Evening star., 1926-12-26

tSL This is the advice of Au
guste Escoffier. the en-
IL peror of chefs, whose ia
nous menus are perhaps
the most rich and complicated in the
world.
But on Christmas. New Year, birth
days, and other gala occasions, or for
the noon meal on Sundays, M. Escof
| fer advises the hungry to turn loose.
That is what his menus are for.
"Fete de dimanche-a rich, rare
Christmas or Sunday dinner-that Is
good for YOU" he says. "Compli-
| Gated menus are bad as a steady diet,
| but when you make a gala occasion
of feast it stirs your system In the
right way: it pleases mind and body;
it becomes a help instead of him
drance.
M. Escoffier Is chief culinary expert
of the Ritz enterprises. He has trained
literally thousands of well known
| kitchen authorities. His pupils are
scattered to every important part OF
the globe. So when, as q guest OF the
Cunard Company. he came to America
recently, 200 of his old friends gave
him one of the most elaborate ban
uuets ever prepared at the elaborate
Ambassador Hotel in New York.
met this master OF the menu in
the private office of his old friend
a nd pupil Charles Scotto, the $35, 900
chef of the Ambassador. There, in
the center of the great kitchens, sur
rounded by white.coated cuisiniers at
the counters, cleaning with myriad
copper utensils, amid the f1zz and
sizzle of the great ranges and auto
matte cauldrons, we discussed the fine
art of eating.
Escoffier is so years old, a diminu
tive, towsel-haired, white-mustached,
but vital and dignified man. His face
is expressive of the best qualities of
his Latin race, scanned after the man
ner of Clemenceau's and Foch's and
with those lines which disclose a domi
neering kindness. His manner is
gruff, kinetic.
Personally, l never eat dinner" he
said,
What do you eat, monsieur"
Now, l thought, / shall have some
thing of real interest. What does
| this man, who knows all the best
dishes, whose speciality is the proper
| food combinations, what does he ask
| for himself? What would you prefer,
above all other meals?'
Escoffier laughed, then grunted.
Mon cher, monsieur" he said. II
am married. ! take what my wife
gives me. / never enter her kitchen.
We have a large meal in the middle
of the day, but at dinner time 1 prefer
| to take only little soup and eat some
| fruit otherwise my wife Is my chef
| de cuisine.
Nevertheless, Escoffier continues to
| be the worlds foremost inventor of
| delectable dishes. He began his Ca
reer at the Restaurant Francais at
| Nice in 1859. and he has been in the
world of cooking ever since. In 1865
he was called to Paris to take charge
of the famous old Petit Moulin
Rouge"-"not to be confOunded." the
ma ster exclaims vehemently, with
the present Moulin Rouge" music
hall. There he conducted one of the
finest dining establishments known to
Paris until the war of 1870, when he
entered the army and served part of
| the time as cuiSinier extraordinary to
the third Napoleon.
After the war he returned to the
Petit Moulin Rouge. But in '78 he
married and began seeking new fields
/ for his genius. In 1888 he took COM
mand of the kitchens of the Savoy
Hotel In London, and since then he
hastbeen in the highest executive posi-
ton with the Ritz company.
| Escoffler has prepared meals for
practically every crowned head in his
time. He has served the wealthiest
men and the most famous women. He
is the official Inauguration of Ritz res
taurants everywhere, when he appears
as the pompous master of ceremonies,
the connoisseur, the diplomat. In 10,
hannesburg, in Buenos Aires. in New
York or Vienna. the touch of NJ. Es-
Golfer Is to be detected in the dining
| rooms
His is a complex art. He must
know the ingredients,o of all foods and