The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-02-26
The Problem OF the Kitchen.

The Problem OF the Kitchen.
Mr.. GEORGE SoMEs LAYARD claims, in the
last number OF the Nineteenth Century mag
azine OF London. that he has sounded The
Doom of the Domestic Cook" In other
words. he claims Ito have proved beyond
question tho feasibility" OF dispensing
with the services Of the household cook. and
! thus to have solved a vexatious domestic
problem at a great saving Of both trouble
and expense.
Tho domestic cook Of whom he gets rid Is
the good plain" and the thorough"
woman cook. who. It seems. Is growing to
be more unsatisfactory in English families.
because she is demanding higher and
higher wages ut the same time that she
makes no advancement in the culinary
art. His solution Of the problem is
not original with Mr.. LAYARD. but
he has 1orked 1t out into details more COM
pletcly than anybody else. 80 far as we
know. Mr.. WALTER BEsANT. another So
cial and domestic reformer. has presented
a somewhat similar scheme. but he has
drawn his plans more in outline merely.
In brief. Mr.. LAYARD proposes the estab-
lishment OF cooperative kitchens for the
supply OF the households OF different dis
triets OF q town. As an example. he puts
a central supply kitchen at the
Lowndes street end of Pont street"
in London, and charges 1t with the
cookery for tho very rich district included
within a quarter-mi!e radius from that
point. In this district are 1.073 houses suit
able for his purpose and LOG shops. contain
ing toward $4,000 inhabitants. He!estimates
Nkok Aha n~~-n~nto nr-,I ozc& " A.
kitchen service OF these houses Ia about
$780, 900. Admitting that only one-quarter
OF the households. or $500 people. would
como into his scheme at first. this
cost for them amounts to S125.OO O.
% Al absurdly moderate estimate for
the food bill Of $500 persons in this
class Of llfe." he says. is S45O.O 900. and lat
least one-third would be saved by its &C.
quircment In the mass" After allowing 7
per cent. interest on the capital required for
tho plant Of the central supply kitchen
and for the expenditures for tho
wages and keep OF the stan, he figures out
that these households, now paying ut least
$250.000 for homo kitchen service and
greater cost OF food. would save under his
plan more than two-thirds of the money.
This demonstration Of the advantages Of
his scheme Is so complete and irrefutable,
Mr.. LAYARD thinks. that 1t would be ridlcu.
lous for him to 90 into any elaborate
argument "to prove a thing SO obvi-
Gus" TO reasonable people. He is sure
that OF course they will make q
saving so great. now that he has pointed
out to them how to do it. and.hence he MS.
sumes that his cooperative kitchen must
be soon in operation. But full ms are his
details Of cost Of plant and service, he
leaves out the important matters of the
materials to be cooked and the varl-
ETY. OF critical tastes to be salts
fled. He includes estimates OF a
service to deliver the food, but
the selection OF the articles no SAYS
nothing about. except to speak generally Of
committees Of taste. analogous to the wine
committees OF clubs. regiments. and cir
cults. which would give employment to the
army Of superannuated veterans and prove
a godsend to them and their suffering lam
lilies" Experience proves that in clubs
such committees are constant targets for
adverse criticism.
People tire OF the cookery adapted to
general taste. no matter how superior
! ihos 10. ~ idIc VI tn6 D6bL res
taurant loses very much OF its attrac-
ton for those who are confined to it day In
and day out. and they are glad to exchange
1t occasionally. even for the plain domestic
cookery which Mr.. LAYARD derides 30 un-
mercifully. Food cooked In mass and
In q great public kitchen suffers from
a disadvantage as compared with food
prepared at home for single households,
and this goes far to compensate for
inferior domestic culinary artists. In some
degree our large apartment houses. with a
coInmo kitchen for the occupants. and also
our great hotels. arc organized on Mr..
LAYARD's plan: but complaints of the
cookery at them are us frequent as In
private houses. though ii il done by
chefs OF distinction. Even the uncer-
tainty as to tho results which will be
produced by the ordinary domestic
woman cook may introduce an element of
compromising variety. Surprise at her &C.
c~asional and unexpected triumphs may
give q piquant interest to housekeeping on
a modest scale. Her present %welI-doinS
covers a multitude OF past sins OF omission
md commission. The management of the
kitchen service. too. may try the patience
OF u housewife. but the necessary exercise OF
may be good for her. and at
any rate il Affords her an exhaustless sub
iect for thought n conversation. Even
II 1t were possible 10 do the whole service by