"Rufus-Estes" (1857-19??)

Worked for the Pullman Company,as a chef looking after the

unimaginably luxurious private Pullman railway cars that travelied across America in the second half of the 1800s.He had worked his up from a porter.He later became a cookbook author.


Rufus early childhood years were caught up in the American Civil War (1861-1865).He was born in Murray County,Tennessee.He was given the last name of Estes,because that was the last name of the man (D.J.Estes) who owned his family.He had two younger,and six older brothers (two of them died during the American Civil war) making for nine children in total.


In 1867,his family moved to Nashville,Tennessee to be with his grandmamma where he was able to attend one term of school,while being expect to do many chores around the house.In 1873,at age 16,he started working in a restaurant in Nashville,and stayed there until he was 21.In 1881,he went to Chicago,where he worked for 2 years (it's presumed Rufus worked in a restaurant.)


In 1883,he began work for Pullman.Rufus traveled between 1894 & 1897,going up to Vancouver and sailing as far as Tokyo.From 1897-1907 managed a private car for the United States Steel Corporation.


Over the course of his career,the people he managed a Pullman for included American Presidents Benjamin Harrison (1889-1903) and Grover Cleveland(1884-1888,1892-1896),Spanish Princess Eulalie (in 1893),Sir Henry Stanley,the British expolorer (of "Dr.Livingston,I presume" fame),and Ignace Jan Paderewski (1860-1941),the Polish pianist and statesman.


In 1911,Refus published his recipe book," Good things to Eat,as suggested by Rufus: A collection of Practical Recipes For Preparing Meats,Game,Fowl,Fish,Puddings,Pastries, Etc.",containing over 600 recipes.


The book shows the two halves of his personality,varying between his southern rural roots,and the elegant private,ultra-rich world that he became a part of.Rufus gives recipes to use up unripened tomatoes,grapes,and melons that in the late fall would otherwise perish and go to waste when the frost came.Rufus gives fancy recipes that draw on truffles,clearly aimed at the carriage-trade.And,he gives some simple recipes that would be enjoyed by anyone:corncakes,fritters,steamed breads,crumpets,muffins,fried corn,and fried cauliflower.


He starts the book off with "Hints to Kitchen Maids" in which you can tell he's used to having staff to direct from his Pullman years--staff who knew the exact order in which he expected things to be done.