We have spoken here of a small dinner, for six or eight, but Service for
the same general rules apply to larger ones. At these, two J"^®'
soupe, a thick and a clear one, are stili of ten given, the f ootman
carrying both soup platee, and saying to each guest, for instance,
^* Julienne or gumbo?" A light entrée, such as a soufflé of
cheese, or chicken in little cases, or a vol-au-vent is sometimes
served between the soup and the fish ; the fish is in some
rather ornamentai f orm, such as little fillets, but the useful f ried
smelt stili holds his place. Then comes another entrée, perhaps
of sweetbreads or a mousse or timbale. Then the meat, the
separate vegetable, the roast or chaudfroid with salad, the sweet
dish, or even two of them, such as a babà f oUowed by ice-cream,
or the second sweet may be replaced by a savory.
The necessity for good service cannot be too much insisted
npon. One servant to five guests is the very smaUest number Proportìon
with which a large dinner can be well carried off, and then only ^ ^^^^
if the servante are used to working together. It is better to
allow one to f our, especially if you have to cali in professional
waiters. For this reason it is more economical to have eighteen
people rather than sixteen ; you wìll need f our servante to take
58
MB8. SEELT'a COOK BOOK
Service for
more than
ten.
Batler'i
duties.
Winei.
proper care of the smaller number, and they can just as well
manage two more. Unless you bave an accomplished chef, or
a cordon bleu, be caref ul to have only dishes which your cook
knows by heart and is sure to make well ; a largo dinner strains
the resources of an ordinary establishment, and is no timo for
experiment or uncertainty. If your artist sometimes fails in
ber dear soups, but has a talent for creams and purées, choose
one of the latter, and select entrées with which she always suc-
ceeds* No matter whether some or ali of your guests bave had
the same thing at your house before, they will probably not
notice if they are enjoying themselves ; and even if they do, it is
infinitely better than that there should be a dreary pause, fol-
lowed by some dish which is an evident f allure, to the mortifica-
tion of the hostess.
If there are more than ten people, two dishes of everything
which is handed should be started at the same time, as it takes
too long for one to make its way round. Service begins with
the lady who sits on the host's right, or whom he has taken in;
but when there are two dishes, the second should start with the
hostess, who sets a good example by helping herself, whether
she wants any or not, and also makes the first cut into a timbale
or anything of that sort.
Page 34
Presented as published in 1902. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
We have spoken here of a small dinner, for six or eight, but Service for the same general rules apply to larger ones. At these, two J"^®' soupe, a thick and a clear one, are stili of ten given, the footman carrying both soup platee, and saying to each guest, for instance, ^* Julienne or gumbo?" A light entrée, such as a soufflé of cheese, or chicken in little cases, or a vol-au-vent is sometimes served between the soup and the fish ; the fish is in some rather ornamentai form, such as little fillets, but the useful fried smelt stili holds his place. Then comes another entrée, perhaps of sweetbreads or a mousse or timbale. Then the meat, the separate vegetable, the roast or chaudfroid with salad, the sweet dish, or even two of them, such as a babà followed by ice-cream, or the second sweet may be replaced by a savory.
The necessity for good service cannot be too much insisted upon. One servant to five guests is the very smallest number Proportìon with which a large dinner can be well carried off, and then only ^ ^^^^ if the servante are used to working together. It is better to allow one to four, especially if you have to call in professional waiters. For this reason it is more economical to have eighteen people rather than sixteen ; you wìll need four servants to take
Service for more than ten.
Batler'i duties.
Winei.
proper care of the smaller number, and they can just as well manage two more. Unless you bave an accomplished chef, or a cordon bleu, be caref ul to have only dishes which your cook knows by heart and is sure to make well ; a largo dinner strains the resources of an ordinary establishment, and is no timo for experiment or uncertainty. If your artist sometimes fails in her dear soups, but has a talent for creams and purées, choose one of the latter, and select entrées with which she always succeeds. No matter whether some or all of your guests bave had the same thing at your house before, they will probably not notice if they are enjoying themselves ; and even if they do, it is infinitely better than that there should be a dreary pause, followed by some dish which is an evident failure, to the mortification of the hostess.
If there are more than ten people, two dishes of everything which is handed should be started at the same time, as it takes too long for one to make its way round. Service begins with the lady who sits on the host's right, or whom he has taken in; but when there are two dishes, the second should start with the hostess, who sets a good example by helping herself, whether she wants any or not, and also makes the first cut into a timbale or anything of that sort.