When my husband did his first 10k, we decided to throw a pasta party with some friends who were also doing the 10k and this made me think about how many other meals have there been that have become famous?  So, to try to answer that question, here are some famous meals….

The Last Supper

Perhaps the most famous meal of all time, the final meal Jesus shared with his apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion.

This is where Jesus predicts his betrayal by Judas Iscariot saying, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish,” and then he gives the bread to Judas. Jesus also predicts that Peter will deny knowledge of him, disowning him three times before the rooster’s crow that next morning. Jesus prays thanks for the bread, divides it and hands it out to his dispciples saying, “Take, eat, this is by body,” and then he offers a prayer with a cup of wine saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins, I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when i drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Blair-Brown deal or otherwise know as The Granita Pact

This was the restaurant where a gentleman’s agreement was struck between Tony Blair, who was the Shadow Home Secretary for Labour at the time and Gordon Brown, the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer for Labour.

Following the unexpected death of the Labour leader, John Smith, this is where Brown agreed to not stand in the forthcoming leadership election, to allow Tony Blair a better chance of victory.

The menu hasn’t been disclosed, but there was a film made about this called The Deal starring David Morrissey and Michael Sheen.

Alice in Wonderland Tea Party

Probably the most famous fictional tea party is that which occurred in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

The guests at the tea party which Alice encounters are The Mad Hatter, The Dormouse and the March Hare. It is explained by the Mad Hatter that they are always having a tea party because when he tried to sing for the Queen of Hearts, she sentenced him to death for “murdering the time.” He escaped decapitation but angry at the Hatter’s attempted “murder,” Time halts him and keeps him and the March Hare stuck at 6:00 forever. The party evolves around switching places at the table, making personal remarks, asking unanswerable riddles and reciting nonsensical poetry, which eventually drives Alice away.

Last meal on Death Row

I suppose the most macabre meal that is consumed is the final meal before you meet your demise – some don’t have an appetite (not surprisingly) while others opt for a simple meal and some even order an extravagent meal with all the trimmings….

Lawrence Russell Brewer

A murderer who ordered two chicken fried steaks with gravy and sliced onions, a triple-patty bacon cheeseburger and a cheese omelet with beef mince, tomatoes, onions, bells peppers and jalapenos. He was also given fried okra with ketchup, a pound of barbecuedd meat with a half loaf of white bread, three fajitas and a meat pizza. For dessert he had a pint of ice cream, peanut butter fudge with cushed peanuts and three root beers to wash it all down.

He actually never ate any of it, telling prison staff at Huntsville Prison that he wasn’t hungry.  This caused Texas to stop offering last meal requests…

John Wayne Gacy

A serial killer, responsible for murdering at least 33 men, asked for fried shrimp, a full bucket of KFC original recipe friend chicken and some French fries, and for dessert a pound of strawberries.

KFC was also on the request list for kidnapper and murderer, Robert Alton Harris, who asked for a 21-piece bucket of KFC, together with two large pizzas from Dominos, some jelly beans, ice cream, six cans of Pepsi and a pack of Camel cigarettes.

Last meal on the Titanic

This was the menu for the first class passengers aboard the ill-fated Titanic. They would have been served this hours before the ship hit the iceberg. The first-class passengers, which famously included John Jacob Astor IV, an inventor, writer, businessman and Benjamin Guggenheim, an American businessman, would have then congregated in the smoking room or in the elegant, horseshoe-shaped reception room, where the ship’s orchestra played a selection of light classical and popular music until 11 pm.