Food - Drink
How Booze May Have Helped Keep The Titanic's Pastry Chef Alive
By DEBORAH MARTIN
On April 10, 1912, RMS Titanic set off on its maiden voyage with 1,500 passengers and 900 crew members, including 33-year-old pastry chef Charles Joughin. Joughin spent his days on the luxury liner crafting bread, cakes, and puddings for the passengers until the ship struck an iceberg, and Joughin survived against all odds partly thanks to some Dutch courage.
Joughin was in his bunk when he heard the sickening crunch of the iceberg hitting the ship's hull and quickly mobilized his team, taking bread and biscuits to stock the lifeboats. Joughin refused a seat in a lifeboat and instead helped throw people —sometimes forcibly — into the boats, before returning to his cabin to sling back whiskey and watch the water flow in.
Joughin was on deck when the Titanic split in half at 2:20 a.m., and once he hit the water, he kept afloat for hours before he was rescued. According to scientists, Joughin was extremely lucky; he hit a sweet spot where the 28-degree Fahrenheit water was cold enough to cancel out the alcohol, while the whiskey probably helped him avoid panicking when he first hit the water.