Practical gastronomy and culinary dictionary

" Simplicity is as essential an element in cookery as it is in other arts. The author, therefore, particularly cautions the inex- perienced practitioner from attempting too much. Excess in the quantity and variety of spices and condiments — the bane of English cookery — is especially to be guarded against." Whether he used " spices and condiments " at all times with the discretion he publicly advocates we are unable to state, but an old chef, who was personally acquainted with Francatelli in his kitchen at the St. James's Hotel, tells us that, as the chef there, he was fond of highly flavouring his sauces. Francatelli did not profess, so he says, to cater for the satis- faction of coarse appetites, but rather to gratify refined tastes. And he alludes to " Guides " and " Oracles," with a decided hit at Dr. Kitchiner's " Cook's Oracle," in the following amusing words : — " Such attempts, too frequently made by English wi'iters on gastronomy, at once betray their origin. The greater part of these authorities are persons who, having neither studied the rudiments nor practised the art to any extent, take upon them- selves to instruct the public, not from the fulness of their know- ledge, but either as a pecuniary resource or to gratify an idle whim. Need it be wondered at, while we possess in England a greater abundance of all kinds of food, generally of far better quality than is to be found elsewhere, that our cookery in theory -J I^ ^-^Q CH.E.FRAN(ATELU ^Jf^-'- FAMOUS CHEFS AND EPICURES 863 SYid practice has become a by-word of ridicule, and that we should be compelled to have recourse to foreigners, ignorant for the most part of our tastes and habits, to prepare our feasts," The following suggestions that he makes in one of his books are worthy of more than a passing comment : — " The English custom of dividing a grand dinner into several courses is an error quite at variance with common sense and con- venience. Tt is a needless complication that necessarily leads to useless profusion, and much additional trouble. Our neighbours across the Channel allow of two courses only in the largest dinners. With them fish and hors d'oeuvres — such as patties, croquettes, &c. — form part of the first course, and not a distinct course, as they are considered east of Temple Bar. The French, too, regard the dessert as a mere delassement after dinner, in- tended rather to propitiate than to thwart digestion. " I cannot refrain from alluding to an injudicious habit fre- quently adopted at English tables — that of introducing sweet champagne in the first course. This wine, from its sweetness, counteracts the flavour of savoury dishes. Madeira, sherry, and burgundy are better suited to the first course, their stimulating and generous qualities tending to assist digestion. " The ordinary practice in London of serving turtle and veni- son indiscriminately, as mere accessories to recherche dinners, is, in my opinion, most injudicious. Turtle and venison being generally reckoned by us as the best of good cheer, it follows that, when they form part of a dinner, the removes and entrees are comparatively neglected. Very light entrees should always be served with these," &c.