Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 February 1910 — WATCHING FOOD SUPPLY. [ARTICLE]

WATCHING FOOD SUPPLY.

Hotel* Are Not So Wasteful as Many Persona Think. While many of the large hotels of the country distribute considerable quantities of leftover food to the deserving poor, this kind of charity is not so extensive as Is generally supposed, says the New York Press. The fact is that very little food is left In a well-managed hotel after its own help Is fed. The steward gauges the probable needs of guests with a skill born of long experience. He can calculate almost to a plate how many will call for roast beef, lamb or turkey, how many prefer oxtail soup to consomme, how many orders for fowl, entrees, etc., will serve, and how many apple, peach, cocoanut pies, etc., will be required for dessert purposes. The cook and the steward confer as to the dally bills of fare, and both prldb themselves on being able to meet all the demands of all the guests and yet have little left oyer when the diningroom is closed. One leading New York hotel proprietor, in discussing this phase of his business, said: “If I could/run the whole business myself I would guarantee to fill the order of every guest and yet not have enough surplus to feed five persons at the end of the dinner. To be able to do this is one of the great secrets of successful hotel management; not to possess this knowledge and skill is a drawback which often leads to ruin. There must, of course, be enough of every dish to go around, but there should be little or none left when the meal is finished. As a result of such close figuring, after feeding our help and setting aside the (craps for rendering purposes, we practically use up everything ourselves, and have very little Indeed to give away to the needy people who ask for our broken victuals.”