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THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, B. C, DECEMBER 2R, 1930. 7i ESCOFFIER WOULD REVIVE ART OF EATING Too Little Time to Dine in America, Says French Dean Emeritus Among World Cooks, as He Tells The haste with which Americans dine is regretted by the great French chef, for ha believes the true emjoyment of the foods served is lost when meals are BY ARRETTA L. WATTS. LMOST 40 years ago there Was in- vented in a famous cuisine in Lon- don a dish that was destined to be known around the globe, and with ventor the celebrated Escoffier, world-famous chef, who is now making his fourth visit to America. 8 This 85-year-old French chef—dean emeritus, @8 it were, of the profession and from whom ehefs the world over have sought to learn the secrets of his art—came to these shores to supervise the preparation and service of the 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 to tile “carte du jour” for such an occasion as that of Escoffier, who, during Kings and queens, the greatest artists and leaders in virtually all business and grofessions are numbered the patrons of the cuisines over which this master chef has presided and countless are the letters, photographs and other testimonials acclaiming the gastronomic joy he has provided through the science and art of his profession. HEN 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 But not for royalty alone has Escoffier pre- pared dishes truly “fit to be set before a king.” Artists of music, of literature and of the stage are numbered among his admirers. The im- mortal Sarah Bernhardt often sought him to prepare her favorite 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 #cross the seas, and during the 40 years when he presided over the cuisine of the Savoy in London, as well as later when in the same capacity he honored the cuisine of the Carlton, epicures have been known to journey across the Atlantic for no other reason than to par- take of his famous foods. They were never @ value of good food, but through his under- of the artistry in cooking he has pro- gastronomy as no other nmeu:l from the mote active Hotel in Monte Carlo, where Escoffier was then chef. T the French cuisine is pre-eminent today, according to this master, is due largely to the fact that in France food products are found in such great variety. With such an abundance of fresh vegetables and dairy prod- ucts unsurpassed, it would be a poor com- mentary on a country, he says, that could not prepare tasty and nourishing dishes: Another point he would not overiook is the fact that years ago daughters in French homes all learned to cook and the art has continued to be handed down from generation to genera- tien. . “Woman was born to cook,” declared Escoffier, “It is her job.” And in defense of this home- making virtue the master chef is as emphatic in the declaration of its importance as was John Ruskin, with whom he agrees also that “cookery means much testing and no wasting.” “Man is simply an industrial cook,” continued Escoffier, “and his place, as such, is in big ‘organizations where the work is too heavy for women.” That the French woman loves to cook he attributes to the fact that she has always been a home-loving woman. “She enjoys having her family eat well,” said Escoffier, “and is, therefore, always inter- ested in the preparation of her dishes—soups, salads, sauces or whatever they may be. She understands the art of bringing out the natural flavors in foods, a thing of vital importance in cookery. For these reasens, even in the hum- blest peasant home the family enjoys nourishing and palatable meals.” ‘The real superiority of a good cook, according to Escoffiier, lies not so much in the preparation of expensive or fancy dishes as in the attractive preparation of mnourishing and inexpensiye dishes for every day and in the skillful com- bination of flavors. Truly.this chieftain of the skillet-and grill is a master of flavor, which has well been characterized as the -“soul of food.” “It is to be regretted,” said Escoffier, “that in a land wtth the splendors of pew and mag- nificent 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 ap- hurriedly eaten and frequeatly interrupted. Auguste Escoffier, 85-year-old dean emeritus of chefs, declares that the real saperiority of a good cook lies not so much in the concoction of expensive and fancy dishes as in the attractive preparation of ‘nourishing and inex- pensive foods for everyday menus. beef, ham and mution, the delightfully versatile pastas of Italy, zestful and bortschs of Russia and the varied and colorful dishes to be found on the Scandinavian Smorgasbord. Nor would he minimize the culinary achieve- ments of the Orient—chow-meins and chop sueys of China, suki-yakis of Japan and those peppery curried dishes, chutneys and mangoes of India, where the science of cookery had its beginning. In the cookery of a nation he finds an index to the character of its people, for it is as much a part of the history and traditions of a land as are its laws and language, -he declares. American cookery is really of the old French school, according to Escoffier, who says that he likes it when it is by a woman, but not usually when it is done done ticularly likes American lttle sentiment in the matter it You There IsSuch a * Thing as “The Soul of Food,”” Whick Must Be Known and Appreciated. for Real Epicufeqrt - Enjoyment. | was the first dish his mother taught him to of chefs, “and have improve on some of the for us in our little village home. With a merry twinkle in his deep. Melba, it was in 1893 when Madame Melba was living at the Savoy in London and Escoffier was chef de cuisine. A favorite dessert of hers Wwas vanilla ice cream served with very ripe peaches. She would order it day after 3 down “Peches Melba,” thinking at the time serving only the peaches and the ice cream he had served them to her so before. P, but never uses any but the fresh does this octogenarian chef seem that one decides the task of a chef a pleasant one. o (Coprright, 1990.) e