Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-03-03
By an E.x-Chef.

N ONE people are still astonlshed
when they hear that soc1
- chef draws a salary Of $4,000
year. 1t can easily be shown that
a chef who serves large hotel may
easily be worth this sum or more.
Many New York hotels are paying
from 10000 to $4,000 a year for
their che.s. E
The good chef must be a natural
LIST. an economist. dlsclpllnarlan, q
butcher, a hygienlst. chemist. an
artist, a sculptor and an eplcure.
He Is naturalist because OF his
Intimate knowledge Of all kinds Of
meat animals: birds. both Wild and
domestic: fish. crustaceous and
shell: OF fruits, vegetables, spices
and condiments. .f
He must know IN what season
each kind Of food Is at Its best; In
what country or section 1t Is pro-
duced. ...
He must be an anatomlst because
II is necessary to know the loca-
tlon Of every bone and Joint In AMI
mails. birds and Ash which he
handles. In some dishes small birds.
such as quail. have all their bones
removed, and this requires special
knowledge Of anatomy.
He must BIZ an economist, because
on bis ability In this way depends
the proftableness OF the hotel He
knows that potatoes, be they ever so
cheap, should be peeled with as little
waste as possible. A large hotel
uses about fifty bushels a day, and
the net profits will be increased
$4,000 TO $4,000 a year by a chef
who uses potatoes economically us
compared with one who doesn't.
Then there are eases where FIVE
dozen eggs will answer the purpose
OF ten dozen. provided they are prop
erly handled by the chef. and the
dish be in no way impaired. The
same principle applies 10 milk.
cream. butter and hundreds Of sup
plies that rass through the cooks
nands daily.
lie must be a dlsclplinarian. be-
cause the success of the hotel &C.
Ponds upon each man doing bis
work promptly. II a banquet Is
scheduled for a certain hour, It is
impossible for the chef TO be over
seeing every department at the
same time He must have trained
bis men to do their work promptly
without overseeing.
This kitchen discipline Is vital, for
II anything Is made ready too soon
Its attractive appearance and favor
are injured. lfit is late. the trouble
is equally serious. Each course Is
prepared by n different department
and must be finished on the mo
ment. so that ii may be sent to the
merry banqueters without Interrupt
ton OF the scheduled time o;
eervice.
The chef In a great hotel like the
Plaza. OF New York, has upward OF
a hundred skilled assistants. with as
many more unskiiled ones. The I
skilled include sauce cooks, roast I
cocks, fry cooks, pastry cooks. vege-
table CO. ks. ice cam makers, con-
fectloners. butchers, carvers. salad !
makers, etc.
The chef must be a butcher, be- I
cause he must know how to eus up
large pieces Of meat into steaks,
chops, roasts, steEs, etc.
He must be hygienlst In order
to understand the dishes that will /
agree with his patrons. In compll- |
ing q menu he avoids bringing dishes
together that combine badly. He
must understand. to take simple
instance. that lobster and ice cream
together have a destroying iniu- I
ence on the digestive ferments.
In storing foods the good chef
knows that raw fish must not come
IN contact with iron or tin; that