resist quoting here the lucid
opinion of a French cook, as
related by Gertrude Stein.
‘The dinner was cooked by
Hélène. I must tell a little about
Hélène.
‘Hélène had already been three
years with Gertrude Stein and her
brother. She was one of those
admirable bonnes, in other words
excellent maids of all work, good
cooks thoroughly occupied with the
welfare of their employers and of
themselves, firmly convinced that
everything purchasable was far too
dear. “Oh, but it is dear!” was her
answer to any question. She wasted