The Kitchen Staff
The kitchen was, more often than not, ruled by a tyrannical, well-paid, French Chef. He presided over a series of scullery-maids and assistants, and was responsible for turning out eight-course dinners every night. His job was not an easy one, and required "resources comparable to those of a small hotel." (Evans, pg. 146) When there were guests, he would have had to deal with breakfast and tea too, but while it was just the family, he was above these lesser meals. The standard of a great house was that dinner for 100 could be given without hiring outside help or bringing in a single piece of china. (MacColl, pg. 187)

This was a suggested menu for a party of twelve guests, for a spring-time meal: (Evans, pg. 70)

Soup: Asparagus, Vermicelli

Fish: Salmon, Plain Whitebait, Deviled Whitebait

Entrees: Beef Olives, Quenelles of Rabbit, Lobster Cutlets, Reform Cutlets.

Removes: Quarter of Lamb; Capon, with Ham; Green Peas

Game: Quails, Plovers

Sweets: Ices souffle, Fruit jelly, Pineapple Cream, Gooseberry Tart, Ramekins, Russian Salad

Ices: Vanilla Cream, Orange Water

Fruits: Strawberries, Cherries, Melons.

The point here was not to make life easy for Chef, it was to make the guests comfortable, and to give them plenty of choices. Return to "Servants"