The evening times., 1900-01-08
ANCIENT COOKS.
Many of Them Made Name for
Themselves in History.
Fr0m he Philadelphia Recordl

From the Philadelphia Record)
I 1t would be rather discouraging for the
, modern cook if we BELIEVED. as the aucients
I did, that good cooking il not a question
Of individual inherent talent or merely OF
applied common sense but the heritage
OF generations. Very few OF us would be
able TO secure one Of these famous cooks
with inherited talents; although the cook
who had received most careful individual
training would probably prove unsatisfac-
tory under such circumstances.
The Greeks and the Trojans understood
/ and recognized the importance Of a cooks
1 functions, and educated the earliest evi-
| dences Of talent. So important a person
| needed a liberal education. The true cook
was carefully trained If any special apti-
tude was displayed while he was stin
young enough for a special course.
After passing successfully his novitiate
In dishwashing he was initiated into the
elementary secrets OF the craft through
/ some simple dishes. He was thoroughly
tested as an apprentice before he was
trusted with the deeper mysteries. AT the
close Of this stage Of his probation he was
taught some liberal accomplishment
Ii IS a cook which gives his name to the
first properly dated Olympiad. 7T6 B. q.
The Olympic games were founded by King
lphitus. los years before But Choroebus
the Eian, the mageirCs or cook. broke the
record in the foot races. and his victory
headed the first public registers from which
the chronology Of all Greece was dated.
The name Of a cook stands first in the rec
ords OF historic times
But the mageirCi could claim still greater
dignity. and the:r fame has come down To
pOsterity.
So It is recorded that Agis cooked fish 10
perfection; that Nereus the Chan was
yersed in the mystery OF serving conger
cells, that Char 4des, Of Athens, dished up
with fig leaves the most delicate OF white
Omelets; that Lamprias. the Spartan
showed what could be done with black
broths; that Aphthonetus was the authority
on sausages that Eusthenes studied effects
in pea-pOTTidge: that Ariston was "a superb
caterer for imprOmptu dinners.
These we're the Seven Sages of the Phi
lOsOphy of Cooking. All who came after
them were either clever sophists, or else
built on the principles OF these masters.
master Of his profession could COM
mand his own price. He was ranked among
the sophists-and correctly; for what is
food but raw material sophisticated?
That the mageiros was greatly appre-
ciated by his employer is attested by the
only existing letter written by Queen
Olympias TO her son, Alexander the Great;
Accept" she writes. from your mother,
Pelignan the cook. He knows the sacred
ritual your father practiced when sacri-
fcing, and tr5 orgiastic and Bacchic rites;
and what Olympias herself prepares for
the sacrifices. Do not receive him slight
ingly. but take him and send him back as
soon as possible
And while the pet names by which popu-
lar mageiroi were called in classic times,
as piggy" fish -tosser,' etc were hardly
euphonious, doubtless they expressed the
affectionatc admiration Of a satisfied peo-
pie.
That good cook contributes very large
ly 10 the comfort and happiness Of a house
hold all housekeepers will readily admit.
but that the strength and welfare OF a
nation would depend to any degree on its
cookery. all but a few lingering epicureans
will hasten to disclaim. And yet the cook
represents the character of a people, in so
much as he demonstrates the popular
taste and shows, in the excellence OF his
achievement OF national dishes. the ma
tional pride. This is not recognized nov,
however, to such an extent as in ancient
times.