WOMEN NEGLECT COOKERY i8i 



hot in their food nor in their own party, but in pointing 

 Out to one another the celebrities or notorieties or 

 eccentricities seated at other tables. So long as the 

 place is fashionable and noisy, the food is negligible and 

 neglected. 



For some reason, which I am unable to discover, the 



women of England (it is not the case with those of France 



and Germany) have, with rare exceptions, no interest in or 



liking for " cookery,'' and yet the men have left the 



management of it entirely in their hands. Male "chefs" 



of English nationality are rare specimens, though they 



are, as a rule, the best at grilling and roasting. Onjthe 



other hand, in France, where women no less than men 



value and understand cookery, there is an enormous body 



of professional male cooks. Englishwomen of means and 



education have to such a degree neglected all knowledge 



of cookery and of the quality and criticism of kitchen 



supplies, such as meat, fish, birds, and vegetables, that there 



is no one to teach the poor country girls (who become 



cooks in the majority of households) the elements of the 



very difficult and important duties which they are expected 



- — in virtue of some kind of inspiration or native genius — 



to discharge with skill and judgment : nor is there any 



head of a household capable of seeing that the necessary 



care and trouble are given. It is wonderful, under the 



circumstances, how clever and willing our domestic cooks 



are. A considerable section of English middle-class 



women at the present day are allowed by the men, who 



should guide them so as to make them honourable and 



useful members of the community, to grow up in complete 



ignorance of the essential parts of the art of cookery. 



This was not the case a hundred years ago. Now a large 



proportion of them have been led by bad example and 



foolish notions to give up such matters to " the servants," 



whether they are able to afford competent servants or even 



