The Iceberg Dessert from Heston Blumenthal's Controversial Titanic Feast

In this week's episode of Heston's Feasts on Channel 4 in the UK, Heston Blumenthal decided to create what he called "the greatest feast never eaten" — the last meal on the ill-fated RMS Titanic.

Too soon? Granted, the ship sank over 98 years ago, but apparently, historians and relatives of Titanic survivors and victims were not terribly happy about Blumenthal taking "inspiration" from such a calamitous event, calling it "sick" and "disrespectful," even saying, "You wouldn't dream of doing it about 9/11 or the Second World War."

With the dining room mocked up to look like the ship, Blumenthal crafted a meal inspired by the British global empire and the "golden age of Edwardian adventure," all presented through his inventive and madcap vision. The menu was mainly a timid affair having little to do with the ship itself — see Channel 4's wrapup — the dishes took cues from the turn of the century: curried ice cream, an "Antarctic roll served on edible snow," and a mock-fast food main course with a camel burger. But then he got to dessert. An iceberg dessert.

Inspired by Escoffier's Bombe Nero, Blumenthal made miniature iceberg-shaped white chocolate molds filled with ice cream, fruit purees, caramel sauce, chocolate sheets, and feuillantine, all covered in an edible pearl effect powder. The tiny icebergs surrounded a single, massive iceberg that was covered in white chocolate and marshmallow to form a edible crust. With lemonade jelly and Champagne granite mimicking ice. All surrounded by combustible bubbles that, when lit, flambeéd.

Which sounds very tasty! But what in the world was he thinking?

Video: The Iceberg Dessert from Heston Blumenthal's Titanic Feast

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