Wolfe is the last contestant to taste the dishes, but halfway through he summons Archie into the private dining room where the tasting is taking place Philip Laszio has been murdered, stabbed in the back and hidden behind a room divider. The other nine Maîtres present, and Wolfe, are challenged to taste each dish, and write down the missing ingredients. Laszio prepares nine numbered dishes of Sauce Printemps, with each dish missing a different vital ingredient.
After the dinner, a tasting test is held, based on a challenge made to Laszio. Tensions are further increased when Blanc refuses to tolerate Laszio's company and Vukcic begins to succumb to the charms of his ex-wife, who appears to be seducing him.
The next night, at a welcoming dinner for Les Quinze Maîtres, Philip Laszio insults the host, Louis Servan, another Maître, and his head chef when he criticises the cooking. His passion inflamed, Berin threatens to kill Laszio. Laszio also stole Vukcic's ex-wife Dina from him and the position of Head Chef at New York's Hotel Churchill from Leon Blanc, another Maître. In the course of this discussion, Berin angrily denounces Philip Laszio, another Maître, who serves an inferior substitute for saucisse minuit in his restaurant. Berin is flattered, but scorns Wolfe's offer of $3,000 for the private use of the recipe. Wolfe tasted the sausage once and has coveted Berin's closely guarded recipe for years. As a courtesy to Wolfe, Archie has been invited to the gathering by Marko Vukcic, Wolfe's oldest friend and one of Les Quinze Maîtres, so that he can accompany Wolfe.ĭuring the trip, Vukcic introduces Wolfe to another member of Les Quinze Maîtres, Jerome Berin, the originator of saucisse minuit. ) To attend, Wolfe must suppress his loathing of travel and trains on the 14-hour train ride from New York City.
The group is meeting at the Kanawha Spa resort in West Virginia (possibly based on the famous actual resort The Greenbrier. Nero Wolfe accepts an invitation to address Les Quinze Maîtres ("The Fifteen Masters"), an international group of master chefs, on the subject of American contributions to fine cuisine. Vladimir Bobri created the title illustration for Too Many Cooks, serialized in six issues of The American Magazine beginning in March 1938
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