The thousands of intelligent and progressive workers who are now using Whitehead's Hotel Books are reminded of a promise written some years ago in the American Pastry Cook^ at No. 221, to give at a sub- sequent time certain illustrated in- structions in cake ornamentation, and also some further details of the method of preparing stands and socles for meat dishes named at No. 8o2J. Under the styles of table service at present prevailing, there is not much demand for work of that kind, however beautiful it may be; still, whenever the holiday season approaches, with its banquets and decorated tables, some letters always come with reminders that those promises remain unredeemed. The completion of a new volume in the scries now furnishes the desired op- portunity. Had these lines been written a few months earlier, it would probably have been with the impression that a revival of what is called artistic cookery, which is really only orna- mental cookery, was taking place; the rather unsatisfactory result of the recent cookery and food exhibition at the Royal Aquarium, London, has a tendency to dispel that idea, how- ever, and seems to show that there is but little recompense to be ex- pected for any efforts in that line, the times being too thorougly practical in their tendency to allow much demand for such fragile and transit- ory work as the cooks can put upon their cold dishes. A resort hotel in the United States may go through a season's business, entertain ten thou- sand gueste, and pay«c/^(^the high- est salary, and yet never require a single ornamental dish beyond a turkey in jelly to be sliced befoi-c served, or some other such simpif dish. Still, as "BEAUTY IS ITS OWN EXCUSE FOR BEING," we must pursue the ornamental branch as a labor of love, because we take pleasure in showing such work, as the cooks of the largest cities yearly make displays of pieces that cost them nights and days of patient toil, simply keeping up the fashions of other times for their own pride and gratification. Numbers of the British aristocracy patronize and en- courage the ornamental work that perpetuates old customs, such as boar's head banquets, and the En- glishman who eats five meals a day will have the buffet or sideboard, where the early lunch or late cold supper is displayed, decorated in his chef'^s best style, if he can afford it, for there it does not interfere with the newer floral fashions which rule the dinner table. At some American hotels, where a specialty is made of serving banquets to order, this orna- mental work frequently comes in (178) COOKING FOR PROFIT, 179 place, and on many occasions, such as holidays and anniversaries, the cook can bring in his little surprises for the benefit of his own reputation, if for nothing else. It was not THE LONDON EXHIBITION alone that gave seeming indicatons of a change to a revival of ornamental pieces, for its precursor, a similar ex- hibition at Berlin a year or two pre- vious, which has already been alluded to in this book (No. 692) v/here the Emperor and Empress gave their personal attention to the encourage- ment of such work had the appear- ance of originating the movement of which the London exhibition with its imposing plan and extensive ad- vertising was a continuation.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The thousands of intelligent and progressive workers who are now using Whitehead's Hotel Books are reminded of a promise written some years ago in the American Pastry Cook^ at No. 221, to give at a subsequent time certain illustrated instructions in cake ornamentation, and also some further details of the method of preparing stands and socles for meat dishes named at No. 8o2J. Under the styles of table service at present prevailing, there is not much demand for work of that kind, however beautiful it may be; still, whenever the holiday season approaches, with its banquets and decorated tables, some letters always come with reminders that those promises remain unredeemed. The completion of a new volume in the scries now furnishes the desired opportunity. Had these lines been written a few months earlier, it would probably have been with the impression that a revival of what is called artistic cookery, which is really only ornamental cookery, was taking place; the rather unsatisfactory result of the recent cookery and food exhibition at the Royal Aquarium, London, has a tendency to dispel that idea, however, and seems to show that there is but little recompense to be expected for any efforts in that line, the times being too thorougly practical in their tendency to allow much demand for such fragile and transitory work as the cooks can put upon their cold dishes. A resort hotel in the United States may go through a season's business, entertain ten thousand gueste, and pay«c/^(^the highest salary, and yet never require a single ornamental dish beyond a turkey in jelly to be sliced befoi-c served, or some other such simpif dish. Still, as "BEAUTY IS ITS OWN EXCUSE FOR BEING," we must pursue the ornamental branch as a labor of love, because we take pleasure in showing such work, as the cooks of the largest cities yearly make displays of pieces that cost them nights and days of patient toil, simply keeping up the fashions of other times for their own pride and gratification. Numbers of the British aristocracy patronize and encourage the ornamental work that perpetuates old customs, such as boar's head banquets, and the Englishman who eats five meals a day will have the buffet or sideboard, where the early lunch or late cold supper is displayed, decorated in his chef's best style, if he can afford it, for there it does not interfere with the newer floral fashions which rule the dinner table. At some American hotels, where a specialty is made of serving banquets to order, this ornamental work frequently comes in (178) place, and on many occasions, such as holidays and anniversaries, the cook can bring in his little surprises for the benefit of his own reputation, if for nothing else. It was not THE LONDON EXHIBITION alone that gave seeming indicatons of a change to a revival of ornamental pieces, for its precursor, a similar exhibition at Berlin a year or two previous, which has already been alluded to in this book (No. 692) where the Emperor and Empress gave their personal attention to the encouragement of such work had the appearance of originating the movement of which the London exhibition with its imposing plan and extensive advertising was a continuation.

Cooking for profit