Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-08
INGENIOUS COOKERY FRAUDS.
Cod Becomes Salmon and Beef Veal
Substitute for Breast of Chicken.
Phone Main OIL.

From London TitBlts
1t has almost passed into a proyerb that
many of the dishes served up in CHEAP res
taurants where nothing is wasted are to
put 1t mildly, mysteries. But, on the other
Hand, most people who patronize fashion,
able and more ambitious restaurants are
generally content to accept the menu for
what IL is said to be. This blind trust is o
however. In many such restaurants some
what abused, and the amount Of taking
which goes on today In some of the we'll
TODD establishments would probably sur
prise those who are uninitiated in the
higher branches of the culinary art
For instance. by the addition of vegetable
juice Just before being dished UP, cod cut
lets are, at seasons when salmon is very
dear, set before customers as salmon cut
lets, and are needless to say charged ac-
cordingly. This deception" according To
an ex-chef of one of London's leading res
taurants, Is widely practiced not only in
better class restaurants, but also on some
of the great liners.
Another popular trick as practiced by the
restaurateur is to serve as veal beef done
up overnight in sailed bandages. while a.
skillful chef has very little difi1cuJtv in
palming off whiting for sole on epicures WIN
pride themselves on the soundness of their
judgment of cooking.
A few weeks ago dinner for seventy-fve
people was ordered at well-known fash
lonable restaurant. A large CONSIGNMENT
of salmon had been previously ordered, but
10 the CONSERVATION of the chef the dinner
hoIr slowly approached and still no salmon
arrived.
In despair the chef-a Frenchman-de-
clded to take the bull by the horns" and
procure another fish to do duty for the
coveted salmon. Accordingly, he set to
work to turn cod outlets into salmon cut
lets, and this rapid transformation was soon
erected by an addition of vegetable juice.
The walters who naturally were aware OF
this wholesale deception, were given ex-
press orders to report any complaints to
the chef at once. However to the intense
delight of the chef, all passed off well. and
on hearing that his subterfuge had not
been detected he gleefully exclaimed "Ah,
cod and French cook can work mira
cles."
are naturally a luxury quite beyond the
reach of the man of average means, while
even caterers for fashionable hotels them
selves frequently have the greatest diff
Guilty in getting a sufficiently large quantity
TO meet the demand. However. to fake
peas does not offer any great difficulty IN
times of stress, and by adding vegetable
colorng matter yellow peas quite
commoner served up as green peas along
with the duck and flavorless nev: potato,
which more often than not comes from
abroad.
Roast veal served with thick white
sauce makes, says a well-known chef, a
most satisfactory substitute for the breast
of chicken, and therefore Ii does not come
altogether q surprise to learn that the
breast of one Chicken" has been known to
satisfy twelve hungry diners.
THE staff take good care of the breast OF
q chicken was the comment of a waiter
who was being for the first time initiated
into the mystery of how TO feed a dozen
people off one chicken.
Perhaps the Cleverest deception practiced
by eminent chefs IS the art of manufactur-
fl g the lobster patty, so dear to the heart
Of the epicure. This appetizing dainty
would at first sight seem TO defy even the
most ingenious cookery faker. However,
here again the artful chef has overcome
apparently insuperssble difficulties, ard
many toothsome looking lobster patties are
thus not always quite what they are said
to be-.
The deception IS worked in this way:
common crustacean is boiled and the meat
carefully chopped off and put into a mortar.
while afterward part of the shell Is added.
The mixture is then vigorously pounded as
fine as possible, and on the addition or
aavoring it would tax the powers or the
most critical connoisseur TO detect any dir-
ference between this gastronomic mixture
and the genuine lobster patty.
1.-The various receptions | have tod you
of :" remarked a famous chef to the writer,
''are naturally not pracriced every day, but
are only utilized I'm times of emergency. and
those emergency moments arrive more re
quently than the trust full customer would
like did ne but know.