The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1906-03-23
HENRY WATTERsoN ON COOKS
AND COOKING.

Mary Proctor, Is not a post graduate
from the schools of Savarin and vatel.
She Is distinctly Kentucky stock graft
ed on good Virginia antecedents. One
touch Of Bluegrass, however, 1t does
not make the whole world kin-will
serve to introduce one good cook to
another, commencing each to each.
John Chamberlin's Emeline was a
wonder of the culinary art, for, hav-
ing sat at the feet of Dan Simmons
and worshipped at the shrine of Jim
Churchill, having got the hang alike
of canvas-back and diamond back in
Maryland waters, ION de Eas'n Sho',"
she went to Paris and brought back
with her all the kinks out of Durand' s
and Voisin's. Mr.. Arthur offered her
five thousand year to take the chef
ship of the White House and she de-
clined, saying simply: Mr. President,
whenever you want me especially to
superintend the preparation of a din
ner for your friends / will come and
do that for nothing-just for the love
of it-but no money could tempt me
to undertake your official kitchen all
the year round"
Tom Ochiltree used to say that he
never went to his table at Chamber
Inns that his meal was not saddened
by the thought that some day Eme-
line might die.
Well Mary Proctor is not Emeline
But she'll do for plain, poor people,
who can put up with venison and wild
turkey and quail and pompano, and
such like humble fare, with cream
gravy now and then to take the cruel
ty off the fiapjacks, and flowers and
oysters and love and stalled OK on
the side. No fried frog and fricassee,
in Mary Proctor's. Nor cold-storage
either. nor adulteration, nor frozen
fish, nor tainted birds. Don't tell me
that small game is best over night.
Nothing of the sort. That idea was in
the beginning Pigment Of French ar
tifice and cunning. In a great city
like Paris, fresh game was out of the
question, and so the willy caterer
trumpet up the conceit that the older
a bird Is the better. When it was
too far gone he could still dose it with
truff1es and olives, and disguise the
smell. Hence the Indian aphorism
French man love game meat" To this
good day the trick has worked to
turn. Many habitues of some of the
ancient Partisan cafes think the or
tolon prime only when II is about to
fall to pieces, just as they fancy that
milk is blue and butter firm and
white, like lard.
There was in Twenty-e eighth street,
and there still is in Thirty-s sixth
street, just out of Broadway, a little
restaurant kept by Frenchman
whose friends delight to call him Mon
sieur Henri 1t is named Petit Velour,
in honor of a famous resort of gour-
inets-alas. no more now!-in the Pa
lais Royal at Paris. Delmonico, Mar
tin, Sherry and Oscar Tschirky have
to pale their Intellectual fires by the
side of Henri when it comes to roast
chicken. Why? Because Henri goes
over to Jersey and buys his chickens
in the coop.
/ say nothing about his service. his
variety. or his vintage; but I do say
that the only place of public enter
tainment to get a perfect roast chick
en- in all New York Is Petit Velour. If
you like you can fetch your own
wines. You must order, too, in ad-
vance If you expect your dinner on
time. You will find nothing recher-
che. In the old days Madame was the
chef. Monster looked after the trim
mings. A single garcon waited at ia
ble-one, two, or three tables. But
there are men living and known to
fame who recall with tears in their
eyes that little old hole-in- the-wall-
and the simple but perfect repasts
they had there-and who declare with
a kind of exultant pride their familiar.
personal acquaintance with Monsieur
Henri. "Sir," said a member of the
Gourmet Club to me not long ago, 81
have dipped gravy out of the same
dish with Ward McAllister in the
Petit Velour, and, whatever else he
was, you know that Ward was always
on to his dinner and both mindful and
enlightened about his wittles!"
Alas, poor, dear old Ward McAllis-
ter! l knew him we'll. Horatio. He
was a man of vast wisdom touching
social functions and infinite variety in
his waist-coats and neckties. I'll be
bound his spirit lowered over George
Boldt, when the Wizard of Waldorf
Astoria issued that order about the
Palm Garden. And. they'll have tc
come to it too! They may jump and
they NAV prance in the newsnaners.