The gastronomic regenerator : a simplified and entirely new system of cookery with nearly two thousand practical receipts suited to the income of all classes. Illustrated with numerous engravings and correct and minute plans how kitchens of every size, from the kitchen of a royal palace to that of the humble cottage, are to be constructed and furnished / by Monsieur A. Soyer.

Soyer, Alexis, 1809-1858.

Date:: 1847

Credit: The gastronomic regenerator : a simplified and entirely new system of cookery with nearly two thousand practical receipts suited to the income of all classes. Illustrated with numerous engravings and correct and minute plans how kitchens of every size, from the kitchen of a royal palace to that of the humble cottage, are to be constructed and furnished / by Monsieur A. Soyer. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

825/846 (page 9)

$truffle thHt bad been dug out of tbe graves, and a garniture of roasted ortolans. Stupendous thouchti we bave read of superior minds overcoming obstacles long deemed insurmountable, and bave gathered from tbe perusal strengtb for the difficult struggle ol life. Such strenglb find we here. An ortolan, said Alexis Soyer, pondering on the difhcult and selt-ap- poinled task, an ortolan can hardly be truffled, but I will undertake that a truffle shall be orlolaned He might have added, 'Tis not in mortals to command success ; we 11 do more, Sumpayo, we'll deserve it; lor great as tbe Regenerator's conception was, it was not destined to be realized. The elements were unpropitious, and the ortolans did not arrive in time from Paris, whence they bad been ordered. This, however, was tbe only failure. Everything else was to the turn, the minute. At seven o'clock tbe Severn salmon arrived alive, and by express from Gloucester. Ten minutes later it smoked upon the board. Happy Sampayo !—happier guests !—immortal Soyer ! We turn to the pictorial portion of this-notable book. After the agreeable portrait of the author, which faces tbe title-page, the first of tbe woodcuts that attracts attention is Tbe Table of tbe Wealthy, with tbe motto, Rien ne dispose mieux I'esprit humain a des trans- actions amicates r/u'im diner bien confu et artistemcnt prepare. A great maxim of diplo- macy ! How many treaties of peace and commerce bave owed tbeir conclusion to the mollifying efiects of a series of good dinners ! What numerous misunderstandings have been arranged and thorny points happily settled, less by tbe wisdom of tbe ambassador than by tbe ability of the ambassador's cook ! On a judiciously-compounded sauce, or a rati cuit a point, or tbe seasoning of a salmi, or the twirl of a casserole, may depend tbe fate of a crowned head,—tbe marriage of a prince,—tbe weal or woe of a nation. Is cookery, then, no art ? Truly is it—the highest, the noblest! A second plate, My Table at Home, represents M. Soyer, in his foyers, presiding over a select party assembled round his hospitable and well-furnished board. Behold again the unrivalled gallantry of tbe country, and the individual finding a vent in a poetic and touching smile. A gastronomical reunion, without ladies, says the chief cook of the Reform Club, is a parterre without flowers, tbe ocean without waves, a fleet without sails. Talking of fleets, let us pass on at once to tbe Turkey a la Nelson, which deceased but much honoured bird is placed with its tail in the prow of a Roman galley, duly provided with anchor, sail, and all fitting appurtenances, and surmounted by fictitious ducklings, manufactured, as we are informed, but should never have divined, of the legs of fowls. Further on we have the Gateau Britannique a I'Amiral, a comely corvette of cake, coppered with chocolate, displaying wafer sails and sugar rigging, tossing upon waves of gelee d la Bacc/iunte,—her caiiva? swelling to a favouring breeze,—her sides dripping with wine and marmaliide,—her interior, even to the hatchways, filled with such a freight as none but Soyer could provide, and ]iii\kctgourmets thoroughly appreciate. It is whispered that upon this gallant ship Commodore Napier did fearful execution in the presence of his quondam foe and present friend, Ibrahim Pacha, when that illustrious individual dined with the Com- modore at his club. Assaulting tbe cralt with the fierce impetuosity for which the hero of Acre is so renowned, and thrusting his boarding-pike—bis spoon we would say—deep into the hold of the luscious craft, he destroyed in an instant Soyer's labour of a day. Timbers were stove in or out,—sails came down by the run,—masts went by the board,—and all was wreck, where a second before all had been symmetry and perfection. Nothing that relates to tbe kitchen or the table has been neglected or overlooked by the Regenerator. We have plans and drawings of kitchens of every description, from the matchless establishments of the Reform Club, with its ice drawers, slate wells, steam closets, tMins mane, and filty other modern refinements, to the unpretending cooking-places of the cottage or the bachelor. But perhaps the section of the book to be chiefly prized by the general reader and indillerent gastronome, is the short one relating to carving. Good carvers are almost as rare as good tenor singers. The proper dissection o( flesh and fowl is a matter ol high importance, rarely excelled in, but should be always studied. ^l*! ^''PPen. m»ke no excuses, for they are only an acknowledg- n e t ol awkwardness. We remember to have seen a man of high fashion deposit a turkey 1 sway ,n the lap of a ady, but with admirable composure, and without ollering the h n n /''''I 'r^'^'f 'J ^''■'''^ ^^ the same time, and then .mietly m not ?o J','.-'','' ^■^''Z ^'«J\> thank you lor that turkey.' To thosl who may not po«e,«s similar coolness, and the same stoical indillerence to the fate of ladies' IS! ''''S'''^' Soyer's improvements in carving L lali^ Nature, saj'H I to myself, compels us to dine more or less ouce a day ; each ol Ihoso$

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