Mr Marcel Raymond André Cornaire was born in Paris, France on 3 December 1892.

He was the son of Joseph Cornaire (b. 1850) and Adrienne Marie Noémie Daguet (b. 1858) but other details about his early life are not known.

When Marcel arrived in Britain is not clear but a man named Marcel Cornaire of the same age and birthplace appears on the 1911 census as a visitor to 45 Leicester Place, Blackman Lane in Leeds, Yorkshire and he is described as a cook who had been married for less than a year. Whether this is the same man is not clear and it is not clear if Cornaire was ever married.

When he signed-on to the Titanic as an assistant roast cook, on 6 April 1912, his address was given as 15 Trafalgar Square, Chelsea, London. The Titanic was his first ship and as a member of the à la carte restaurant he was employed and therefore paid by Luigi Gatti.

During the sinking there were reports that the largely continental staff of the restaurant, mainly French, Italian, Swiss, German and Belgian, were herded to their quarters by stewards and kept there. Indeed, only three from the staff survived, two of whom were the female cashiers.

Marcel Cornaire died in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified.