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1846:
George Auguste Escoffier was thought to have been born on
the 28th October 1846, in Villeneuve Loubet, a village which
nestles peacefully below its mediaeval castle, in the neighbourhood
of Nice, in the Provence region, and died February 12, 1935.
He modernised and simplified the elaborate cuisine created
by the 18th-century master chef, Marie CAREME.
As a young boy, he grew up in happy family surroundings.
His father was a blacksmith and he also grew tobacco plants.
He was known to be good-humoured, strong and a pleasing
man. His fine physique, slim, strong body and open smiling
face conveyed a feeling of health and friendliness which
made him popular with everyone.
Up to the age of twelve, Auguste went to the local school.
The enthusiasm which he showed for drawing and everything
which gave him the opportunity to interpret the beauty around
him seemed to indicate the vocation of an artist. But the
child's future was to be very different. Perhaps it was
the personality of the boy's grandmother that we must recognise
to be one of the factors determining his future. Auguste
loved and admired his grandmother, and perhaps it was at
play in her kitchen that the desire was born to devote his
life to the creation of artistic delicacies.
1859 : Escoffier was thirteen years old. Time then came
for him to learn a trade. "By all means let him devote
his leisure time to art, but whoever made a living by it?"
This reasoning, full of peasant good sense, was what prompted
Escoffier's father to take the boy to Nice, where his brother
had opened Le Restaurant Francais. Auguste's uncle had succeeded
in establishing a reputation for his restaurant which was
to last until 1910.
Life was hard in the kitchens in those days, all the more
so, for an apprentice and his uncle granted Auguste no special
favours. Apart from the work of the kitchen, he was initiated
into all the household tasks. He knew how to select and
buy provisions as well as organise the service. Escoffier
always remembered with gratitude the strict discipline and
severity of his early training.
1865 : When he was nineteen, the owner of the Le Petit Moulin
Rouge, the most fashionable restaurant in Paris, noticed
him during a stay in Nice and invited him to join his team.
There he stayed, but for a brief military training, until
1870 when the Franco-Prussian War broke out and he was recalled
to the army. He was appointed Chef de Cuisine. There is
no doubt that it was those days of siege which forced Escoffier
to think so seriously about the necessity of preparing tinned
food. He was the first chef to study thoroughly the technique
of canning meat, vegetables and sauces. Escoffier retumed
to the Le Petit Moulin Rouge after the war and remained
their Head Chef until 1878. It said he took to wearing built
up shoes so as to work better on the stoves (he was a man
of diminitive size).
From 1871 Escoffier worked in a number of restaurants; mostly
in Paris, until he opened his own restaurant in Cannes;
Le Faisan d'Or (The Golden Pheasant)
1878 : His next appointment was to the Management of the
Maison Chevet, at the Palais Royal. This was a very fashionable
restaurant particularly for big dinners and official banquets.
Escoffier's next move took him to La Maison Maire, where
Monsieur Paillard entrusted him with the management of his
kitchens.
1880 : The main event during this period was his marriage
to Delphine Daffis, the daughter of a publisher.
Writing poetry herself, she contributed to his first publication
in book form entitled 'Les Fleurs en Cire' (Flowers in Wax)
Escoffier wrote and published a great deal, and he is still
consulted as an authority.
The best known culinary writings of Escoffier are.-
1886 - Le Traite sur L'art de Travailler les Fleurs en Cire
1903 - Le Guide Culinaire
1910 - Les Fleurs en Cire (a new edition)
1911 - Le Carnet d'Epicure
1912 - Le Livre des Menus
1927 - Le Riz
1929 - La Morue
1934 - Ma Cuisine
Its written work is, without
question, that of a man far in advance of his time, yet
he never failed to acknowledge the contribution of his predecessors.
And though circumstances later kept him and his wife apart
for long periods, they remained profoundly devoted to one
another until the very end, 55 years later. They had two
sons and a daughter.
1884 : They left for Monte Carlo, (city in Monaco on the
Mediterranean Coast) where the gambling casino was enjoying
rapidly growing fame. He was Directeur de Cuisine of the
Grand Hotel and during the next six years divided his time
between the Grand Hotel in Winter and the Hotel National
in Lucerne, Switzerland, in the summer.
It was here that Escoffier met Cesar Ritz who came from
a small village in the Swiss Valais. Ritz started as a hotel
groom and rapidly worked his way up to head waiter and into
Hotel Management. The mutual understanding and teamwork
between and Ritz was to bring about the most significant
changes and modern development in the hotel industry.
