Peeking Behind the Wallpaper

Auto-biography of a chef who began apprenticeship in 1946 in war - torn Austria and, after an odyssey through kitchens in many countries became Executive Chef of The Waldorf-Astoria. During the Bi-centennial he supervised meals for the most powerful people in the world. The book is about glorious hotel dining and memorable banquets, including menus and kitchen work sheets. There are vignettes about accounting follies, catering directors, kosher caterers and managers,. There are quirky stories about captains, waiters and cooks. The book looks into the kitchen of the St. Regis Hotel when it was still owned by Mrs. Astor, with menus from the legendary Maisonette and King Cole Bar. There are Plaza menus from 1928, stories about holidays in hotels, and permanent residents. There is advice about cooking and long forgotten classical dishes such as terrapin and Crab Meat Remick. See menus of famous gourmet dinners, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Margrethe of Denmark luncheons, see kitchen work sheets and read about disasters and close calls. Read about catering directors and working for Mrs. Helmsley.