The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-11-02
In New York
By PAUL HARRISON

I I
 out about big people, go to, the
 lesser folk who have fed them,
 or made their clothes, or entertain
 ed them. Then you may learn that
 the Prince of Wales likes vodka. that Mussolini doesn't wear gar- l ters, or that ex-King Alphonso is a sucker for slapstick comedy. | You may not know Paul Chate-
 lain, yet sccores of important peo-
 pie do--Vanderbilts and Morgans. | King George, Wales, an assortment of continental royalty. various | Roosev elts and miscellaneous money barons M. Chatelain now
 is the maltre d'hotel at the Roose- welt. but he has been around, that young man--at the Cafe de Paris,
 and the Elysee Palace, the Hotel
 de Paris in Monte Carlo, the Ritz
 and Savory in London, and the Trocadero.
 He served Marshal Foch in more
 ways than one; fought under him ! for four years and was thrice dec
 orated, and later planned a lot of l hs meals when the fabulous old l hero dihed out. Foch had disap-
 pointingly simple tastes, thought;
 didn't seem to care much what he ate. Neither did Georges Clem- enceau. King George V, when vis- | iting his suite at the Elysee Pal- | ace, turned out to be predigous eater, but not fussy one. The Archduke Alexander also was gourmand.
 l Wales Favors Caviar.
 The Prince of Wales, who used
 to go often to Savoy, was a bit
 more choosey. Almost invariably I started with blenes, which are lit- tie wheatcakes served with sour
 cream and caviar and a glass of
 vodka. Next there's be pleasant
 and fixings, and the dinner topped off with a special dessert. A bak- ed Alaska would be prepared.
 Thei some baked cherries would be put into a chafing dish. Over 1 them. some brandy And 8 little chartreuse. Set on fire, stirred, and | the whole business poured over the baked Alaska. Fit for princel There's no such lavish dining now as in an older day. No such
 affairs as they used to have every night at the Hotel de Paris, which you couldn't enter unless you were
 at least baron, and where huge blocks of ice were carved into the form of sturgeon and filled with
 fresh caviar ... No big spenders,
 either, such as M. Recipon of
 Paris, who djned the entire chorus l of the Petit Parisienne every night I in the week. He gave party one
 evening in 1914 in certain royal
 suite, and the 25 guests were at | table until a. m. High spot of the affair was when 25 roasted phea-
 sants were brought in, each spitted | above a huge platter. Lights were | put out and 25 servitors solicitous- | ly pasted the birds with flaming | Napoleon brandy. Vrey pretty. Tho
 bill was approximately s3io00.,
 Mackay's Tips On Dinning. l Paul Chatelain suggests hope | fully that people are becoming a little more particular about their food, even if they're not spendin. | very much. He wishes he could get
 up a cracking dinner for Mrs | ways says no |. just something one simple. w. K. Vanderbilt hos I only one eccentricity about dining: | the plates must be almost red hot I and the food so piping that he | has to wait for it to cool. The | late Roald Amundsen, the explorer. I was the finest real epicure that Chatelain ever knew, Lincoln Ells- l worth is quite a gourmet. too; has a taste for all sorts of strange | foreign dishes. and knows recipes as well as any chef.
 There's a warming little story about Clarence Mackay, the finan-
 cier and opera patron, and his courtship of Anna Case, the sing 1 CT. He took her to dinner frequent- l ly, and spared no pains in mak- l ing sure that everything would just
 right. He'd come personally in the | morning to consult the maitre
 d'hotel about the dinner. A $20 tip. Then there'd be s10 for the captain of walters, $10 for the waiter, $10 at the door, and $5 at the check
 room. Early in the afternoon the
 Mackay chauffeur would arrive with a special bottle of champagne,
 and $5 for the steward who'd see that it WIS properly iced.
 The meal generally would ifi- clude caviar and green turtle soup Two pheasant, one hot, one cold. They'd be brought in and present. ed to Miss Case for her choice. For dessert strawberries and ice cream. Mir Mackay would eat only ths strawberries.