1890 : Along with Escanard, Escoffier and
Ritz were called to the Savoy Hotel in London as General
Manager and Head of Restaurant Services respectively. Their
success was beyond expectation. Hotels all over the world
grew out of this famous partnership. They included the Savoy
and Carlton in London, the Grand Hotel, Rome. The Ritz Hotels
in Paris, London, New York, Montreal, Philadelphia and many
more. Many of the hotels throughout the world were established
on the guarantee of their reputation, the very names Ritz
and Carlton being synonymous with quality and a high degree
of comfort.
Cesar Ritz and Escoffier, each in his own sphere, organised
teams of first class workers who went out into all the corners
of the world on ships and in hotels spreading the fame of
French cuisine and comfort. Escoffier enjoyed considerable
powers and had extensive means at his disposal, his role
was both complex and difficult. Without losing sight of
the commercial considerations involved, he was expected
several times daily and at any hour to serve the kind of
meals expected by a numerous and exigent clientele with
very limited time to spare. It was essential to have some
dishes prepared in advance for those who had not the time
to wait. He had to keep in mind not only the short time
allowed for the actual consumption of the meal, but also
the often non-existent, time allowed by business men for
the digestive process.
The work of the kitchen had to be so organised that the
quality of the food was not impaired by the speed with which
it had to be served or by the number of clients. Hygienic
considerations had to be taken into account also, and, last
but not least, in a country where the supply of provisions
is often more difficult than in France, he had to organise
a system of marketing which reconciled peerless quality
with an economic price.
Each evening he had to think up new menus so as never to
be found wanting by the gourmets attracted to the Savoy
by his presence. Escoffier created many of his famous dishes
in the honour of his guests, most notably:
Peach Melba, in honour of the Australian Singer, Nellie
Melba. During 1892 and 1893, Madame Melba lived at the Savoy
Hotel. She was singing at Covent Garden Opera House, and
Escoffier, who was passionately interested in the theatre,
was an enthusiastic listener.
The Majestic Swan which appears on the scene, gave him the
idea of preparing a surprise for the brilliant singer. The
following evening Melba had invited some friends to dinner.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Escoffier had peaches
served on a bed of vanilla ice-cream in a metal dish, set
between two wings of a magnificent swan, shaped out of a
block of ice and covered with a layer of icing sugar.
lt was on the day of the opening of the Carlton Hotel, London,
that Escoffier decided on the flavour which was to give
this dessert its real claim to distinction. Out of the whole
range of fruit flavours, he chose raspberry, thus "Peach
Melba" officially came into being.
Chaud - Froid Jeannette; In 1881 the Jeannette, a ship equipped
for an expedition to the North Pole, became icebound. The
whole crew died except two sailors who after repeated efforts
managed to reach the Siberian coast.
lt was in memory of this expedition that Escoffier wanted
to give the name of this ship to one of his greatest culinary
successes "Les Supremes de Volailles Jeannette".
Cuisses de Nymphe Aurore : (a dish of frogs legs)for the
Prince of Wales
Rejane Salad
Rachel Mignonettes of Quail : in homage to two great actresses.
Tournedos Rossini : named after the great Italian composer,
Gioacchino Rossini
Not to mention all the recipes of his we still use today,
is it then no wonder he gained the title; King of Chefs'
and Chef of the Kings'
1898 : Cesar and Escoffier opened the Hotel Ritz in Paris,
which was the most modern of the time. It had electric lights,
large bathrooms built into cupboards. A wine cellar that
held 4000 bottles of vintage an da reserve cellar a few
blocks away that held another 180,000 ! However at their
instance the ovens were fired by coke or wood.
1899 : The Carlton Hotel was opened in the very heart of
London. The kitchens, administered by Escoffier who had
a team of sixty cooks under his control, were so organised
as to be able easily to serve menus a' la carte, a practice
introduced for the first time at the Carlton. lt was not
unusual, particularly on a Sunday to serve anything up to
500 clients at each meal. Escoffier was to spend more than
twenty years there. In 1901 the team broke up when Cesar
had a nervous breakdown (dying in 1918). Escoffier remained
at the Carlton until 1919
1902/3 : Saw the publication of his first book; Le Guide
Culinaire, an amazing compendium of around 5000 recipes
and garnishes. He was associated with E. Fetu and P. Traisneau
in founding in 1903 l'Association Culinaire Francaise de
Secours Muteuls, a friendly society for French cooks working
in England.
