THRIFT IN THE ROYAL KITCHEN.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 127, 21 February 1908, Page 3

THRIFT IN THE ROYAL KITCHEN.

The' chance of .a, visit ...to. the Rijyal '■ kit-, chens, Buckingham Palace, is • n'oi .to be neg-! 'lectfid;/wKonV.itv : cbmes'v;one's way.;, for.; the ■ jOpen/sesame to them.can;only .be. through, a. Court .official...jl',''.. wasforfcimatev enough. '(writes M.. L. -Manning : in the. Sydney graph") '.to ;have -such,-a chance'a, few days , before'.'.Christmas-of- last' year, .. the; day; infact,, -that ,/KingEdward : .rwas :;leaving\ for . Sandringham; so', ; tjjero was; not'.the lisudl, .bustle, and we a got', moreattention;Tho. .kitchens.', are .(composed. 6t a-'huge; rambling, collection; of .more-or lessJ out-of-dat6.>,offices, , often), so", widely;'separated, by-long, stone :cor-' ridbrs that' it'r is "quite & wallc.frpm 'the niiiii, (kitchen; oyer-which'- Mr. Menager,:'iho chef,' .'presides,. to.the_ department-•"of,-,the.ifirst 'con T . fectioiier,' ..who ~isV again . separated. from: the workrooms, of,,.'the second by .• a, stillgreater/, distance.,. /Ifound?-my ; wifely; instincts.shuddering ;at;-.th,e:,enormous-amount of stone : flooririg to,be scour.edfr.and. kept' immaculate in tho : great i amblingplace ; and, at the small-evidence, labour-saving .appliances as seem indispensable nowadays;" if .we wish to keep help;. yet '.the s'ervahts did lick give 0110 the impression that" their' duties .'were., a" burden. :• Iri'an interesting talk with'tho second confeefcione whose ' duty 'it : is to '• have/ prepared r hall '■ therr*tggei's aid''pastries;, used! in-; r /th© .Palace, 1 I learrit something of the v ' sensible ■economy, which' is a'-rule:,of the. Royal .resi'-', .deiices;; arid' ii practised equally, for the ''table ;of the Monarch 'on whose wide ■ dominions tho sun" : ne'ver' Sets,''as for the' table' .;bf'his' : humblest : ' servant'. The' packing was still ■ unfinished,. and 1 hiy attention''was . at-' ;tractijd ; to. a'huge raised'ganie pi'o. V Having , some'experience' in ■ the -', artof raised, l"pastry, 1 ■I' miic^: admired"'and' commented upon; 'the pierfefction-'/of thfe-fluted; moulding, /which' '.seemed "too'perfect; in : its' regular'/symmetry ; 'f6r ' : 'human''hands; l to ' hart ' 'accomplished. ' ;My ; con jecture \was • right,- and ' the mould ' in :two'.pieces,.was'.sh6wn ine.-'therefdrd'the'pie 1 became a' timbale'.' -/Next' 'I; wondered how' so •^^t;'a 'eaten',-for.: breakfast :'o'r "liiiich : ,\whiTe it "was jsweet/ confectioners .'said, it! never ,wps eaten ;\perhapk;k[fev;"slicesfrbni':the,vdry.. .top would" be, cut' out. Awhile:: the-' filling 1 ;.was /freshj -'but' .three i: parts' of M e'atih;fpio' would go.! '•to ; wasto'/ ; So' he'had J 'h'it "upon an.-expedient , which i servted all purposes; and .saved [".time, •and money.. : Tt; was 'to: fill«; the ,\wh'ole space .of - the'raised'pie below ? t'h6jneck with, a'2lb. , ■loaf' of bread; .'oii 'whioh ' would -rest a ci'ust-' of pastry, leaving' a space above" theneck :fof jabout . threel inches, •. which 'was?• fillfefl- : v,-ith • ithe'ribli'meat,.mixtiire'and covered'with the, ".upper, crust. ■ llt ' was ' a • great lesson' iii ■ the conservation; of.waste: to i lear'nvi in : ? a Vijo yal .kitchen,: which is -popularly. supposed ; to be. the last place where I .'economy nee:i be •tised 1 •v.|

; King: ascended tho ;thr9?ic N .he found 'many abubes. had'crept, iritovtho inin;ageracnt ofthfc ; Royal' ' residences—abus'Ss, iwnich' occur in.lthe! experience, of all !;long thb ,r difßcnity'.'witn.'.his ■usual good,',■judgment, by.;-..appointing', Lbrd .Farquhar as Master.'of. the Houseliola.', This ■gentleman' rapidly " did ; yeoman;' servict) ,' in abolishing \ abuses . and controlling •without antagonising the servants of the .household, for'-'with. I 'firmness ho combined kindly, consideration,, and reduced this, complicated-machinery to order :by.'tlie''sum.marjj: dismissal of; those who' had abused ■their'trust, aiid'grading the."rest- on a reasonable footing. ;

Wc x gleaned in our tour pf ;inspect'ibn-'■that' simplicity,; coupled -wiijli;, the ,;■ highest,. Art of trained intelligence '.was the ..keynote''.of the-hoine-lifo of . Royaltyarid so.'great. is/King Edward's; desire' to, .discourage ;■ emasculating luxury, in his 5 , rich subjeots 'that. hb;-sets ..tho example of . plain living; in; everyday life .by, ■limiting'the number'of. courses at dinner, to ■ five. The styleyis: that: of; a: country, gentleman,arid,tne. effect. of such vahyi.'pxaiiiplo' ; omanatirig froin the •: table ' ; of • tlie,; ,'first .gentleman, in Europe"gives many, ;a subject heart' to ~discourage.'the. degmerating: jjiflaxnces. bf luxury, and .so ,to win out from dis•ease.'and' debt before, expensive living -engulfs' :him.. ; n .'■ --v- ! ' The moral of that little visit, to the' Royalkitchens is that England is very , fortunate'in her Royal Family,', because, they possess -in an uncommon degree level-healed.', ideas coupled with a high 'senso of, their • responsibility's examples to'their subject's; arid ho high-falutin' -notions; of, their owiv Hidvenborn 'superiority to the criticism Kof " their subjects. : '