From the recollections of my grandmother, Eileen Creevey Hall, who was the great-grand-daughter of Julie P. Smith, whose letters I often take excerpts from.   Eileen grew up spending summers at Esperanza, along with Carlotta and Kennedy, her two siblings.  The following events are from the 1910-1925 era.

“There was only one part of the house which was strictly off limits to us. That was the area south of the dining-room door which led into the domain of The Cook. No children to run about and get in her way! And no wonder! She was responsible for three full meals a day, plus the tea. As there often ten or more people in the dining room, and four maids, and a coachman to be fed, you can easily imagine that she was completely occupied all day.*  The big iron range was never cool and it must have been a difficult job to do all that work. And we had to be prompt!”

The kitchen is on its third or fourth iteration since 1893.  The big iron cook stove is long gone, unless it is the thing lurking in the basement?,  the kitchen put in by Eileen’s mother, Lucy, post WWII lasted with only some changes to the stove and fridge until c.2004.

*Often more; that count only included the ten people who stayed all summer on a routine basis, it didn’t include other guests who might stay anywhere from one night to several weeks.