“Have you some here, Mr. Soyer?”
“Yes, your Grace, I have; one of the footmen has taken charge of them till required.”
The order having been given, a footman entered with the samples on a plateau, with spoons, &c., which were tasted by the select and noble party, who at once pronounced them very palatable, and to which I remarked, that through the nature of the ingredients they could not fail to be nutritious and light.
“It is to be regretted,” I said, “that the cooks in many hospitals are not allowed to put the seasoning in the savoury diets, which restriction will invariably produce very unsatisfactory results. I will here repeat the saying of Hippocrates:—‘What pleases the palate nourishes.’ If this great man has said so, it is a pity that some of his modern disciples have altered or deviated from such an ancient and just maxim, for I will vouch that a diet properly seasoned is far more generous and invigorating to the patient than the unpalatable food prepared without anything of the sort; at the same time many maladies will require various degrees of seasoning, as too much in some cases would prove equally if not more injurious than the want of it in others. This point must be left to the doctor’s discretion. I am also aware that in some hospitals salt and pepper are allowed, and, I may say, too abundantly; and each patient is permitted to season his food, not according to his taste, but his judgment: this is another evil, as he is or may be at the time entirely deprived of either taste or judgment. These remarks will be the first I shall submit to the notice of the principal doctor, and I am morally certain he will agree with me as soon as they are properly explained.”
“A most important observation,” said the Duchess; “for, even when in the enjoyment of good health, what is more disagreeable than an insipid dish?”
“I have always, madame, maintained that the cook must season for guests or patients, and not these for the cook.”
“In fact,” said I to the Marquis of Stafford, who had tasted several of the samples, “does not your lordship opine that salt and pepper should be almost excluded from the ward, and that the cook should be as responsible for seasoning the food as the apothecary is for making up the doctor’s prescription correctly?”
“Certainly; but can you persuade them to do so?”
“Very easily; by my system of diet, every recipe will be printed, framed, and hung up in the kitchen, so that any person, even a soldier (provided he can read), will be capable of executing them well, as each receipt will be comprised in a few lines.”
“Ah! that will, indeed, be most valuable, and readily applied in every hospital.”