1904 : The German Shipping Company,
Hamburg - Amerika Lines, decided to introduce an a' la carte
restaurant service for the more illustrious of the passengers
on their liners. The service was to be named "The RitzCarlton
Restaurants". Escoffier was invited to plan the kitchens.
1912 :Again the Hamburg - Amerika
Shipping Line requested Escoffier's services for the inauguration
of the kitchens. During the official trial cruise the Press
gave it ample publicity. They headlined "Cuisine Hailed
on Sea as on Land".
Aboard the liner Imperator shortly before the start of World
War I, as the Larousse Gastronomique tells it. The Kaiser,
Emperor William II, was so impressed with the job that the
supervisor of the ship's imperial kitchens had done that
he turned to him and said, "I am the Emperor of Germany,
but you are the Emperor of chefs."
1914 : Auguste Escoffier was sixty-eight
years of age. He continued to direct the Carlton's kitchens.
In spite of his small stature, he displayed the same energy
and strength as had his father.
1919 : At the age of seventy-three,
Escoffier decided to leave the Carlton and to retire to
Monte Carlo and rejoin his wife. Escoffier, however, could
not adapt himself to retirement. At Monte Carlo he met once
again the widow of his friend Jean Giroix, with whom he
worked at the Petit Mouline Rouge, and whose place he had
taken at the Grand Hotel, Monaco. Escoffier accepted her
proposal that he should collaborate with her in the administration
of the Hotel de I'Ermitage. He also assisted in the development
of the Riviera Hotel in Upper Monte Carlo.
1920? : On 22nd March, the Commander
of the Legion of Honour and Director of Technical Education,
conferred on Escoffier the Order of Officer of the Legion
of Honour. Escoffier was the first chef to be honoured.
Escoffier often composed menus himself
when he knew the clients. When he did not know them, the
head waiter would give brief indications of their nationality,
of how many men and how many women made up the party, and
of any preferences they had disclosed. This information
enabled Escoffier to adapt the menu to suit the guests.
The first menu composed
by Escoffier was on the 16 December 1897.
Escoffier introduced notable changes also in the presentation
of his dishes and even in the actual choice of china. His
primary consideration was the comfort of the client. He
chose fine china, silver, linen and glassware which enhanced
the superb food and wine. He introduced the most practical
of kitchen utensils and those best suited to the quality
of the cuisine.
1928 : Received the Rosette of an Officer of the Legion
by the German Emperor William II.
1935 : On the 12th February, a few short days after the
death of his wife, Escoffier died in his home, La Villa
Fernand, 8 bis Avenue de la Costa, Monte Carlo in his eighty-ninth
year. His remains are buried in the family vault at Villeneuve
- Loubet. The house where he was born was transformed into
a museum of culinary art in 1966, at the suggestion of one
of his cooks.
Footnotes:
At the beginning of Escoffier's career,
cooking was not a profession held in high esteem. This was
due partly to the laxity which could so easily creep in
and also to the rigorous conditions of work. The cook spends
the greater part of his time around the stove in overwhelming
heat and in the midst of the smell of cooking, which, when
concentrated, is sometimes almost unbearable. He works continuously
without a moment's respite. For these reasons, in the mid-nineteenth
century drinking was inevitably rife in the kitchen. Escoffier
was quick to realise the risks in giving way to such excesses.
The cuisine suffered, the atmosphere
in the kitchen suffered and the appearance of certain old
cooks, undermined by years of work in such conditions and
by their intemperance, gave his food for thought. He, with
his small stature, was destined to suffer even more than
others from the heat of the stoves. However, he never allowed
himself to drink or smoke. He made it a point of honour
to preserve his impeccable taste. Later, when he had become
a chef, he called upon a famous doctor to invent a pleasant
and healthy drink which would relieve the discomfort of
cooks working in such conditions.
Thus in all the hotel kitchens which
he planned, there was always a vast kettle containing a
barley drink. This allowed Escoffier to prohibit the drinking
of alcohol in the kitchen. In temperance also provoked vulgarity.
There was swearing and shouting, and young apprentices were
often brutally treated.' Escoffier fought first against
professional slang and vulgarity of speech. Oaths and vulgar
display of temper were no longer allowed. On his insistance
there were to be no swearing and brutality of apprentices
(as was the norm) and more thirst quenching drinks(non-alcoholic)
were made available to combat the heat (beer and wine He
himself would leave the kitchen rather than lose his temper
with the staff.
