Page:Richards and Treat - Quantity Cookery.djvu/21

Rh may have some variety in his meal without prohibitive expense.

Color is important in inducing appetite. The cafeteria counter displaying a buff-colored pie, snow pudding, rice custard and yellow cake does not tempt patrons to buy. A basket of fruit, a bright-colored gelatin dessert or attractive garnishes may transform a drab meal into a most interesting one. Particularly in all kinds of plate service, attention must be paid to color, for while clashing color combinations must be avoided, some color must be used to give the food an appetizing appearance. A great deal of our food is very neutral in color and admits of a liberal use of garnishes of one kind or another.

As a rule articles of food served together should be of diverse shapes. One may enjoy a croquette, a stuffed baked potato, peas in timbales and a roll in the same meal, but it is usually unwise to serve them on the same plate.

The necessity for neatness and orderly arrangement of servings is obvious. At large parties where there is plate service it is wise to make up a sample plate before the time of serving in order to determine the best arrangement of food and in order actually to show those who are to dish up the food how each plate must look when it is placed before the guest. One who is inexperienced in planning menus, especially for parties, should accustom himself to visualizing the meal as it will appear when written upon the menu card and as it will appear upon the plate. A menu which has seemed very good when planned will often be unsatisfactory when actually served because some of the above points have been overlooked.

Odor and temperature are important factors in quality. It would seem superfluous to say that hot things