, 1890-04-12
COOKING On A BIG SCALE.
HOW FOOD Is PREPARED FOR AN
ARMY OF HUNGRY GUESTS.

The Mysterlous PRECINCTS OF n "h'
the steward Is Autocrat Everything
Done by wholesaIs from Boiling Soup
to Baking Pastry.
Comparatively few people, as they sit
at their tables in the big hotels, have the
least conception Of how the food IS pre-
pared by the small army Of cooks. 10
prepare a Inner requires many hours
work, and a meal twenty-four hours
ahead is being cooked as another meal
Is being served.
In all the leading hotels throughout
the country the kitchen is a most inter
esting sight, and yet it is the most mys-
FERROUS, a. it is only on rare occasions
that a visitor is allowed in the sacred
precincts in the rear Of the dining room.
The cooking department in all first
I class hotels IL kept s~crupuously clean,
more 80, in fact, than any other portion
Of the entire hostelry. The cooks and
assistants are always attired in clean,
white jackets and caps; the ranges. pots,
pans and kettles are always shining, and
the floors look as If they had been freshly
polished each morning. 1t Is n good
cooks pride b. have his kitchen a. neat
a. a pin and rs bright rs a dollar.
The entire cooking apparatus IL heated
by steam. which can be regulated as the
occasion demands, thus insuring the
proper cooking Of the food.
KITCHEN WONDERS.
One Of the wonders OF "A hotel kitchen
IS the potato masher. The potatoes are
placed in the boiler with the jackets on.
When they have become sufficiently
1911 tl,.v. asa. t,,t Il, "a machine called
n ''peeler;' n few turns OF the handle
rolls them out as c~leverly pared MS an
expert could do If the potato was hard
and raw. From the ''peeler' they are put
in the "masher, and here, after n few
revolutions, they are found on a plate
beneath, neatly mashed and steaming
hot. The egg boiler Is u clever invention.
When an order comes from the dining
room for this product, h egg is placed
in "A wire basket and set in what seems to
he "A pan Of water. In n second the cook
has turned on the steam from somewhere
and the water Is soon bubbling all around
the basket. But a short space of time
clapscs until the egg is on its way into
the dining room. Porterhouse steaks are
broiled in an instant. Two large broilers
are kept hot by steam pipes, and a piece
of steak is cooked almost as soon as it
touches the broiler. Toast is perhaps the
only article OF food not prepared by
steam, save the bread, pastry and creams.
The carving stand is one Of the most
interesting sights in a hotel kitchen.
When the meats are cooked the kettles
are lifted from the large pot in which
they were prepared and are set in large
Ill -. l..,..,.rratnn Ct.ut, .tr.t,-
lates all around underneath and keeps
the meat warm. In front of each kettle
is a snail pan in which is kept the sauces
which 20 with the different meats. The
carving stand is presided over by two ex-
pert carvers in white jackets and caps,
whose knives are AS sharp as a razor All
the ruasts and boiled food is served by
them as the walters call for them.
OTHER FEATURES OF III ROOM.
During the dinner hour the cooks are
kept busy serving the entrees, but at
breakfast and supper, and for several
hours preceding the noon meal, they are
engaged in preparing or overseeing the
cooking OF all the food.
The pantry room Is presided over by
girls. They serve all the desserts. The
head and the second cooks prepare the
soups and entrees. The third cook sees
to the roasts and the boiled pieces. The
fourth cook Is known as the FRY" cook,
and everything that needs to be fried is
given to lin. lie has but little to do at
dinner time, but has his hands full at
breakfast and supper. The fifth cook
acts rs butcher. and sees that all fowls
and game are properly dressed aud pre-
pared FOR the pots. One assistant gives
his entire services to the preparation of
tho salads. Two cooks preside over the
vegetable department, and everything on
the vegetable list is from their hands,
One woman prcsidcs ut II big range and
cooks wanlrs and cakes at a rate SO rapid
that they can scarcely toe counted. The
griddlc is three or four feet square. and
a great many cakes can be cooked at one
time.
\ feature Of the entire kitchen is the
dish washing department where girls are
employed. The refrigerator is "A depart
mcnt that is always well stocked. The
supply taken in ON Saturday is always
sufficient to @lastuntil the following Tues
day, and at all times there is enough meat
On hand to last two or three days. Louis
vile Couricr-Juurnal.