It seems Mr. Carson of Downton Abbey fame has established butlers as the go-to guys for all matters to do with good housekeeping, good behaviour and good entertaining. The butler these days is seen as a masculine version of Heloise, Miss Manners and Julia Child rolled into one.
But not all butlers are British, don’t you know. Charles MacPherson is Canada’s superstar in white gloves. Charles MacPherson Associates operates a butler school in Toronto, training staff for private homes, resorts and grand hotels. He makes regular appearances on The Marilyn Denis Show (Saturdays at 11 a.m. on CTV2) and writes for a Toronto newspaper (you can find links to his columns on his website, charlesmacpherson.com).
MacPherson’s new book is divided into five parts, kicking off with a little history of household service. Here, you learn about the hierarchy of servants in great houses of a century ago, and how the house-management trade nearly vanished in the mid-20th century, only to revive at the end of the century as a respectable profession.
The next section explains the roles of butlers today. The title covers several career paths — a private household servant for rich folk would have a different life than a corporate butler, who likely has more regular working hours and a benefits package.
Moving right along, MacPherson tackles the tricky minefield of entertaining etiquette.
He explains the things you’ll need to give a dinner party in style. He shows the various ways of setting a table with three sets of knives and forks for different courses. Little diagrams show how to fold napkins into fancy patterns. There’s the French lily, the starfish fold or the clown hat, among others.
One neat trick is building a champagne tower. Saucer-style champagne glasses are arranged into a pyramid, and the bubbly is poured into the top glass so it spills over, filling the glasses below until the entire pyramid is filled. MacPherson warns that the glasses get wet on the outside because of the wine dripping down. It has its drawbacks, but it looks pretty darned skookum at a wedding or other special occasion.
The section on table manners would not have been needed by readers of generations gone by.
At one time, people learned table manners at their own parents’ dinner tables, when families routinely ate together and parents had the time and felt the need to nag their kids about the only proper way to wield a fish knife. (And in case you were wondering, you don’t need a fish knife at all unless you are serving fish with bones in it, according to the butler.)
The last section is on the art of housekeeping. The butler offers a sample calendar for major household chores, such as a major clean of the barbecue equipment and the outdoor entertaining areas in June, so they’re ready for summer cookouts, and installing holiday lights and cleaning the silver, so they’re ready for Christmas decorating and entertaining.
MacPherson’s 10 rules of housekeeping include one tip that a lot of people could use: Don’t inflict those horrible chemical air fresheners on your family or friends. A clean home does not need them.
MacPherson’s light, bright writing style makes for a fast, enjoyable read. And the information isn’t all arcane ritual only for rich folk. He offers some useful tips for young people keeping house in their first apartments. For instance, on page 69, he says:
“Organizing an afternoon tea is a fantastic way to entertain without fussing too much. If you live in a small apartment, it’s much easier to invite family and friends to tea than to dinner, and avoid having to do a lot of cooking. It’s also more economical, while at the same time elegant.”
He then goes on to tell the young host how to organize a tea party.