THE GASTRONOMES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19760, 10 April 1926, Page 19

THE GASTRONOMES.

FRENCH DOMINANT. MEALS THAT ARE AN INSPIRATION. Food recognises no national frontiers, and is regardless of race or tradition. The twenty-first annual reunion of Gastronomes was celebrated at Frascati » Restaurant, in Holborn, recently, and was remarkable for the varied nationalities of the 200 guests, though France was dominant (states the London correspondent of the Melbourne Argus). The meal would have made the mouth of Lucullus water. It began at 7 o’clock, and was still in progress at midnight; indeed, the feasting was less a meal than a solemn rite. Giant oysters furnished the first of the ten courses, savoured with a wonderful vinegar from Chili. When the soups followed, the cleverest gourmets in Europe confessed themselves unable to name the , subtle flavours which gave them character, it being the boast of M Matague, the head chef at Frascati’s, that none of the ten courses had ever been served at a public dinner before. Later inquiries revealed chat the clear soup contained cocks’ combs and cocks’ kidneys, the thick soup cream of chicken, with almonds, milk, and mushrooms. Of the fish, M. Matague he called it the “Star of the Sailor,” because he wished every gastronome to regard it as an inspiration. Each dish contained a centre of lobster paste, and frqtn this the fillets of sole rayed out like the points of the Polar Star. Equally original was the lamb, served on toasted crentons and festoned with emerald-green vegetables, nestling in little rounds of pastry. The garniture was made from delicate shoots of hops, specially grown at Brussels for the Frascati banquet. Truffles embedded in pate de foie gras, soaked in brandy, led up to 'he bird course —a pheasant -and then came sweets, which usually provide the master chef with his final triumph. Escoflier, the inventor of Pe''he Melba, that delectable mixture of peaches, ice, raspberry puree, and vanilla syrup, was one asked. ‘What dishes do vou like best to evolve?” “Sweets," was the reply; “the d'shefs that best please the ladies.” At Frascati’s the clou of the evening was what can only bp described as a set piece m sweets. On each table was a sugar lighthouse which flashed o”t a ruddy signal when the waiters sailed in with the course. The edible matter proved to he of sugar, cream, almond naste. and pineapple. The method of serving was n a el ns the mixture. Tim swp-t was fashioned to represent model shins; that is to sav. the model shins were made from ice cream, with decks and sails of almond paste, and they floated aim’d a foam of nmeapnle slices. It reanired co-rage to break no such a contention, hut tilo satisfaction to the palate justified the ruin of the sugary works of art.