GIANT EATERS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 59, 3 December 1919, Page 7

GIANT EATERS

(By "An American," in the "Daily Mail.") I have estimated that the Danes eat, On an average, every two hours throughout tho.day, and that the.v eat more than twice as much as we Americans, who eat half as much again as the Britishers. Thoclimate, bracing and harsh; in which sleep is a minor essential, has a lot to do with it. The Dane, too, is a confirmed Testaurant-goer, he lives in cafes and restaurants—that is, in an atmosphere of food. ■ ® ane nl y acquaintance eats as follows:— 8 a.m.—Several cups of cbft'ee. eiirht or Jiine slices of thick bread with thicker butter. 10 a.m.—Breakfast, corresponding to our lunch. Ingredienls: llacon and eggs, beefsteak and-potatocs much bread and butter, beer, cream cakes-all in double quantities compared with American standards.

At 1 p.m., Smorbrod. This the national dish, and consists of 58 different varinlions of fish, meat - , . vegetables, cheese, mado up iii every eoneeivable form of delicacy well and truly laid on thick bread with thicker butter. For the Dane is an eater between meals, and the sinorbrod is his sland-bv. The most popular is a four-storied affair, and is tynieal of all the 5S varieties— .the same list is handed you in every restaurant. It consists of bread, butter, cold roast beef, fried onions, and a fried egg —all laid ono on top of the other. It costs only a shilling, and is a lunch in itself. But, alas! the smorbrod does not agree with war-trained American and English interiors!

The Danes eat smorbrod* all day lon» in the stalls .at the theatre, at the kinem#,, in the concert hall, even at such events as fi boxing contest. Whenever they would sit down, as we do to a cup of tea, the chances are they will order smorbrods—three and four'of them. They do not call this "eating." They cannot supply another word, but wax indignant if. catching them at a. smorhmd, you say, "Great heavens, you're, eating- again!"" At •( p.m. my young Dane develops a craving for coffee and creameries. He gobbles tip the latter like a femished chorus girl. Whenever you sit down in a cafe in Copenhagen. na=lries bulging with cream, are automatically put in front of yon no matter what time o*' the day or night if is, and the waiter thinks vou a very poor mortal should vou decline them. . . ' "\ou will have observed how our young Daiin has been wedp'n? himself iin' with food since 8 a.m. Now a very striking thing occurs. At fi p.m. he has dinner. Dinner consists -of several smorbrods taken as hors-d'oeuvre, n couple of fish, n wienerschnitzel (a form of fried veal) or its- equivalent, echeloned with notatoes, beer, coffee, creameries. I have watched- in wonder this crowning meal "going down,"

Nor is the Dane's EifUe Ma'*v even now to be left in neaee. Al 11 p.m., after his nightly outing (all Copenhagen ■makes merry every night, ruin or fine), our Dane sits down to a -upne'- of lobst'T and creameries.. All the world ami his fru worshin the lobster here in Denmark. You see children eating lobster in their perambulators.

"Rating is .1 serious. pos?iMr Iho serious,. hufinpss in life in Uenuiiirli. It is eternally under The fffecfc "f nil the owfrodin" that n n is rather paradoxical, Of thp Dunw Tiin heavily lo fat. Donnir-vV is f hp land of nlumn pd'»!pscen« ,f \ f ; ?l P'idd!° m/o, and immobilp dotage. ihi« <? sad. ."For Hiosp who favour H"? ir. Hip T>r»r>e *ould otherwise possibly be thp handFomwt race in TCurone. Hut fsif kills expression, and beauty is expression.