Escoffier also insisted on the cleanliness
of his employees during working hours, and also encouraged
them to dress and behave better outside. He was concerned
too, with his employee's educational status, and advised
them to acquire the culture which their professional training,
often began at a very early age, had prevented them from
attaining.
The kitchen brigade as we know it
of Chef de parties, was a system devised and implemented
by Escoffier. Kitchens had for centuries been seperated
into sections, but it was August who devised an organised
system, to ensure there was no doubling up work and things
properly organised. Escoffiers kitchens were said to be
well run and organisedEscoffier introduced the genuine frying-pan
into English Life.
He was also responsible for simplifying
menus, instead of vast arrays of dishes served all at once;
Service à la Française (as was the practice),
it was Escoffier that wrote them down and served in the
order they appeared; Service à la Russe.
"I well remember a shooting party
given by one of my friends who owned a vast property in
an exquisite valley of the Haute-Savoie. My friend had chosen
this domain so that he could go there from time to time,
far from the irritations of a too active life. It was the
beginning of November, a period when the shooting offers
particularly attractive sport, especially in these rather
wild districts. About ten guests were assembled on the Thursday
evening, and it was decided that at dawn the following morning
we should all set out, dispersing as chance directed, in
search of a few coveys of partridge. Our meal, that evening,
was composed of a cream of pumpkin soup with little croutons
fried in butter, a young turkey roasted on the spit accompanied
by a large country sausage and a salad of potatoes, dandelions
and beetroot, and followed by a big bowl of pears cooked
in red wine and served with whipped cream. Next morning
at the agreed hour, we were all ready, and furnished with
the necessary provisions and accompanied by local guides,
we climbed the rocky paths, real goat tracks, without too
much difficulty and before long the fusillade began. It
was those members of the party who had gone ahead who were
opening the shoot by bagging two hares; the day promised
to be fairly fruitful. And indeed so it turned out, since
we were back at the house by about four o'clock, somewhat
tired, but proud to count out: three hares, a very young
chamois, eleven partridges, three capercailzies, six young
rabbits, and a quantity of small birds. After a light collation,
we patiently awaited dinner contemplating the while the
admirable panorama which lay before us. The game which we
had shot was reserved for the next day's meals.
Our dinner that evening consisted
of a cabbage, potato, and kohlrabi soup, augmented with
three young chickens, an enormous piece of lean bacon, and
a big farmhouse sausage. The broth, with some of the mashed
vegetables, was poured over slices of toast, which made
an excellent rustic soup. What remained of the vegetables
were arranged on a large dish around the chickens, the bacon,
and the sausage; here was the wherewithal to comfort the
most robust of stomachs, and each of us did due honour to
this good family dish.To follow, we were served with a leg
of mutton, tender and pink, accompanied by a puree of chestnuts.
Then, a surprise-- but one which was not entirely unexpected
from our host, who had an excellent cook--an immense, hermetically
sealed terrine, which, placed in the middle of the table,
gave out, when it was uncovered, a marvelous scent of truffles,
partridges, and aromatic herbs. This terrine contained eight
young partridges, amply truffled and cased in fat bacon,
a little bouquet of mountain herbs and several glasses of
fine-champagne cognac. All had been lengthily and gently
cooked in hot embers. At the same time was served a celery
salad. As for the wines, we had first the excellent local
wine, then Burgundy, and finally a famous brand of champagne.
The dinner ended with beautiful local fruit, and fine liqueurs.
The next day's luncheon was composed
partly of the trophies of the previous day's shooting; the
pure mountain air had advantageously taken the place of
any aperitif; nor did we have any hors-d'oeuvre but instead,
some char from the lac du Bourget, cooked and left to get
cold in white wine from our host's own vineyards. These
were accompanied by a completely original sauce, and here
is the recipe: Recipe: Grated horseradish, mixed with an
equal quantity of skinned walnuts finely chopped; a dessertspoon
of powdered sugar, a pinch of salt, the juice of two lemons,
enough fresh cream to obtain a sauce neither too thick nor
too liquid. We all carried away with us the happiest memory
of this beautiful country of Savoie and of the very hospitable
welcome which we had received. For my part, I have never
forgotten the sauce of horseradish and walnuts."
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