arrangements are less simple. That is, forethought
must provide for all the requirements of the guests, and
condiments must be placed on the table, not on the
sideboard. Wine, beer, or cider — water, soda water,
must be placed on the dinner-table, or on a side-table
close to the host. The various little stands for pepper,
salt, and mustard, or for sauces, bottles, &c., which can
now be bought at moderate prices, can be so placed
that the table need not look ugly or untidy. A grow-
ing plant dexterously fitted in a china pot (not
dropped halfway in), or a few flowers and green
leaves in a low vase, or in various little glass or china
pots which make a group, will give grace and refine-
ment to the table. The cloth must be kept free from,
gravy stains, or a napkin spread over obnoxious spots.
When two or more servants wait at table, the
amount of handing round, both of meats and drinks,
must depend on the number of guests and the style
of dinner.
In France, two servants, male or female, or male
and female, will wait on a dinner-party of twelve
guests, and a good dinner will be served hot and
eaten agreeably within the hour. But the guests are
trained to help each other to wine and water (with
the exception of the higher class of wine, which is
handed round), and they are also trained not to 'ask
for things.' Each dish is self-sufficing.
In England, one or two sauces and several vege-
tables are required to make a dish complete, and a
guest who does not receive a potato with or within a
second of his slice of mutton looks, or speaks, as an
injured man.
I
WAITLYG AT TABLE. 33
For a set dinner-party one servant to three or to
four guests is the rule. The servants or waiters must
be accustomed to act together, and as they have a
certain set of rules, if there is to be any deviation
from the routine to which they are accustomed, a very
clear explanation and a rehearsal will be necessary.
The footman who hands the sauce should precede
the man w^ho hands the fish, and stand behind the
guest so as to be able at once to offer the sauce, and
it should be understood that no dish which requires
accessories should start on its course till the ac-
cessories are ready to accompany it. ' Why was not
the mint sauce handed round with the lamb ? ' ' Be-
cause the cook had not sent it up.' ' I shall mention
that omission to the cook ; meanwhile you should not
have cut up and sent round the lamb till its sauce
was ready.'
To make sure on this point, in writing the bill of
fare for the butler ' sauce ' in a bracket should always
be written against any dish which requires sauce.
Guests as well as servants have their duties : they
should not ask for accessories out of the usual order,
nor for exceptional drinks till the regular serving of
wine has taken place. It is not creditable, however,
to the butler if there are no pickles to be had with
cold meat at luncheon, if the mustard is stale, or the
pepper castor empty, and if the footman ignores one's
request for cayenne pepper because he knows that
condiment is not within reach.
Drill is the important factor in discipline, and till
the servants who have to act together, permanent or
temporary men-servants and waiters, or neat-handed
D
34 CARVING.
Page 15
Presented as published in 1882. 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
arrangements are less simple. That is, forethought must provide for all the requirements of the guests, and condiments must be placed on the table, not on the sideboard. Wine, beer, or cider — water, soda water, must be placed on the dinner-table, or on a side-table close to the host. The various little stands for pepper, salt, and mustard, or for sauces, bottles, &c., which can now be bought at moderate prices, can be so placed that the table need not look ugly or untidy. A growing plant dexterously fitted in a china pot (not dropped halfway in), or a few flowers and green leaves in a low vase, or in various little glass or china pots which make a group, will give grace and refinement to the table. The cloth must be kept free from gravy stains, or a napkin spread over obnoxious spots.
When two or more servants wait at table, the amount of handing round, both of meats and drinks, must depend on the number of guests and the style of dinner.
In France, two servants, male or female, or male and female, will wait on a dinner-party of twelve guests, and a good dinner will be served hot and eaten agreeably within the hour. But the guests are trained to help each other to wine and water (with the exception of the higher class of wine, which is handed round), and they are also trained not to 'ask for things.' Each dish is self-sufficing.
In England, one or two sauces and several vegetables are required to make a dish complete, and a guest who does not receive a potato with or within a second of his slice of mutton looks, or speaks, as an injured man.
WAITING AT TABLE. 33
For a set dinner-party one servant to three or to four guests is the rule. The servants or waiters must be accustomed to act together, and as they have a certain set of rules, if there is to be any deviation from the routine to which they are accustomed, a very clear explanation and a rehearsal will be necessary. The footman who hands the sauce should precede the man who hands the fish, and stand behind the guest so as to be able at once to offer the sauce, and it should be understood that no dish which requires accessories should start on its course till the accessories are ready to accompany it. ' Why was not the mint sauce handed round with the lamb ? ' ' Because the cook had not sent it up.' ' I shall mention that omission to the cook ; meanwhile you should not have cut up and sent round the lamb till its sauce was ready.'
To make sure on this point, in writing the bill of fare for the butler ' sauce ' in a bracket should always be written against any dish which requires sauce.
Guests as well as servants have their duties : they should not ask for accessories out of the usual order, nor for exceptional drinks till the regular serving of wine has taken place. It is not creditable, however, to the butler if there are no pickles to be had with cold meat at luncheon, if the mustard is stale, or the pepper castor empty, and if the footman ignores one's request for cayenne pepper because he knows that condiment is not within reach.
Drill is the important factor in discipline, and till the servants who have to act together, permanent or temporary men-servants and waiters, or neat-handed
D
34 CARVING.