Three years after my initial experiments,
the matter having meanwhile simmered in my
brain, I decided to make another attempt. I
was then employed as chef to Sir Herbert
Naylor-Leyland, at Hyde Park House. I se-
lected a chicken (with some rice), and cov-
ered it with foolscap. It came out of the
oven bearing a lovely golden tint, and, as I
quickly found, with the flesh as tender as
could be desired. But, alas ! it tasted of the
paper in a most marked degree.
The idea, however, still pursued me, and
some months afterwards I made another trial
SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY n
in my own home. I experimented with a
fowl, a few mushrooms, and some rice.
Everything was satisfactory, save the taste,
and this defect was such that I should have
been ashamed to place the dish before any of
my friends. What was to be done? So far
as I could see the difficulty was insurmount-
able, and very reluctantly I allowed the idea
of Paper-Bag Cookery, which even then ap-
pealed to me strongly, to pass out of my mind.
But about three months ago it was revived
in a most unexpected manner. One morning
I saw in the newspapers that Herr Lampert, a
Frankfort chef, had come to London with a
special oven of his own invention which he
claimed was a necessary accompaniment of
Paper-Bag Cookery. He gave a public dem-
onstration of his system, which is one of
cooking by indirect heat, and, apparently, it
pleased everybody. “ This won’t do,” I
thought. “If Herr Lampert has done won-
derful things, I am certain I can do the same
without the aid of any special oven.”
All my old longing to excel in Paper-Bag
Cookery reasserted itself, and I at once sent
off a challenge to my German rival. It was
accepted, and it was arranged that we should
12 SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY
meet at the National School of Cookery, in
Buckingham Palace Road. It was an exact-
ing test, but I think I may say that I came
out of the ordeal all right.
We fought one “ duel ” before three ex-
perts who acted as judges. I was given the
use of a small ordinary oven about a foot
and a quarter square; my rival relied on his
own special invention. With me I had taken
a quantity of grease-proof paper, which I
earnestly hoped would give satisfactory re-
sults. In all I cooked n dishes, and every
one was done “ to a turn.” Indeed, the
judges found in my favor. “We consider,”
they said, “ that M. Soyer has proved that
cooking in paper is possible in an ordinary
oven by direct heat.”
But I was still far from satisfied. Beau-
tifully cooked though they were, all the n
dishes tasted of paper — the old trouble. I
was now filled, however, with the spirit of
conquest, and I determined to settle the mat-
ter once and for all. So I began some ex-
periments with a view to finding a proper
kind of paper. In this I was completely suc-
cessful.
I now set to work in grim earnestness in
SOYER’S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 13
Page 2
Presented as published in 1911. 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
Three years after my initial experiments, the matter having meanwhile simmered in my brain, I decided to make another attempt. I was then employed as chef to Sir Herbert Naylor-Leyland, at Hyde Park House. I selected a chicken (with some rice), and covered it with foolscap. It came out of the oven bearing a lovely golden tint, and, as I quickly found, with the flesh as tender as could be desired. But, alas ! it tasted of the paper in a most marked degree.
The idea, however, still pursued me, and some months afterwards I made another trial
in my own home. I experimented with a fowl, a few mushrooms, and some rice. Everything was satisfactory, save the taste, and this defect was such that I should have been ashamed to place the dish before any of my friends. What was to be done? So far as I could see the difficulty was insurmountable, and very reluctantly I allowed the idea of Paper-Bag Cookery, which even then appealed to me strongly, to pass out of my mind.
But about three months ago it was revived in a most unexpected manner. One morning I saw in the newspapers that Herr Lampert, a Frankfort chef, had come to London with a special oven of his own invention which he claimed was a necessary accompaniment of Paper-Bag Cookery. He gave a public demonstration of his system, which is one of cooking by indirect heat, and, apparently, it pleased everybody. “ This won’t do,” I thought. “If Herr Lampert has done wonderful things, I am certain I can do the same without the aid of any special oven.”
All my old longing to excel in Paper-Bag Cookery reasserted itself, and I at once sent off a challenge to my German rival. It was accepted, and it was arranged that we should
meet at the National School of Cookery, in Buckingham Palace Road. It was an exacting test, but I think I may say that I came out of the ordeal all right.
We fought one “ duel ” before three experts who acted as judges. I was given the use of a small ordinary oven about a foot and a quarter square; my rival relied on his own special invention. With me I had taken a quantity of grease-proof paper, which I earnestly hoped would give satisfactory results. In all I cooked n dishes, and every one was done “ to a turn.” Indeed, the judges found in my favor. “We consider,” they said, “ that M. Soyer has proved that cooking in paper is possible in an ordinary oven by direct heat.”
But I was still far from satisfied. Beautifully cooked though they were, all the n dishes tasted of paper — the old trouble. I was now filled, however, with the spirit of conquest, and I determined to settle the matter once and for all. So I began some experiments with a view to finding a proper kind of paper. In this I was completely successful.
I now set to work in grim earnestness in