other meaning	Where would he have worked?	Job description
Chef	Chef	Chef’s office and the first/second class galley	Drew up plans of the meals, adhering to the budget the purser would provide, and prepare the orders for the coming voyage
Sous-chef	Sous-chef	First/second class galley	Responsible for supervising the cooks and jointly responsible for the quality of the courses and their dishes
Saucier	Sauce cook	First/second class galley	Responsible for the sauces but also for all the meats served.
Grillardin	Grill cook	First/second class galley	responsible for all grilled foods served, as well as preparing and searing meats that are going to be roasted or braised.
Rôtisseur	Roast cook	First/second class galley	Responsible for the roasting and frying of the meats served.
Entremetier	Entre cook	First/second class galley	responsible for the preparation of dishes that do not involve meat, fish or seafood. This includes egg-based dishes.
Garde manager	Larder cook	First/second class galley and ladder room	Responsible of the cold dishes, like chilled soups, fruit, salads, pates, caviars, and some cold desserts.
Légumier	Vegetable cook	First/second class galley and the vegetable preparing room	Responsible for the preparation of all kinds of vegetables . The spectrum ranges from stuffed vegetables to mushrooms to purees made from legumes .
Assistant cook	Assistant cook	First/second class galley	Unassigned cook, it is believed 3 of the assistant cooks on the Titanic worked for the Entremetier
Pantryman	Pantrymen	First class pantry and second class pantry	Responsible for food preparation, and assisting in the storing and inventory of food and related products. They also prepared hot drinks.
Scullion	Scullion	The sculleries all around D-deck and the potato washing place	Scullions took care of the more unpleasant aspects of food preparation, such as peeling potatoes, plucking fowl, pitting fruit for preserves, and a variety of other tasks. They would also have been responsible for scouring the kitchen floors, which could get quite messy after cooking for a major event. In the kitchen, scullions did the heavy cleaning of pots, pans, and utensils, while finer kitchen items were cleaned by higher-ranking members of the staff.
Plate washer	Plate steward	The sculleries all around D-deck, the first class pantry and the first/second class galley	Cleaned the plates after dinner.
Butcher	Butcher	The butcher shops on D-deck and F-deck, thawing room on the orlop deck.	Prepared the meat for all classes
Baker	Baker	Bakers shop on D-deck and F-deck, the bake house on D-deck.	Prepared bread for all meals for everyone on-board.
Vienna baker	Vienna baker	Bakers shop on D-deck, the bake house on D-deck.	Prepared rolls and pastries
Confectioner	Confectioner	Bakers shop on D-deck, the bake house on D-deck.	Prepares pies and sweets

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Thomas

 

[markpekrul]

Thank you!