Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-03-16

THE DOMAIN OF THE COOKS AT
THE wALDORP-AsTORIA.
System That Makes II Capable of
Filling the Smallest Order and the
biggest with the Same Ease-Its
Accomplished Chef.
New York SUM

1
store. 1t Is In the Waldorf-Astor,a an,
Is the biggest kitchen i'm the world
Things are so systematlzed down I'm tina
basement that the work goes on as /
the Kitchen were run by machinery, an,
well oiled machinery at that with Z
multitude OF hungry people upstairs wait
Ing to be fed, one would imagine tina
there might be no end Of fusslng, tuning
ana noundering around below among tn,
COOK pots but that Is not the case
Things move along as quietly and eyenl,
and smoothly as they do in well-reeu
lated family kitchen; even more so. per
haps, for the cooks In this mammoth
htchen aren't allowed TO have any beaux
or other company around. The most
humble guest can get his little dish OF
lrled hominy and sausages or whatever
ne wishes just as promptly as a ter
course dinner. Every course consisting o
Things out of season is served to the
eDicure.
a woman reporter found herself wan.
derlng around in this kitchen the other
day just when luncheon was being served
upstairs. she hardly knew how she 90
there, because the kitchen is protected
Tor more carefully from intruders thar
are the fine parlors. reception rooms and
galleries of the big hotel. But she was
there and 80 the bosses of the various
departments concluded to make the best
OF IL and treat her well. At first she
was almost dazed by the very bigness
ana cleanliness and silence of the place.
out when high officer of the realm. a
Dig-bodied, big-headed, handsome-faced
young man, stepped up and said.
Wouldn't you like to take a look
around?' she recovered the use of tongue
ana limbs and after that it was nip and
tuck between them asking and answering
| questions.
| ms young man turned out to be the
buyer Tor the kitchen. He buys every
thlng that Is consumed in the Waldorf
| Astorla restaurants, dining-rooms. tea
rooms, cafes, and barrooms from oysters
10 coffee, and he is so modest that he
doesn't think that it is any Job at all
TO do this. He doesn't even want to
see his name in print
"Oh! If some of the spirit of this kitcb-
en- could only be conveyed through the
dishes served at the luncheons of the
womens clubs that meet above" said
the reporter before she thought and the
young man laughed a I-know-a-thing-
or-two-about-that laugh and then said:
you've been getting a general idea
of the size of this kitchen. and now I'll
show you how we have things systema-
tlzed. This is the largest kitchen I'm
the world where elaborate service is In
order. There are a few kitchens from
which as many people are served, but
they are institutions of one kind or an
other, and all the people are served at
the same time and with the same articles
Of food, and everything is cooked at once
in big pots. Here everything, of course,
is cooked to order
THE Walford-Astoria kitchen Is like
a huge department-store. 1t is divided
into the kitchen proper, the storeroom.
and pantries, and the walters depart
ment. The kitchen proper is In charge
OF the chef, Adrien Tenue," introducing
the man himself. "Adrien has his kitch-
en- divided again into various depart
ments, and he has under him IS to 100
learned cooks. who command salaries
ranging from $5 to $500 month. These
cooks are the men in white coats. aprons.
and caps, who are presiding here at the
long rows OF ranges. They consider their
uniform as sacred as the Red Cross
people do theirs, and | wouldn't give
much for the life of a scuIlion who by
chance put on a cooks coat or cap. 1t
Is mark Of honor when a cook gets
high enough up in the art or science of
cookery to be allowed by the chef to
adopt that uniform.
zone department is devoted to roast |
Ing another to broiling, a third to fry |
Ing, and the one next, which is under a |
woman, to the preparation Of vegetables: |
this department in front of US is given |
over entirely to soups and sauces and |
another, and a very important depart
ment, is that devoted to the serving of |
raw articles, cold meats, and salads. |
Each one of these departments. like all |
Of the others / haven't mentioned, is
presided over by an expert who is in
diyidually responsible for every order
filled in his department. Take the sauce
cook for an example, and, by the way,
he gets $500 a month. Suppose a waiter
brings back a dish which this cook has
prepared, saying the person who ordered
1t is dissatisfied. He takes the dish to |
the chef and the chef takes the dish TO
the sauce-cook, and finds out what is
wrong, and If necessary, calls the sauce
cook down. Sometimes the sauce-cook
has forty or fifty orders at once during
the busy hour, and when this is the case
he appoints two or three of the most ex-
pert men under him to help superintend
the filling of these orders, but they do
not share his responsibility to the chef.
However, remarkably few dishes are re-
turned to the kitcen as unsatisfactory.
When one is returned the rule Is not to
question the matter or to exchange words
about 1t, but TO serve the guest with
anything else he wants. Now, the other
day l happened to see myself a dish OF
returned. An epicure would
have said that they were perfectly cook
ed but the man who ordered them simply
said to the waiter. I don't like these |
He didn't say whether they
were cooked too much or two little. and
the waiter would have been severely re-
proved had he dared TO ask him why he |
itdn't like them. During the oyster
season we serve from three TO four thou
sand plates Of raw oysters daily, and |
can't remember the time when one single |
plate has been sent back.
a" But to get back TO the kitchen proper. |
This department that we've been talking |
bout does not include the bakers. pastry |
looks, and ice-cream men. Owing 10 |
he very nature of their work they form !
+ separate department, which is also UNI
Ter the chef So much for the kitchen
1.-THE storerooms. and pantries are pre-
ided over by the steward Il. NJ. Hillard Q
ir. Hilliard has under him, twenty-five q
liver cleaners, forty dshwashers. twelve {
yster men. who are kept continually &
usy opening oysters, eighteen storeroom
iris, who prepare the salads, and fruits
md make tea; six coffee men, eight
leaners, twenty-five checkers, who keep
rack OF the orders; n receiving clerk ,
nd two assistants. ten yardmen. who /
10 the heavy work; six storekeepers ,
VINO keep track of the canned goods:
our timekeepers. who keep the time of
ne employees; four elevator men. and
hree night watchmen.
|