Dinner Parties In Britain “Hard Work”

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30056, 14 February 1963, Page 2

Dinner Parties In Britain “Hard Work”

The English kitchen was “extremely inept, abominably small and archaically-equipped,” Mr A. E. Crothall fold members of the Canterbury division of the New Zealand Institute of Management and their wives during an address at the annual meeting of the division.

“The English kitchen is purely a place of toil It used to be for maids, but now that the mistresses have to work in it I cannot understand why they put up with it,” he said.

could go ahead. "And what about Mrs Executive? It is grand when you are partaking of dinner, but what about when you are the giver of a dinner?” Mr Crothall asked. “In the winter, we entertained guests to dinner at least once every week, and we were not entertaining much. That meant that my wife had to spend all day, from the early part of the morning, preparing for dinner.

Mr Crothall, general manager of a commercial cleaning and catering flrm with a business established in England, described the life of “Mr and Mrs Executive” in London.

It was a mistake to assume that business executives in England did not work hard, he said. It was true that they did not arrive to work until late, about 9,45 a.m., but they did not leave until 6 pjn. or 6JO p.m.

“In New Zealand, when you ask someone to come round, it is usually for the evening after dinner. In England they arrive about 7.15 to 7.30 pm. and that is for dinner. "In England the dinner is very well-prepared. The table is beautifully laid. It means a great deal of hard work for Mrs Executive. It is harder than in New Zealand. "Mr and Mrs Executive are expected to be reasonably well read and must be able to discuss almost any topic, including all sports, lightly or seriously. “For that reason, I read the book reviews in the newspapers, and the Sunday papers give a great deal of space for book reviews, play reviews, and so on, because these are subjects of discussion at dinner.

It was also true that there were "lush dinners” put on by executives —expense account luncheons, dinners and shows. But the executive afterwards had to work on paper in his briefcase until the early hours of the morning so that the firm’s work

“The dinners are more formal than ours. Never make the mistake of offering to help with the dishes. We did that once—just once. Of course, that means the dishes for Mr and Mrs Executive when the guests have gone. “Dinner guests do go—about 10,15 or 10.30 p.m. That is the custom and helps New Zealanders who have a reputation here of not knowing when to leave,” Mr Crothall said with a smile.