The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-07
AT THE TABLE OF A KING


OF late years the catering in all royal
establishments has been much more
elaborate and costly than 1t used to be.
This does not mean. however, that
monarchs are becoming greater gour-
mands than they were. AS a matter OF
fact two of the greatest monarchs in
Europe. King George and the Czar, live
very simply, but at the tables at the
English and Russian courts are spread
daily the most expensive products of
modern culinary art.
NJ Cedard, the chief chef of Bucking-
ham Palace. has a worldwide reputation.
He has salary of s12,5oo year, while
his assistant is paid $1,000 a year. Under
them is a staff of ten highly trained
cooks.
Every night at buckingham Palace,
or at any of the royal residences where
King George may be, his majesty sits
down to a dinner that costs at the low
est estimate $40 plate. His dinner
usually consists of little clear soup, a
piece of grilled sole or halibut or muliet,
slice of roast game and an Ice, Some
times his majesty's dinner is far more
hrestrictedl
One of the most noted of the regular
banquets at Buckingham Palace is the
dinner given on Derby Day. The Derby
dinner was instituted by the late King,
and the menu, which is nearly always
the same. was drawn up by King Ed
ward.
mt n. =
is not so much the dishes as the wines
These are vintages which are served on
no other occasion except during the visit
of q crowned head to the English court.
They are the rarest and best in the Eng
land royal cellars, some of them being
possession exclusive to the English
sovereign. The most valuable are a port,
1872, and a Madeira, 1916.
The Kaiser is perhaps the greatest gas
tronome among European monarchs to-
day. Caviare, the real Russian article,
recently has been introduced as regu-
lar item in the German royal menus.
Among other costly dishes in favor at
the German court are salmon outlets,
jugged hare, grouse outlets and aspara-
gus
The catering in the Cars household is
done on more elaborate and costly
scale than in any other European royal
establishment There are seldom less
than Is courses and each is costly. A
scuffle of pheasants eggs is favorite
at the Russian royal table, and costs
about IS a plate Grouse la Czarina is
another favorite and extremely costly
dish.
1t is said that the Cars dinners cost
on an average about $40 a plate every
night, but this figure includes the cost
of great banquets, which are frequent at
the Russian court. At these banquets the
cost of the dinner is $50 to $40 for each
guest.
The average cost at the English court
of the royal dinner is about s25 plate,
including the cost of all great state BAN
quets and the entertainments given to
foreign monarchs. Some royal banduets
have cost immense sums. One of the
most expensive was King Georges corona
ton banquet which was estimated to
have cost $12O a plate. These figures in
clude the cost of the floral decorations.
There is no meal about which monarchs
exhibit so great variety OF taste as
breakfast King George takes a more
substantial breakfast than any other
King. 1t consists of fish, game. some-
times "angels on horseback (oysters
on grilled bacon) and always plenty of
fruit, but never jam of any kind.
The King of Spain breakfasts on cof-.
fee and toast The Car usually has tea
and thin toast and the Kaiser s breakfast
generally consists of chocolate and toast
ed milk cakes