The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-10-08
The Cookery Of a Saratoga Hotel.

Connected with the palatial hotels of
Saratoga are immense kitchens where
the very best meals are gotten up for
some 800 OF 1000 guests. Dinner is the
meal of meals, and the army of cooks, be
they French or American, exert them
selves to the utmost to make it as grand
each day as possible. A correspondent
| of the New York Tribune was permitted
with few friends to rummage about
the kitchen and pantries and storerooms
hotel in the world. Mr.. Antoine En-
nesse, the head cook of the establish
ment, gave the visitors all the informa-
tion desired. $50 you have come to
help me get dinner, have you, gentle
men? Well, I need Ill the help I can
get, for have to feed 1000 to-day, and
the bill of fare is generous one" One
of the gentlemen inquired who made up
the bill of fare. II make it up" re-
piled the cook. "Thc steward buys
whatever he likes, and I make my din
ner out of what there is in the house.
For example. step this way, gentlemen"
and the cook led to one of number of
large blue chests. VIII ch were arranged
about the sides of large room. In the
middle of the room was a butchers
block and table. Opening the chest the
cook showed us hundred or so beauti-
full fish stretched upon the ice side by
side. There were salmon, weak fish,
striped bass and Saratoga lake bass.
Each fish was thoroughly cleaned and
ready tor cooking. I'm this next chest
are the steaks and chops, all ready cut
for the gridiron. We have two butchers
who cut and dress the meat. There
must be thousand or fifteen hundred
steaks, small and large, in IT, chest. In
this next chest are the lamb and mutton.
We use about one hundred and twenty
five racks day. Let's see what there is
to come out of here for dinner. Leg of
mutton. caper sauce That will take
six of these fellows. Then I want ten.
headquarters for the spring lamb,
mint sauce and six saddles Of mutton
to roast. There will be some Of this
lamb Oh mutton left over, and we will
use it tomorrow under the head or cold
meats. In this chest is the beef. We
u:e a great deal of beef. To-day we
shall roast fifteen ribs of beef that aver
age forty-fve pounds, and fifteen tender
loins. There will be one rib left for sup
per. Here, now, are the little spring
chickens and we use between 500 and
GOO day. Don't they look pretty with
their arms tucked away behind their
backs? For dinner alone we shall want
about $40 of the little chaps. We shall
boil forty, roast 225. and use seventy
five more in the Spring saute, a la
Marengo.'" The first item on the bill
Of fare under pastry" was cabinet
pudding" One of the cooks was mix
ing up the dough for it. He said the re.
suit would be $50 small puddings. Three
kinds of pie were making-rhubarb,
pumpkin and blackberry. One of the |
party expressed surprise that only nine
ner. 'Oh," said Mr.. Ennesse, "our
guests don't come from Massachusetts.
They are mostly from New York. They |
don't care much for pies. Here is what
they like" and he pointed to where peo.
pie were working on what he said would |
turn out to be 800 Charlotte Russes.
We make a good deal of cake, too, to
eat with tile ice-cream end vater-ices, |
and all of it is made in this room. Of |
course we always have some on hand,
and only hare to make single kind or
two kinds in day. We bake the pastry |
in these tile ovens. These two meI are |
the bakers. They do nothing except |
make bread. They use four barrels and
a half of flour n day. This afternoon
they will be at work on tea biscuits.
They make between 5000 and 600 of
them day. There is not much bread
eaten at dinner. We use lots OF butter
and eggs and milk in this room, but
can't tell exactly how much we use for
dinner. In the whole house in n single
day we use for cooking and on the table
about 500 pounds of butter, 400 dozen of
eggs. and 700 quarts of milk. The ice
cream takes considerable milk and eggs.
We make 900 quarts of ice-cream and
together.