The after report shows it to have
been principally an advertising ex-
position of materials and appliances,
and in spite of the best endeavors of
its promoters, the cooking depart-
ment attracted less attention than the
sideshows and the music. There were
about 300 exhibitors, however, and
several gold medals and purses were
contested for in various departments,
that of artistic cookery being the
most interesting.
In accordance with the European
proprieties, the London exhibition
started under the patronage of a
dozen titled personages and a jury
besides of twenty-six ladies and
gentlemen in the artistic cookery
department. The motive power of
the whole affair seems to have been
furnished by three or four firms ex-
tensively engaged in the catering and
restaurant business,with a hard work-
ing honorary secretary who managed
all the details, and for whom at last
a purse was made up by subscription
of the exhibitors in recognition of his
untiring exertions. One of these
catering firms contracted to furnish
meals as follows:
Hot and cold lunches at 50 cents
per head.
Dinners a la carte from 60 cents
upwards.
The club dinner at ^^ cents.
The table d'h6te dinner at $1.25.
The dinner a la carte is the restau-
rant style where every dish in the
bill of fare has the price attached, and
a person can order according to what
he wishes to spend.
The club dinner is in courses, the
person takes all that is offered,in good
form but without much choice and
pays a fixed price for the repast.
The table d'hote is the hotel plan;
the person chooses from the bill of
fare whatever he pleases and as
much as he pleases, and pays a fixed
price for the repast, be it little or
much. We give these particulars to
show the ideas of theLondon caterers,
of the worth of the different meals.
On certain stated dates they an-
nounced they would serve:
The Indian dinner at $1.25 per
head.
The American dinner at $1.75.
The old English dinner at 1.50.
Dinner a la Francaise at $1.50.
The Indian dinner was intended
to give prominence to East Indian
products and dishes of curries, pillaus,
kabobs, rice, chutneys and teas, a fea-
ture that was instigated by a firm
engaged in the East India trade.
The old English dinners we have
no particulars about, but doubtless it
included roast beef and plum pud-
ding, whatever the side effects may
have been, and the French dinner as
surely included bards and braizes^
sautes and ragouts^ as well as sorbets
and sucres.
18(V
COOKING FOR PROFIT,
It was certainly atr ibute to the ex-
cellence of American fare that the
price of the
AMERICAN DINNER
was placed the highest in the list; the
plan probably contemplated oysters,
turkey, terrapin and canvas back,with
hominy or corn, and a pumpkin pie
not very far off, and it is to be hoped
the caterers were well aware that ice
cream, the pure article frozen, is reg-
ular American diet. We eat it three
times a day and once at night after
the theatre.
There was a vast variety in kinds
of goods exhibited, ranging from
water filters and ranges, electric light-
ing for dining-rooms, and refrigerat-
ors and silver plating to the flexible
glass neckties and
FLEXIBLE GLASS WEDDING CAKE
Page 332
Presented as published in 1886. 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
The after report shows it to have been principally an advertising exposition of materials and appliances, and in spite of the best endeavors of its promoters, the cooking department attracted less attention than the sideshows and the music. There were about 300 exhibitors, however, and several gold medals and purses were contested for in various departments, that of artistic cookery being the most interesting.
In accordance with the European proprieties, the London exhibition started under the patronage of a dozen titled personages and a jury besides of twenty-six ladies and gentlemen in the artistic cookery department. The motive power of the whole affair seems to have been furnished by three or four firms extensively engaged in the catering and restaurant business,with a hard working honorary secretary who managed all the details, and for whom at last a purse was made up by subscription of the exhibitors in recognition of his untiring exertions. One of these
catering firms contracted to furnish meals as follows:
Hot and cold lunches at 50 cents per head.
Dinners a la carte from 60 cents
upwards.
The club dinner at ^^ cents.
The table d'h6te dinner at $1.25.
The dinner a la carte is the restaurant style where every dish in the bill of fare has the price attached, and a person can order according to what he wishes to spend.
The club dinner is in courses, the person takes all that is offered,in good form but without much choice and pays a fixed price for the repast.
The table d'hote is the hotel plan; the person chooses from the bill of fare whatever he pleases and as much as he pleases, and pays a fixed price for the repast, be it little or much. We give these particulars to show the ideas of the London caterers, of the worth of the different meals.
On certain stated dates they announced they would serve:
The Indian dinner at $1.25 per head.
The American dinner at $1.75.
The old English dinner at 1.50.
Dinner a la Francaise at $1.50.
The Indian dinner was intended to give prominence to East Indian products and dishes of curries, pillaus, kabobs, rice, chutneys and teas, a feature that was instigated by a firm engaged in the East India trade.
The old English dinners we have no particulars about, but doubtless it included roast beef and plum pudding, whatever the side effects may have been, and the French dinner as surely included bards and braizes^ sautes and ragouts^ as well as sorbets and sucres.
18(V
It was certainly atr ibute to the excellence of American fare that the price of the
AMERICAN DINNER
was placed the highest in the list; the plan probably contemplated oysters, turkey, terrapin and canvas back,with hominy or corn, and a pumpkin pie not very far off, and it is to be hoped the caterers were well aware that ice cream, the pure article frozen, is regular American diet. We eat it three times a day and once at night after the theatre.
There was a vast variety in kinds of goods exhibited, ranging from water filters and ranges, electric lighting for dining-rooms, and refrigerators and silver plating to the flexible glass neckties and FLEXIBLE GLASS WEDDING CAKE