DINING AS AN ART

Evening Star, Issue 20863, 5 August 1931, Page 8

DINING AS AN ART

Almost forty years ago there was invented in a famous cuisine in London a dish that was destined to be known around the globe, and with thousands of gourmets it has continued to hold first place when it comes to desserts supreme. This dish was none other .than ■ the renowned peach Melba, and its inventor the celebrated Escoffier, .world-famous chef, who is now making his fourth visit to America, writes Arretta Watts, in the ‘ San Francisco .Chronicle.’ This eighty-fivc-year-old French chef i—dean emeritus, as it were, of the profession and from whom chefs the world over have sought to learn the secrets ol his art—came to these shores to supervise the preparation and service of the opening dinner of a great hostelry. For hotel managers in America as well as in 'Europe and elsewhere are aware that no name can add such distinction for such an occasion as that of Escoffier, who, during the seventy years he has devoted to pleasing discriminating palates, has created culinary masterpieces which a Carome, a Bechamel, or a Richelieu might well have coveted. Kings and Queens, the greatest artists and leaders in virtually all business and professions, are numbered among the patrons of the cuisines over which this master chef has presided, and countless are letters, photographs, and other testimonials acclaiming the gastronomic joy ho has provided through the science and art of his profession.

When King Edward was Prince of [Wales, one of his great delights was ,to dine at the Petit Moulin Rouge, in Paris, when Escoffier was its chef. The former Kaiser Wilhelm, Emperor of Germany, who sent for this culinary artist to supervise the preparation of his foods upon more than one occasion when starting on a cruise, dubbed him the “ Emperor of Chefs.” The British King was a connoisseur of foods, according to Escoffier, as was also the German Emperor, who ate everything 'but always wanted his foods prepared very simply. But not for royalty alone has Escoffier prepared dishes truly “ fit to be set before a king.” Artists of music, of literature, and of 'the stage are numbered among his admirers. The imniortal Sarah Bernhardt often sought him to prepare her favourite dish of ortolans, and Madame Melba, a lifelong friend, inspired that classic dish that bears her name.

Years ago the reputation of this chef spread across the seas, and during the forty years when he presided over the cuisine of the Savoy, in London, as .well as later when in the same capacity he honoured the cuisine of the Carlton, epicures have been known to journey across the Atlantic for no other reason than to partake of his famous foods, 'they were never disappointed. Although,now retired from the more active duties of chef dc cuisine, M. Escoffier, in his charming Villa Fernand in Monte Carlo, keeps busy experimenting with foods and inventing new dishes and new combinations to add to his already enviable list. Here, too, in this lovely garden spot not many miles from his birthplace 'in Southern France, where he learned from his mother the fundamentals of cookery, ho finds time for a little writing bn the subjects of foods. That the French cuisine is preeminent to-day, according to this master chef, is due largely to the fact that in France food products are found in such great variety. With such a u abundance of fresh vegetables and dairy products unsurpassed, it would bo a poor commentary on a country, he says, that could not prepare tasty and nourishing dishes. t “BORN TO COOK.” ij! Another point he would not overlook Tss the fact that years ago daughters in j French homes all learned to cook, and Tthe art has continued to be handed Jidown from generation to generation. „ “Woman was born' to cook.” cle- • dared Escoffier. “It is her job.” And Jin defence of this home-making virtue *jthc master chef is as emphatic in the declaration of its importance as was /John lluskin, with whom he agrees also that “ cookery means much testing and .wasting.” “Man is simply an industrial cook,” continued Escoffier, “and his plaeo as such is in big organisations where the work is 100 heavy for .women.” The real superiority of a good cook, according to Escoffier, lies not so much in the preparation of expensive or fancy dishes as in the attractive preparation of nourishing and inexpensive dishes for every day, and in the skilful combination of flavours “It is to bo regretted,” said Escoffier, “ that in a land with the splendours of new and magnificent roof gardens, casinos, and other such delightful 'dining places as one finds in America, there seems so little time to dine-—not only for enjoying the foods in themselves, but for appreciating the menu iu its social significance.” The French, he points out, are willing not only to ta! > the time to prepare a dish scientifically, but also to eat it hygienically, with a lingerng enjoyment of its appetising flavours. They appreciate epicurean subtleties. For these reasons French became tbc language of the culinary world. Although proud of the heritage that is his in the traditions and art of .french cookery, Escoffier is not one to decry the cookery of other lands—tbc simple, substantial fundamentals of English kitchens, with their roast beef, ham, and mutton, the delightfully versatile pastas of Italy, zestful zakourkas and hortschs of Russia, and the varied and colourful dishes to be found on the Scandinavian Smorgasbord. Nor would he minimise the culinary achievements of the Orient—chow-meins of China, sukiyakis of Japan, and those peppery curried dishes, chutneys, and mangoes of India, where the science of cookery had its beginning. In tho cookery of a nation he finds an index to the character of its people, for it is .as much a part of tho hisforv and traditions of a land as arc its laws and language, he declares. ~ American cookery is really of tho old French school, according to Escoffier, who says that lie likes it when it is done by a woman, but not usually when it is done by a man, lie particularly likes American coffee, and admits a little sentiment in the matter of this beverage,. It was the first dish bis mother taught him to make. When ho was only eight years old the only thing that could distract him from his mother’s kitchen were the activities in the village blacksmith shop, over which his father presided. With a merry twinkle in his deep brown eyes, whoso sight has ever required the aid of glasses, M. Escoffier added: “I like your coffee better than your water, which I find is always too cold.”

This t led to the subject of Escoffier’s long life. b Someone asked me when I Was in America several years ago how I had lived to bo so old,” ho said smiling. ‘ “ And I gave this recipe for longevity:' ‘Boat well the yolk of one fresh egg, mix wi *i two teaspoonfuls of sugar, and add two smalt glasses of brandy. Then finish filling the cup with fresh milk and drink just he lb re going to bed!’ Whereupon my inquirer replied; 1 Yes, but we have no brandy.’ ‘Jlicn,’ I said, ‘you’ll have to go to France.’ ”.