"And for the eggs?" I
had said insinuatingly to the creator of dishes, and he had dropped into
deepest thought. "_Uffs a la plat_," said the lady, who fancied we were
both at a loss as to how eggs could be cooked. Frederic came back from
the clouds and gave the lady one look. It was not a look of anger, or
contempt, but simply an expression of pity for the whole of her sex.
Frederic, as Joseph did, holds that a dinner to be good must be short,
which is, I believe, the first axiom that every true gourmet should
enunciate and hold by, and an excellent proof that he holds to his
tenets was once given me. When the Behring Sea Conference sat in Paris,
the American and English members used frequently to dine together after
their labours. Lord Hannen had heard of the Tour d'Argent, and sent his
secretary, a clever barrister, to order dinner there for all the
members. He went to the Quai de la Tourelle, saw Frederic, and sketched
out to him a regular Eaton Square dinner, two entrees, a joint, sorbet,
game, an iced pudding, a savoury, and fruit. Frederic heard him out, and
then very politely suggested that he should go elsewhere, for such a
barbarous feast could not be served in the Tour d'Argent. If you are in
great favour Frederic will cook you a dish himself, and will bustle
into the room with the "creation" in his hands and great beads of
perspiration, drawn out by the kitchen fire, on his broad brow.
Pages:
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42