The Washington herald., 1914-12-04
COOPERATIVE COOKING
TO BE TRIED IN JERSEY
Dinners Sent from Central Kitchen to
Homes of the Con-
sunners.

No sinkful Of miserable, greasy, stove
dishes to wash after a good dinner; no
tired housekeeper to sit down with
flushed cheeks and weary body to par
take of food for which she has lost her
enthusiasm in preparing IT; no fretful.
anxious, the-dinner-will-spon waiting for
menfolks, delayed perhaps at the ofice
or somewhere on the long trip home; all
these ana many similar annoyances are
to be done away with in the near future
when the little group Of housekeepers in
Montclair, n. J., headed by Mrs. n. A
Leonhauser, open their Cooperative
kitchen.
This culinary dream has been floating
before Mrs. Leonhauser's vision for two
years. She knows, as does many another
housewife, how the average cook dislikes
supervision; how inefficient she Is In q
great number of cases; how prone to
ruin good provisions in the cooking, in
short, how extremely unsatisfactory the
ordinary cook may and quite often does
prove to be. Then there is another side
of It.
Just imagine" says Mrs. Leonhauser,
what an anachronism, what a waste Of
time, effort, and money it is for forty or
fifty women to be cooking a steak or q
roast and vegetables all at approximately
the same hour, all within a stones throw
of each other, all in small quantities
Why, those provisions might be cooked In
one central kitchen and distributed to
the forty or fifty households, saving much
fuel and labor, to say nothing Of the
tremendous difference IN price between
fifty small purchases and one large Or
der.
"of course, my idea is not original
There have been sporadic attempts at
cooperative cooking in the Middle West
from time to time, but not along the lines
we are attempting"
The Montclair kitchen Is located at the
junction Of Valley road and Mountain
view place. It il fitted with up-to-date
cooking appliances, ranges, and labor
saving mechanical devices. In the base
ment are the storerooms, dishwashing
rooms, and laundry. The kitchen proper
Is on the first floor, leading to q CHEEKY
dining room, where, II subscribers wish,
they may have their meals served instead
of having them delivered to their homes
There were two vitality important
things to be considered in arranging the
details of this PLAN" says Mrs. Leon
hauser First, the clean, wholesome,
palatable preparation of well chosen ma
terials, and, again, the prompt delivery
of the cooked meals in an attractive
form. For the first We have selected
Miss Mathilda Schleier. a dfetician and
rather an artist than a cook. She will
| scientifically prepare the bulk of the
meals, presenting each day a balanced
menu Of meats, fruits, vegetables. and
so on.
Every day a postcard folder will be
sent to all subscribers, with the dishes
to be served the following day, and from
the list they will chose their dinners. All
prices will be plainly marked, and be-
sides the la carte dishes. there will al
ways be a regular dinner for 50 cents,
which will include a soup, roast, vege-
table, salad, and dessert. One dinner may
be ordered or a dozen, and the housewife
may go to a matinee, returning at or 7
O'Clock, and there will be her dinner
waiting for her on the back steps or In
the kitchen.
I'VE have a graduate from the domes-
tic science department Of Columbia Uni
versity, Miss Elizabeth Wilson, to tell
our dietician exactly what dishes she
can serve at the stipulated price per din
ner, and how much each separate item
will cost From these estimates the daily
bill of fare will be arranged.
I'VE expect to perfect our system SO
that in cases where it is required we can
send out trained maids to serve our din
ners. The Housewives League here is
considering a plan whereby young wom-
en- may receive a course of lessons in do
mestic science at a nominal rate, and II
is quite possible that we may take ad-
vantage of this to provide our kitchen
with competent help. Our furnishings are
ordered and partly delivered, and our
helpers have taken up their duties In
small way. The kitchen will probably be
open in a fortnight, the exact date Is not
decided"