New-York tribune., 1900-08-12
EXHIBITION COOKERY.
coI1RMTsTs FEAR THE BRUTALIZING OF
THE PUBLIC PALATE THROUGH THE
EXCESSIVE USE OF CONDI-
MENTS AND HoRS
D'QEUVRES.

hree of the Fxposition and has lunched or dined |
at twenty-six out of the seventy-odd restaurants
established within its limits, and it may not be
too soon to present forecast of the influences |
of the Worlds Fair upon French cooking, upon
the fashionable eating houses of Paris and upon
those of the leading cities of America and Eu-
rope which through the medium of the ubiqui- |
tous French chef, conform with surprising rapid
ity to the slightest changes i'll the art of deli
cate feastfng and keep in close touch with the |
latest evolutions of Partisan gastronomy.
1t Will be recoected that one of the great
consequences of the Exhibition Of 1889 was the
development and popularity of the Paris bras
serie, or tavern where. amid noise and tobacco |
smoke one was served quickly and well, and
which Quintupled the consumption of German
beer and of sauerkraut, sausages, pumpernlckel
sandwiches smoked tongues, and the thousand
and one varieties of picked fish that come in
little wooden tubs from the Baltic and the North
Sea It is not likely that the Worlds Fair OF
1900 will be followed by any such upheaval as
that which ten years ago attended the transfor-
nation of the merry little white and gold cafes.
lear to Balzac and Paul de Kock, into sombre
Gothic brasseries with ponderous oak tables and
stained windows. But the purely culinary re-
suits of the Exposition promise to be even more
far reaching than those of the 1889 fair, and
can scarcely fail to have a marked and dis
astrous effect upon palates, stomachs and
E,ockets.
THE BANEFUL EFFECTS OF HURRY.
Those who direct the high class restaurants
of the Exposition profess to be striving to follow
the traditions of Careme, Francatelli and Gouffe.
There is even perceptible reaction against the
Teutonic brasseries But, unfortunately, the
peculiar conditions prevailing at the Exposition
are poisoning the public taste and brutaliZng
the palate. The chefs of the leading restaurants
beginning to realize the truth, and gas
tronomic amateurs are in DESPAIR because they
are forced to recognize the fact that the ExpOsi-
ton has brought with it the seeds of culinary
decadence. The causes of the evil may be read
lily determined. The vast extent of the Exposi-
ton, the infnty of things to be seen, the long
distances to be covered and the inadequate
means of transportation have worked upon the
nerves and muscles of the impatient sightseer
and produced q sort of Exposition fever The
maftre dhOtels and chefs complain that never
before have their customers been in such a
hurry and that never before have they seen
such smartIy dressed men and women bolt their
food in such undue haste. All this has a per
nicous and even fatal effect on the dinner
Then, again, the restaurants most in vogue are
SO overcrowded that the service becomes pain
fully slack and dilatory. To remedy this the
hungry, impatient visitor, the instant he takes
his seat, is supplied with a profuson of hors
d'euvres, or ''appetizers,' prepared many hours
beforehand, daintily dished in crushed ice and
offering to the eye great a variety of color
might be found in a Dutch tulip garden
While awaiting the soup the omelette-for
these hors d'0uvres as prologues to din
nerS as well as luncheOnS-the customer almost
invariably yields to the temptation and uncon-
sciously makes the most substantial part of his
meal out of these stimulating denominations,
which are doing more than all else to destroy
the sense of culinary appreciation.
The Exposition palate is also blunted by the
abuse of American cocktails Russian artchisi-
moi Tefinet vodka, Balkanic sIiebowitz (corn
whiskey). taken Immediately before the repast.
The chef of the restaurant where the writer
has invariably found the best cooking in the
Exposition, when questioned on the subject
attributed the gradual atrophy OF the tast-
ing nerves Of the palate to the great
quantities of hot pepper and violent condiments
consumed with the hors d'euvres to the Ameri-
can and SIavonic custom of drinking alcoholic
stimuants just before meals and TO cigarette
smoking. The result is that to meet the popu-
lar craze, the dishes served in the Exposition
restaurants prepared with an exaggerated
application of condiments which as the cooks
themselves admit, is outrageous infringe
pent of cardinal principle of classic French
cuisine, that the most artistic and the most
wholesome ways OF preparing food are the sim
pest
HIGHLY SEASONED VIANDs