The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book

"The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book" by Victor Hirtzler is a manual from the early 1900s. It is filled with cooking advice and recipes that show the fancy food served at the famous Hotel St. Francis, where the author worked as a chef. The book is all about the skills of cooking, especially for hotels and restaurants, showing many different dishes that use fresh, seasonal foods and fancy ways of cooking. The book starts with the author explaining how much he loves cooking, and the things he learned from great chefs in Europe and America. Then, it gives detailed menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the first few days of January. These menus include different dishes, along with detailed instructions and ingredients, with classic recipes like "Squab Pot Pie" and "Raspberry Water Ice," showing how good the author is at making elegant food. The careful planning of the menus shows a way to think about making meals that can help professional chefs and home cooks.