It will be seen that I have placed the Savouries before the Entremets, instead of after the Ices, as is customary in England. My reason for this apparent anomaly is that I consider it a positive gastronomical heresy to eat fish, meats, fowl-remains, &c., after delicate Entremets and Ices, the subtle flavour of the latter, which form such an agreeable item in a dinner, being quite destroyed by the violent seasoning of the former.
Moreover, the very pretext brought forward in support of this practice, so erroneous from the gastronomical standpoint, namely, “that after a good dinner it is necessary to serve something strange and highly seasoned, in order to whet the diner’s thirst,” is its own condemnation.
For, if appetite is satiated and thirst is quenched, it follows [136] ]that the consumer has taken all that is necessary. Therefore, anything more that he may be stimulated to take will only amount to excess, and excess in gastronomy, as in everything else, is a fault that can find no excuse.
At all events, I could agree to no more than the placing of the Savouries before mild Entremets, and, even so, the former would have to consist of light, dry preparations, very moderately seasoned, such as [Paillettes] with Parmesan, various kinds of dry biscuits, and small tartlets garnished with cheese [soufflé].
In short, if I expressed my plain opinion on the matter, I should advise the total suppression of Savouries in a dinner.
[137]
]CHAPTER XI
HORS-D’ŒUVRES
General Remarks
The preparations described hereafter all belong to the order of cold hors-d’œuvres. I did not deem it necessary to touch upon the hot kind, for, apart from the fact that these are very seldom served in England, at least under the head of hors-d’œuvres, they are mostly to be found either among the hot Entrées or the Savouries proper.
Generally speaking, hors-d’œuvres should only form part of a meal that does not comprise soup, while the rule of serving them at luncheons only ought to be looked upon as absolute.
It is true that restaurants à la carte deliberately deviate from this rule, but it should be remembered, in their case, that, in addition to the fact that “hors-d’œuvres de luxe,” such as caviare, oysters, plovers’ and lapwings’ eggs, &c., are mostly in question, they also find the use of hors-d’œuvres expedient if only as a means of whiling away the customers’ time during the preparation of the various dishes that may have been ordered.