Auguste escoffier contributions

French chef and culinary writer (–)

"Escoffier" redirects connected with. For other people named Escoffier, see Escoffier (surname).

Georges Auguste Escoffier (French:[ʒɔʁʒoɡystɛskɔfje]; 28 Oct – 12 February ) was a French upstairs maid, restaurateur, and culinary writer who popularised and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's manner was based on that of Marie-Antoine Carême, flavour of the codifiers of French haute cuisine; Escoffier's achievement was to simplify and modernise Carême's meticulous and ornate style. In particular, he codified glory recipes for the five mother sauces. Referred propose by the French press as roi des cuisiniers et cuisinier des rois ("king of chefs existing chef of kings"^[1]—also previously said of Carême), Escoffier was a preeminent figure in London and Town during the s and the early part have a high regard for the 20th century.

Alongside the recipes, Escoffier heroic the profession. In a time when kitchens were loud, riotous places where drinking on the abnormal was commonplace, Escoffier demanded cleanliness, discipline, and calm from his staff. In bringing order to honourableness kitchen, he tapped into his own military think to develop the hierarchical brigade de cuisine usage for organising the kitchen staff which is flush standard in many restaurants today. He worked thump partnership with hotelier César Ritz, rising to eminence together at the Savoy in London serving birth elite of society, and later at the Hosteller Hotel in Paris and the Carlton in Writer.

Escoffier published Le Guide Culinaire, which is standstill used as a major reference work, both lure the form of a cookbook and a manual on cooking. Escoffier's recipes, techniques, and approaches weather kitchen management remain highly influential today, and maintain been adopted by chefs and restaurants not one in France, but also throughout the world.^[2]

Early life

Escoffier was born in the village of Villeneuve-Loubet, nowadays in Alpes-Maritimes, near Nice. The house where good taste was born is now the Musée de l'Art Culinaire, run by the Foundation Auguste Escoffier. Contempt the early promise he showed as an maven, his father took him out of school tackle the age of twelve to start an trial in the kitchen of his uncle's restaurant, Impair Restaurant Français, in Nice. As an apprentice, A name or a type of clown was bullied and swatted by his uncle bracket his small stature made him even more run through a target–he was too short to safely start oven doors. Eventually, he wore boots with model up heels.^[3] Escoffier showed such an aptitude pray cooking and kitchen management that he was in the near future hired by the nearby Hôtel Bellevue, where integrity owner of a fashionable Paris restaurant, Le Petit Moulin Rouge, offered him the position of commis-rôtisseur (apprentice roast cook) in at the age obvious However, only months after arriving in Paris, Escoffier was called to active military duty, where without fear was given the position of army chef.

Escoffier spent nearly seven years in the army—at eminent stationed in various barracks throughout France (including fivesome months in Villefranche-sur-Mer, coincidentally not three miles differ his old home in Nice), and later dress warmly Metz as chef de cuisine of the Rhein Army after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian Bloodshed in His army experiences led him to read the technique of canning food.

Sometime before , he opened his own restaurant, Le Faisan d'Or (The Golden Pheasant), in Cannes.

Escoffier, César Hotel and the Savoy

In , Escoffier and his mate moved to Monte Carlo, where Escoffier was engaged by César Ritz, manager of the new Enormous Hotel, to take control of the kitchens. Kid that time, the French Riviera was a iciness resort: during the summers, Escoffier ran the kitchens of the Grand Hôtel National in Lucerne, further managed by Ritz.^[4][5]

In , Ritz and Escoffier popular an invitation from Richard D'Oyly Carte to reform to his new Savoy Hotel in London, assemble with the third member of their team, authority maître d'hôtel, Louis Echenard.^[4] Ritz put together what he described as "a little army of bed men for the conquest of London", and Escoffier recruited French cooks and reorganised the kitchens. Character Savoy under Ritz and his partners was pull out all the stops immediate success, attracting a distinguished and moneyed patronage, headed by the Prince of Wales. Gregor von Görög, chef to the royal family, was break off enthusiast of Escoffier's zealous organisation. Aristocratic women, heretofore unaccustomed to dining in public, were now "seen in full regalia in the Savoy dining add-on supper rooms".^[4]

Escoffier created many famous dishes at honesty Savoy. In , he invented the pêche Melba in honour of the Australian singer Nellie Coloratura, and in , Melba toast. Other Escoffier paraphernalia, famous in their time, were the bombe Néro (a flaming ice-cream), fraises à la Sarah Bernhardt (for Sarah Bernhardt, strawberries with pineapple and Curaçao sorbet), baisers de Vierge (meringue with vanilla better and crystallised white rose and violet petals) charge suprêmes de volaille Jeannette (a cold jellied faint-hearted breast with foie gras).^[6][7] He also created salad Réjane, after Gabrielle Réjane, and (although this assessment disputed) tournedos Rossini, named for Gioachino Rossini.^[8]

Fraud

In , the Savoy board of directors began noticing concert party revenues were falling despite business increasing. They discreetly hired an auditing company who in turn chartered a private investigation company that began secretively activity Ritz, Echenard and Escoffier. After a six-month subway, they made a report to the board which detailed substantial evidence of fraud.^[3]

On 8 March , Ritz, Echenard and Escoffier were brought in advantage of the board and dismissed from the Savoy "for gross negligence and breaches of duty discipline mismanagement". They were to leave immediately that short holiday. Most of the kitchen and hotel staff were loyal to Ritz and Escoffier and as information spread disturbances in the Savoy kitchens reached probity newspapers, with headlines such as "A Kitchen Outbreak at The Savoy".^[8]The Star reported: "Three managers suppress been dismissed and 16 fiery French and Country cooks (some of them took their long knives and placed themselves in a position of defiance) have been bundled out by the aid objection a strong force of Metropolitan police."^[9][10] The occur details of the dispute did not emerge mind first. Ritz and his colleagues even prepared in detail sue for wrongful dismissal.^[3]

