Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-05-31
THE RISE OF PASTRY TOLD
OF BY HASKIN
Daily Letter by Frederic j. Haskin

comparatively scarce here. They
were sold largely by pusheart ven-
doris in the far downtown districts
or by German bakeries up in the
Bronx. They were totally ignored
by the best hotel menus. Then h
Salvation Army started feeding
doughnuts to the douShboys, and
the great revival started. New
York is now full of tiny street
kitchens which have capitalized the
Salvation Army idea and are selling
coffee and doughnuts to crowds OF
appreciatlve patrons.
The sudden increase in the de-
mand for pastry, however. is noticed
principally in the large hotels. The
chef in one such establishment,
who formerly had a daily pastry
of 5000 pieces now turns out 5000
a day or more than $4,000 separate
pastries a week. His annual total is
somewhere around the three million
mark. He could, he believes. easily
outline the Equator with the chloe
plate cellars he has made.
He is a French chef, and he is
naturally prejudiced ia favor of
French pastry. but he is willing to
admit that America has made a no.
BILE contribution to the pastry inter-
rationale in Boston cream pie. AL
ways luscious, this delicacy is now
likewise becoming exquisite in the
hands of the artists in cream and
sugar who work in the kitchens of
the big hotels.
so much smarter than apple pie
he exclaimed ~approvingly. pointing
tn on i,ri6ESnnnf ninnp nf the RnQ-
ton variety. land yet always it is
the apple for which we have the
most demand. 1t is, of course, the
dietetic cornerstone of your republic
But why? 1t lacks distinction. 1t is
dull. We cannot beautify it for it
becomes soggy. The lemon me-
ringue. yes, We can make attractive,
but with the apple one car do
nothing-bah!"
The making of French pastry has
become one of the most important
functions of hotel housekeeping,
developed all the symptoms of the
rue artistic temperament. Their
kitchens must be spotless, with all
the latest electrical appliances and
just the right degree of tempera-
luIt. lHty IluSL nave the DtSl raw
material to work with. special flours
and sugar and enormous quantities
of fresh eggs incidentally they must
also have enormous salaries, for
they are by no lea ordinary
They are also sculptors, painters and
designers, and occasionally inven-
tors of some new and elaborate pas
try which earns a small fortune.
Pastry royalties are WORTH work
ing for. One pastry inventor, who is
the son of an Iowa confectioner,
draws more than $4,000 a week for
his simple invention, the Eskimo
pie. He was wise enough to have
his idea protected by patents, and
as a result he is now on the road to
becoming a multi-millionaire.
Lemon Pie VS.. Red Wine
AS an illustration of the pulling
power of pastry, the above French
chef tells the story of a small
Brooklyn hotel which began to run
down hill at a fast rate after clos
ing it's once famous bar. Then the
manager secured a chef who could
make marvellous lemon meringue
pie. He Immediately installed the
pie permanently on the business
men S uncheo table q note, ana
thereby wor back the majority of
the customers he had lost. The
pie is now more than holding its
own against a fair grade of red
wine which is being freely served in
a nearby competitive restaurant.
Another case in point is that of a
boarding house on the upper West
side, which is always crowded with
boarders in spite of its many disad-
vantages.
Its the. fruit rollypolies and
pies" sighed one feminine boarder
recently. in explaining her persistent
amiability in the face of various vi
cissitudes. They've got an actual
hold on me. 1 don't believe I could
give them up. The soup is watery;
the meat is tough and greasy; the
butter is butterine. and the coffee is
impossible. but the desserts are sim
ply perfection. However. unappetiz-
ing the rest of the meal may be,
you always leave the table with q
good impression.
zone day when my mail was care