Evening star., 1960-09-22
Worlds
Kitchen


Earth" will be ready when
the 100 finaliSts in the 18th
annual Grand National Bake
Of arrive at the Statler-
Hilton Hotel on Monday,
September 26, to demonstrate
their baking skill and COM
pete for a fabulous array of
prizes.
Even the flnalists who do
not win one Of the cash
prizes will end up with a
prize that will repay their
efforts. for General Electric
will give each a de luxe range
identical with the one the
contestant uses in the bake
off and a GE mixer.
In the hotels Presidential
Ballroom, 100 GE ranges
will stand, all set for use.
Other needed equipment and
supplies-miXer, utensils and
recipe ingredients-will be
placed conveniently on a
table beside each range. GE
technicianS will be standing
by. ready to help if there
should be any operating
hitch.
The time available for
converting the Statler-Hil-
tons Presidential ballroom
into the biggest kitchen is
very short. Moving with mill
tary precision, the installa-
tion crew appears and begins
unreelingl a pre-aSSembled
current hook-up consisting
OF more than a mile of cable.
Giant harnesses" electric
cable) prefabricated at an
electrical contractors in ad-
vance of the actual installa-
ton, is being moved into po-
sition at the hotel several
days before the bake-off.
Hotel SubstatiOn
Contestants will have little
idea of the "back-stage" work
that has been done to con-
meet the ranges. Actually a
small power station has been
set UP at the hotel to pro-
vide the large amount Of
temporary service needed.
Part of the Job Of construct
ing this new sub-station at
the hotel involved chopping
a channel across L street to
lay 26 two-inch power lines
from a vault across the
street from the hotel.
A special manhole was
sunk in the hotel driveway
to accommodate the power
lines which run from there
through a hotel window to
the back of the master
swift C h board. From the
switchboard, runners extend
to each range on the ball
room floor.
The giant cables that bring
the electric power into the
Presidential Ballroom use
some $4,000 feet to $4,000
to 100000 circular mile cable
and about 10000 feet normal
gauge cable. Some 100000
to 100000 watts of power will
be available; 12/400 amp.
main switches to set up this
huge kitchen in the ballroom.
Weeks ago the 100 ranges
were shipped to the ware
house of General Electric
Appliances here in Washing
ton from the company's
Louisville. KY. plant. From
the warehouse, the ranges
were moved to the hotel.
Now at the hotel, the ranges
have been cleaned and
checked to make certain they
are in perfect working order.
AS clock hands move toward
the deadline. the ranges are
loaded on dollies and wheeled
to their assigned stations in
the ballroom. There they are
connected to the current out
lets and checked again. Moth
ing can be left to chance.
Each range must be ready 10
give instant obedience to its
operators commands. Ten
additional ranges always
stand by in readiness to be
rushed into use. if there
should be any need, but in
all of the II years of bake
off history, not one stand
by range has ever been
needed,
Nor has the human element
been forgotten. After the
f1nalists reach the hotel, on
the day before the Bake-Off.
home economists are in at
tendance to demonstrate the
range and to answer all
questions.