Dining on The Orient Express

Really hungry passenger on the Orient Express: "I'd kill for some dinner right about now!" Agatha Christie: 👀

The luxury of travel may have been the Orient Express, but the luxury of YouTube is Tasting History with Max Miller.

As young child, I rode the Orient Express from Istanbul to Paris with my father and little brother. I think it was in 1968 or 1969. This was a multiple day journey.Unbeknownst to my father, the dining car was uncoupled somewhere in Turkey. We had NO dining car for the rest of the trip! As a result, my father would hop off the train, try to exchange money in whatever country we were in and buy a sandwich, or whatever he could get, and run, with us screaming encouragement, to hop on as the train was starting to pull away from the platform. He did it multiple times. Go daddy! We also were lucky enough to have other passengers share food with us. Still, it was a hungry trip.

I travelled on the Orient Express, though not in its heyday, unfortunately. My mother took me and my three brothers from London to Istanbul, to visit my father. We were only in second class, but I do remember that the food was appropriate for the location - some lovely waiters taught my brothers (aged 5 to 9) to twirl spaghetti in Italy. And I partiularly recall the dining car used in Yugoslavia - it was a beautiful period piece with a polished brass plaque stating that it was made in Swindon in 1912.

It was max, in the food cart, with poisoned potatoes. Clue trained me

One of the funniest stories from the Orient Express is the story of Paul Deschanel one time President of France. It happened on June 23, 1920. Somehow he fell out of the train and escaped injury. He was found by a night watchman who assumed him to be drunk or a lunatic. When asked who he was, Deschanel truthfully said he was the president of France. The watchman’s reply is recorded as “Oh yeah, and I’m the Emperor Napoleon.”

I love the idea of the menu constantly changing based on which country you are currently in. That was a stroke of genius. It allowed the passengers to to be culinary tourists without getting off the train.

For the curious, there's a set of "Behind the Bastards" podcast episodes dedicated to King Leopold II, and to call him one of history's greatest monsters is almost an understatement.

You know the food was good because nobody died

Max has mentioned Escoffier so many times by now that I recognize the man by sight and can guess when he will appear.

Max: I am going to be classy and eat the potatoes with a fork. Also Max: Eats lamb cutlet like a caveman.

"He had contacts." Oh nice. "He was family friend with King Leopold the Second." Oh no...

Ferdinand I of Bulgaria was actually a huge train nerd and it is often said that he personally steered the orient express through Bulgaria despite never possessing a proper lincence. It is also said that often times the passengers, not knowing who was steering the train, complained because of the abrupt breaking maneuvers He was also the first monarch to ever fly in a plane which is also quite cool i think

Honestly, I want to see Dress History YouTubers, Max and Jose (among a few other YouTubers) to go on the refurbished Orient Express.

The idea of lemon butter with lamb chops is genius. A perfect compliment to the richness of the meat. A typical Escoffier move, I think. Nice one Max! 🌟👍

I just recently lost my job. Been a chef and culinary teacher since 1997. Yes, it sucks:-) But then I re-discovered the gorgeous Max and all his unbelievable food-history knowledge, culinary skills and just all-round charm and love! Thanks so much again, Max!! HUGE respect and love from Denmark!!

Max: The company really relied on… Me: Don’t say it, don’t say it! Max: Escoffier’s recipes. Me: The mad man, he has done it again.

I'm glad Max chose this menu instead of dish's best served cold revenge.

My grandson introduced me to your series "Tasting History". I have enjoyed all the videos, thank you for your work and sharing. We made the hard tack, and actually enjoyed it! I do believe this "menu" will be another well worth testing out in my kitchen. Love the history behind the dishes you make.

Max should definitely ride on the current iteration of the Orient Express, have a fine dinner and make an episode of it for Tasting History.