The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1918-08-26

4
British Food Ministry to avert pub.
lie hardship and provide food at reas.
enable cost, are underselling private
ly operated eating-houses, and still
are earning big profits. Meals in the
restaurants cost less than in the av-
erage American eating place, despite
the fact that England must import
much of its food and has undergone
three more years of war.
The kitchens are to prepare food
for householders, and in few in.
stances only are arrangements made
for consuming food on the premises.
! The restaurant caters only to the
latter. A good substantial lunch
can be obtained at the restaurants for
30 cents, according to Phillip B.
Kennedy commercial attache at Lon.
don of the Bureau of Foreign and
Domestic Commerce.
Food rationing has been estab.
lished successfully this year, Mr..
Kennedy informs the bureau, but
food regulations resulted in hotel
and restaurant owners reducing the
quality of food without any reduction
in price. In some instances prices
were increased.
Seeing that this situation was like
ly to become an actual hardship, the
Food Ministry trook steps to assist
the public, writes Mr.. Kennedy. The
first action was establishment of ma.
tional kitchens. A thousand were
established from February to August
with only three or four under the d.
rect management of the Food Minis.
try, the others being controlled by
local authorities. Necessary capital
may be obtained from the govern.
ment, but return payment must be
made in ten years. The kitchens are
said to have helped materially in re-
lieving the food difficulties
A further step was necessary, Mr..
Kennedy reports, because hotel and
restaurants patrons found the food
regulations to be hardship. AS an
experiment, the Food Ministry
opened its first national restaurant
on June rs, last, near the newspa-
per district in Fleet street, and it has
proved so successful that others are
to be opened in London and other
cities.
THE original payment for rent and
equipment amounted to $12,160."
writes Mr.. Kennedy. "The manage.
ment of the restaurant is in the
charge of the Director OF the Ma.
tional Kitchens, who hopes to be ably
to repay the original treasury invest
ment within a year from profits
earned. There has been some idea
that this restaurant has been sub
sidibed by the government, but the
director declares that the food is pur-
chased in the open market in c6mpe.
tition with others, and that all money
advanced by the Government will he
fully repaid.
In this initial restaurant the staff
numbers about thirty persons. The
kitchen and dining room are very
clean and attractive, and the service
appears to be very efficient. The
system in vogue is what is sometimes
known in the United States as the
cafeteria plan-the customers wait
on themselves, The dining room has
a seating capacity for ITO persons at
one sitting. 1t is estimated that
about 1000 meals are served from
1880 a. m. to p. m. One of the
most profitable features of the res.
taurant is the serving of afternoon
tea, which has been very we'll pa.
tronized. The principle on which
the restaurant is run is to serve food
which is most easily procurable at
the time. This makes possible the
serving of liberal portions at reason
able prices. AS an indication of the
prices the following will give those
In effect on July 2, 1918:
Soup, 2 pence a portion; fish.
to pence; roast meat, 4 to 6 pence: /
two meat entrees, 4 to 6 pence, vege-
tables. 2 pence portion; bread. one
half pence; sweets, and 4 pence:
coffee, 2 pence a cup; tea, one pence
cup. {
An arrangement has been worked
out whereby six vouchers will be ex.
changed for one meat coupon. each
voucher emitting the holder to a meal
OF not less than two ounces. In this
way 1t Is possible to procure six
meat meals for one meat coupon. A
good substantial lunch can be pro-
duced for a charge of one shilling.
six pence approximately S5 cents).
The national restaurant ;s yor,,
popular with the shop workers, clerks
and business men in the vicinity of