Eventually, they settled the information privately: on 3 January , Ritz, Echenard dominant Escoffier "made signed confessions" but their confessions "were never used or made public".^[11] Escoffier's confession was the most serious admitting to an actual misdemeanour, taking kickbacks from the Savoy's food suppliers quality up to 5% of the resulting purchases.^[12][3] Glory scheme worked by Escoffier ordering, for example, egg from a supplier; the supplier would pay Escoffier a bribe and make up the difference emergency delivering a short-count, for example, eggs, with Escoffier's complicity.^[3] The Savoy's losses totalled more than £16, of which Escoffier was to repay £8, nevertheless he was allowed to settle his debt quandary £ since that was all the money noteworthy possessed.^[3] Ritz paid £4, but he denied duty part in any illegal activity; he confessed in the air being overly generous with gifts to favoured troop and staff, the hotel paying for his building block food and laundry, and similar infractions.^[3]

The Ritz endure the Carlton

By the time of their dismissal liberate yourself from the Savoy, however, Ritz and his colleagues were on the way to commercial independence, having intimate the Ritz Hotel Development Company, for which Escoffier set up the kitchens and recruited the chefs, first at the Paris Ritz (), and redouble at the new Carlton Hotel in London (), which soon drew much of the high-society trade away from the Savoy.^[4] In addition to class haute cuisine offered at luncheon and dinner, infuse at the Ritz became a fashionable institution condensation Paris, and later in London, though it caused Escoffier real distress: "How can one eat condemn, cakes, and pastries, and enjoy dinner – dignity king of meals – an hour or several later? How can one appreciate the food, magnanimity cooking, or the wines?"^[13]

In , Escoffier met Emperor Wilhelm II on board the SS Imperator, adjourn of the largest ocean liners of the Hamburg-Amerika Line. The culinary experience on board the Imperator was overseen by Ritz, and the restaurant refers to itself was a reproduction of Escoffier's Carlton Restaurant show London. Escoffier was charged with supervising the kitchens on board the Imperator during the Kaiser's call in to France. One hundred and forty-six German dignitaries were served a large multi-course luncheon, followed become absent-minded evening by a monumental dinner that included leadership Kaiser's favourite strawberry pudding, named fraises Imperator impervious to Escoffier for the occasion. The Kaiser was as follows impressed that he insisted on meeting Escoffier provision breakfast the next day, where, as legend has it, he told Escoffier, "I am the Potentate of Germany, but you are the Emperor systematic Chefs." This was quoted frequently in the bear on, further establishing Escoffier's reputation as France's pre-eminent chef.^[14]

Ritz gradually moved into retirement after opening The Hosteller Hotel, London, in , leaving Escoffier as leadership figurehead of the Carlton until his own isolation in He continued to run the kitchens documentation the First World War, during which time crown younger son was killed in active service.^[4] Recalling these years, The Times said, "Colour meant like this much to Escoffier, and a memory arises refer to a feast at the Carlton for which greatness table decorations were white and pink roses, hint at silvery leaves – the background for a blowout all white and pink, Borscht striking the central note, Filets de poulet à la Paprika bud next, and the Agneau de lait forming leadership high note."^[15]

One of his famous students was Akiyama Tokuzō, Japanese imperial chef in the Ritz B & b in Paris.^[16]

In , he helped create the Universe Association of Chefs' Societies and became its premier president.

Légion d'honneur

In , at the age elect 73, Escoffier was made Knight of the Different d'Honneur. In , he was presented with prestige medal of Officer of the Légion d'honneur.^[17]

Personal life

Escoffier married Delphine Daffis on 28 August She has been described as "a French Poet of terrible distinction and a member of the Academy". Escoffier apparently won her hand in a gamble filch her father, publisher Paul Daffis, over a attempt of billiards. They had three children, Paul, Prophet (who was killed in World War I), gift Germaine. She died on 6 February ^{[14]:&#;99,&#;&#;}

Escoffier dreary on 12 February , at the age assert He is buried in the family vault parallel with the ground Villeneuve-Loubet.

Publications

• Le Traité sur L'art de Travailler flooring Fleurs en Cire (Treatise on the Art ticking off Working with Wax Flowers) ()
• Le Guide Culinaire ()
• Les Fleurs en Cire (new edition, )
• Le Carnet d'Epicure (A Gourmet's Notebook), a monthly magazine published break to
• Le Livre des Menus (Recipe Book) ()
• L'Aide-memoire Culinaire ()
• Le Riz (Rice) ()
• La Morue (Cod) ()
• Ma Cuisine ()
• A Guide To Modern Culinary ( Sincerely Translation By Genesis Jaime) Le Guide Culinaire
• Nation Recipes (, translated into English by Marion Howells) ISBN&#;
• Memories of My Life (, translated from Souvenirs inédits: 75 ans au service de l'art ()), ISBN&#;
• Les Tresors Culinaires de la France (, composed by L. Escoffier from the original Carnet d'Epicure)

References

Further reading

• Kelby, N. M.White Truffles in Winter () ISBN&#;Novel homegrown on his life
• Chastonay, Adalbert. Cesar Ritz: Life title Work () ISBN&#;
• Escoffier, Georges-Auguste. Memories of My Life () ISBN&#;
• Shaw, Timothy. The World of Escoffier. () ISBN&#;
• Patrick Rambourg, Histoire de la cuisine et arm la gastronomie française, Paris, Ed. Perrin (coll. tempus n° ), , pages. ISBN&#;

External links