GOOD COOKS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 46, 24 February 1937, Page 7

GOOD COOKS.

ENGLISHMAN'S PRAISE.

N.Z. FOOD EXCELLENT.

HIGH STANDARD OF LIVING. New Zealand cooks and I licit 1 long, the attractiveness of nival* set hefoie liim in this country unci t lit* H lunula lice of good food, not only available I nit daily •served to visitors in tlie better class tourist houses, were praised yesterday afternoon hy Major .1. T. Strachey Barnes, H.H.1!.5.. prior to his departure by the Aorangi. Major Barnes had ft pent several weeks in New Zealand, enjoying a holiday after arduous journalistic work as uar correspondent for Reuters in the Aliysiniiin catnpaign. "Standards of life in New Zealand are high, but it appears that one doe* not require a large income to enjoy life. li\e in a healthy way in a licit It h \ at sphere, and have a fair share of the abundance of good things jour country produces," said Major Karnes. "Take your eookitig. It is excellent. Travellers who say anything to the contrary must have been unfortunate in their personal experiences. Perhaps tlicy put up at the wrong houses. Personally I ha\e patronised accommodation houses and private hotels. I.\cr\where I found the food u nexce pt iona blc. "I like evidence of abundance. Tiny portions of fish and little dabs of whipped cream, daintily served, may appeal to some people,' but I much |»refer your New Zealand style of a decent portion, with a reasonable jug of cream on the table. Your cooks make the most of the wonderfully good food wliicV New Zealand produces. They turn out great pastry. Kven apple pie, which seems to be a sort of national dish, does not pall because, as a rule, it is so palatable. Black lierrv tart with plenty of cream—what could be more tasty 1" Wonderful Meat. Not only in hotels and guest, houses was the cooking good and the food of the betit, Major Barnes had enjoyed the hospitality of several private homes, in all of which the women, sometimes unassisted by a domestic stall', produced meals of a high order. The quality of New Zealand meat, as served in New Zealand, was a revelation to Major Barnes. He deplored the fact that, despite transportation under the most scientific process of* refrigera - tion, New Zealand's meat readied the Home market unmistakably "frozen." Actually it was none the worse for that, of course, but the finer palatable qualities, ho noticeable when the same meal was served fresh, were lost before the meat reached thje Englishman's tabic B.V far the greater section of the British public had to be content with fro/,en meat. Knglish meat was, for millions, only an occasional luxurv. There was too, a growing tendency to rely on' tinned foodw. If one lived in London, said Major Barnes, it was extremely difficult to maintain a good healthy standard of •i £ V 1 the on, . v commodity available in quantity at a reasonable price was milk. An Attractive Country. New Zealand, with its favourable rate ge \ ltH , clear - "»»"y climatic conditions, abundance of food and high standards of living at reasonable price levels would increasingly attract people who wished to live well on a moderate income A man with £1000 a year would be far happier here than in the Old Country, Major Barnes thought. To live as well a« one could here on £1000 one would require £2000 i n London. A suggestion that Tarmlng methods might be somewhat altered was made by the visitor, who thought there might lie rather much eonceutration on production for the woVld market. (Small farming, without "all the eggs in one basket," should lie encouraged more Intensively. The small farmer should not I tend all his energies to the production of butterfat at the coat of neglecting the production of other items. Major Barnes instanced the methods adopted in Italy, where whole families lived in modest comfort on the fruits of the soil under a system not primarily directed at production for sale and export. There were many popular fallacies concerning standards of living, said Major Barnes, Good, wholesome things made up the substantial elements in life. The' worth of money, that was the real value of money as distinct from wage rates, must lie taken into consideration. People regarded as peasants had rnenv things which e'.en millionaires might envv. As an instance, Major Barnes recalled that in Dutch homes he had seen fireplaces which American millionaires would envv for their beauty and utility. Yet those fireplaces were the usual. accepted appurtenances of modest cot 1 itL'cs jn the farming areas, where the labourers of the field* lived with their families, lucking nothing. Widely Travelled. Major Barnes said New Zealand impressed him as being wonderfully well developed for such n young country with so small a population. It might, at the present stage, lie almost over dcvelo|ied. There were millions of people who would be g!ad to share t lie advantages offered here. A widelv-t ravelled man. Major Barnes 1i»»- had evtensive e\ncriciicc of affairs. He has s|>cnt much time in southern and eastern Furopc and in India, where he was Iteiiter- icent for '■ot eriiU'ent neve \ ~f sir llii-li Barnes, lie h - hrou"ht no in 11 ,i I v liv his ra ltd fa * her. tie la»e <r .lolm Sttacliev , He m'hs edue'ed a* I-ton and ' »n "i- I'uriii" the ' ' ret 1 War Major Pane- served mi t »•«• lr.mil Hor-e Guard* and the Vr Force, \ftci wauls he was at t a died to t'ie Bli'ish Hnreiull °"i"c d"lei>a t ion to the Pari- Peace I 'on fc'ence a~ an expert on Italian and Vdriatic quest jons. IT ha- written numerous hooks-. i« f ! i•' author of articles in the F -loi.iicipa l! •it ann ica , contributes to new-pa net- anil lieriodicnls thrnii"hout the world, and i« a member of t'-e Boy! In-tO'itc of Inti-f. national Affairs. F"r services ; n italv he wa« erented a < ~f , Order of the f'.in.i of ti ~'v jj,, j„ „ j , '1 Privv ''ha inher'a'ii of ' a lie a'd Sword 'o the P 00,..