Of course growing children and quite young grown-up folks require proportionately more food than real adults, for they have not only to maintain but to build up their bodies. But to such the Chafing Dish will not appeal primarily, if at all, and they may even be THE CHAFING DISH 17 found impertinent enough to look upon it as a culinary joke, which it is not. ChafRnda hates gluttons, but takes pleasure in ministering to the modest wants of the discerning acolyte, fostering his incipient talent, urging him to higher flights, and tempting him to delicate fantasies. " Do have some more ; it isn't very good, but there's lots of it." So said a friend of mine to his guests about his half-crown port. This is the sentiment of the man who knows not the Chafing Dish. " Lots of it " is the worst kind of hospitality, and suggests the quantity, not quality, of the cheap-jack kerb- stone butcher. Little and good, and enough to go round, is the motto of the tactful house- husband. A French cook once said that it was only unlucky to sit down thirteen at table if the food were but sufficient for twelve. There is such a deal of fine confused feed- ing about the ordinary meals of even a simply conducted country house that imagination boggles at the thought of the elaboration of the daily menus. With four, or possibly five, repasts a day, few of them chaste, most 1 8 THE CHAFING DISH of them complicated, a careful observer will note that the cook has been listening to the pipings of the Great God Sauce, and covers natural flavours with misnamed concoctions which dp nothing but obliterate nature and vex the palate. There are some few houses, great and small, town and country, where the elemental decencies of the kitchen are manfully pre- served, where wholesome mutton does not masquerade as Quartier d ^ Agneau a la Mi sir i- corde, and the toothsome lobster is not Americanised out of all knowing. To such establishments, all honour and glory. But to those whose means or opportunities do not permit of a carefully trained cook, a home-made artist, I would in all diffidence recommend the cult of the Chafing Dish, whose practical use I now propose to discuss. "Tout se fait en dinant dans le siecle ou nous sommes, Et c'est par les diners qu'on gouvcrne les hommes." — Ch. de Monselet. Chaffinda's cooking battery is small, but select. The Chafing Dish proper comprises the stand and lamp, and the dish, called the " Blazer," which has an ebony handle ; and there is an ingenious spirit diminisher which enables one to reduce the flame to a minimum, just enough to keep the flame simmering, or to put it out altogether. A second, or hot water pan, belongs to the outfit, and an asbestos toast-making tray may be bought for a trifle. In addition, a couple of green or brown dishes of French fire- proof china, an egg-poacher, a marmite, and 20 THE CHAFING DISH perhaps a casserole, all of which are best from Bonnet in Church Street, Soho, will come in very usefully. To these may be added the usual complement of plates and dishes and several wooden spoons of different sizes ; a fish-lifter is also desirable, so is a strainer, and a pair of graters come in very handily. This practically completes the gear of the budding Chafist, though additional items may be added from time to time as occasion demands.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Of course growing children and quite young grown-up folks require proportionately more food than real adults, for they have not only to maintain but to build up their bodies. But to such the Chafing Dish will not appeal primarily, if at all, and they may even be found impertinent enough to look upon it as a culinary joke, which it is not. Chaffinda hates gluttons, but takes pleasure in ministering to the modest wants of the discerning acolyte, fostering his incipient talent, urging him to higher flights, and tempting him to delicate fantasies. " Do have some more ; it isn't very good, but there's lots of it." So said a friend of mine to his guests about his half-crown port. This is the sentiment of the man who knows not the Chafing Dish. " Lots of it " is the worst kind of hospitality, and suggests the quantity, not quality, of the cheap-jack kerbstone butcher. Little and good, and enough to go round, is the motto of the tactful househusband. A French cook once said that it was only unlucky to sit down thirteen at table if the food were but sufficient for twelve. There is such a deal of fine confused feeding about the ordinary meals of even a simply conducted country house that imagination boggles at the thought of the elaboration of the daily menus. With four, or possibly five, repasts a day, few of them chaste, most of them complicated, a careful observer will note that the cook has been listening to the pipings of the Great God Sauce, and covers natural flavours with misnamed concoctions which do nothing but obliterate nature and vex the palate. There are some few houses, great and small, town and country, where the elemental decencies of the kitchen are manfully preserved, where wholesome mutton does not masquerade as Quartier d'Agneau a la Mi sir icorde, and the toothsome lobster is not Americanised out of all knowing. To such establishments, all honour and glory. But to those whose means or opportunities do not permit of a carefully trained cook, a home-made artist, I would in all diffidence recommend the cult of the Chafing Dish, whose practical use I now propose to discuss. "Tout se fait en dinant dans le siecle ou nous sommes, Et c'est par les diners qu'on gouverne les hommes." — Ch. de Monselet. Chaffinda's cooking battery is small, but select. The Chafing Dish proper comprises the stand and lamp, and the dish, called the " Blazer," which has an ebony handle ; and there is an ingenious spirit diminisher which enables one to reduce the flame to a minimum, just enough to keep the flame simmering, or to put it out altogether. A second, or hot water pan, belongs to the outfit, and an asbestos toast-making tray may be bought for a trifle. In addition, a couple of green or brown dishes of French fireproof china, an egg-poacher, a marmite, and perhaps a casserole, all of which are best from Bonnet in Church Street, Soho, will come in very usefully. To these may be added the usual complement of plates and dishes and several wooden spoons of different sizes ; a fish-lifter is also desirable, so is a strainer, and a pair of graters come in very handily. This practically completes the gear of the budding Chafist, though additional items may be added from time to time as occasion demands.

The cult of the chafing dish