taking their places, would behold something more nutritious
than flowers, compotes, fruit, and gilt bronces. At the same
time, all preparations which require to be eaten a point
might be served on Jlyiny plates {an assieites volantcs) without
their having had the opportunity of pleasing the eye by
their appearance before they were served. During the
serving of these latter dishes the large dishes could be con-
veniently carved, and thus the intervals between two courses
could be abbreviated. (This would be a repetition, on a
small scale, of the old Italian mode of serving, at great
banquets, alternately a hot course from the kitchen and a
eold one from the sideboard.) But this alleged abbreviation
is a fallacy, as the service d la Eusse would still remain the
shortest one, the large dishes not having to be removed from
the table, and being in all other respects in the same position
as those intended to be served in French fashion.
Those who like the table to be well covered with showy
dishes maintain that ‘ one eats with the eye also,’ meaning
that the sight of a dish proposed to be oaten is a pleasure
or satisfaction. It is so as an assurance of the immediate
realization of a desirable prospect. But the overdressed
dishes to which we have objected are more apt to produce
the feelings which were roused in Sancho Panza’s breast on
the occasion of the feast by which he was deluded. If the
service d la Franqaisc is to be continued in any form, the
overdressing of the dishes will have to be omitted.
A hill of fare, in French termed menu, is a culinary pro-
gram, which has been arranged by the master or mistress
of the house, or their deputy, mostly in consultation with
the cook, has been carried out by the latter, and is laid
before the diners at the table, in order that they may take
their choice of the viands to be offered during the repast.
With the French mode of service such a notice was less
necessary than with the Bussian, to which latter, indeed, it
is indispensable. The greater the dinner and the more
BILLS OF FARE, OR MENUS
649
varied the fare, the more necessary became the hill or menu.
Cooks are advised never to construct their bills too long in
advance of the dinner, in order not to be obliged to alter
them later on owing to the accident of the failure of this or
that material. They are also advised never to let their
menus be printed before they have got together all their
necessary provisions, and are quite sure of their ability to
carry out their program to the letter.
Some authors give long series of menus as supposed illus-
trations : ‘ Wyvern,’ for example, gives most of his recipes
as mere commentaries to exact bills of fare ; Simpson has a
complete bill of fare for the table of a great house for every
day of the year. Other authors give shorter or varied lists,
from imperial and royal banquets down to philosophical
tete-d-tetes under the patronage of the Muses, or even the
Graces, or the god Amor himself. To most of them attaches
a certain degree of interest, but for practical purposes they
are of little use. They can hardly ever be copied, as they
may be opposed by the changes of opportunities, seasons,
materials, and special abilities of the cook, and, above all
things, by that rarely ascertainable factor, the likings and
dislikes of the master or mistress of the house, or even the
divergences of the tastes of such nearl
Page 409
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
taking their places, would behold something more nutritious than flowers, compotes, fruit, and gilt bronzes. At the same time, all preparations which require to be eaten à point might be served on flying plates (an assiettes volantes) without their having had the opportunity of pleasing the eye by their appearance before they were served. During the serving of these latter dishes the large dishes could be conveniently carved, and thus the intervals between two courses could be abbreviated. (This would be a repetition, on a small scale, of the old Italian mode of serving, at great banquets, alternately a hot course from the kitchen and a cold one from the sideboard.) But this alleged abbreviation is a fallacy, as the service à la Russe would still remain the shortest one, the large dishes not having to be removed from the table, and being in all other respects in the same position as those intended to be served in French fashion.
Those who like the table to be well covered with showy dishes maintain that ' one eats with the eye also,' meaning that the sight of a dish proposed to be eaten is a pleasure or satisfaction. It is so as an assurance of the immediate realization of a desirable prospect. But the overdressed dishes to which we have objected are more apt to produce the feelings which were roused in Sancho Panza’s breast on the occasion of the feast by which he was deluded. If the service à la Française is to be continued in any form, the overdressing of the dishes will have to be omitted.
A hill of fare, in French termed menu, is a culinary program, which has been arranged by the master or mistress of the house, or their deputy, mostly in consultation with the cook, has been carried out by the latter, and is laid before the diners at the table, in order that they may take their choice of the viands to be offered during the repast. With the French mode of service such a notice was less necessary than with the Bussian, to which latter, indeed, it is indispensable. The greater the dinner and the more
BILLS OF FARE, OR MENUS
varied the fare, the more necessary became the hill or menu. Cooks are advised never to construct their bills too long in advance of the dinner, in order not to be obliged to alter them later on owing to the accident of the failure of this or that material. They are also advised never to let their menus be printed before they have got together all their necessary provisions, and are quite sure of their ability to carry out their program to the letter.
Some authors give long series of menus as supposed illustrations : ‘ Wyvern,’ for example, gives most of his recipes as mere commentaries to exact bills of fare ; Simpson has a complete bill of fare for the table of a great house for every day of the year. Other authors give shorter or varied lists, from imperial and royal banquets down to philosophical tete-d-tetes under the patronage of the Muses, or even the Graces, or the god Amor himself. To most of them attaches a certain degree of interest, but for practical purposes they are of little use. They can hardly ever be copied, as they may be opposed by the changes of opportunities, seasons, materials, and special abilities of the cook, and, above all things, by that rarely ascertainable factor, the likings and dislikes of the master or mistress of the house, or even the divergences of the tastes of such nearl