Everything about Auguste Escoffier totally explained
Georges Auguste Escoffier (
28 October 1846 –
12 February 1935) was a
French chef,
restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional
French cooking methods. He is a near-legendary figure among chefs and gourmets, and was one of the most important leaders in the development of modern French cuisine. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of
Antoine Carême, one of the codifiers of French
Haute cuisine, but Escoffier's achievement was to simplify and modernize Carême's elaborate and ornate style.
Alongside the recipes he recorded and invented, another of Escoffier's contributions to cooking was to elevate it to the status of a respected profession, introducing organized discipline to his kitchens. He organized his kitchens by the
brigade system, with each section run by a
chef de partie. He also replaced the practice of
service à la française (serving all dishes at once) with
service à la russe (serving each dish in the order printed on the menu).
Early life
He was born in the village of
Villeneuve-Loubet, near
Nice. At the age of thirteen, despite showing early promise as an artist, he started an apprenticeship at his uncle's restaurant,
Le Restaurant Français, in Nice. In
1865 he moved to
Le Petit Moulin Rouge restaurant in
Paris. He stayed there until the outbreak of the
Franco-Prussian war in
1870, when he became an army chef. His army experience led him to study the technique of canning food. Some time before
1878 he opened his own restaurant,
Le Faisan d'Or (The Golden Pheasant) in
Cannes. In
1880 he married Delphine Daffis. In
1884 the couple moved to
Monte Carlo, where Escoffier took control of the kitchen at the Grand Hotel.
César Ritz and the London Savoy
During the summers he ran the kitchen of the Hotel National in
Lucerne, where he met
César Ritz (at that time the
French Riviera was a winter resort). The two men formed a partnership and in
1890 moved to the
Savoy Hotel in
London. From this base they established a number of famous hotels, including the Grand Hotel in
Rome, and numerous Ritz Hotels around the world.
At the London Savoy, Escoffier created many famous dishes. For example, in
1893 he invented the
Pêche Melba in honour of the
Australian singer
Nellie Melba. Another of his creations (copied from
Antoine Carême, according to some anecdotes) was Tournedos Rossini, in honour of the Italian composer
Gioacchino Rossini. He parted company with the Savoy Hotel after taking money from food suppliers.
Ritz and Carlton
In 1898 Escoffier and Ritz opened the
Hôtel Ritz in Paris. The Carlton in London followed in
1899, where Escoffier first introduced the practice of the
à la carte menu. Ritz had a nervous breakdown in
1901, leaving Escoffier to run the Carlton until
1919, shortly after Ritz's death. It is said that one of his pupils in the later part of this period was
Ho Chi Minh, whom he trained as a pastry chef.
Le Guide Culinaire
In
1903 Escoffier published his first major book,
Le Guide Culinaire, containing 5,000 recipes. The importance of this book in the world of French cooking can't be overestimated, and even today it's used as both a cookbook and textbook for classic cooking. In
1904 and
1912 Escoffier was hired to plan the kitchens for ships belonging to the steamship company Hamburg-Amerika Lines. On the second voyage, the
Kaiser William II congratulated Escoffier, telling him "I am the Emperor of Germany, but you're the Emperor of chefs."
Légion d'Honneur
In
1919, Escoffier was awarded the Cross of the
Légion d'Honneur (Legion of Honour) – the first chef to receive such an award – and in
1928 was promoted to
Officier (Officer) of the Legion.
Death
He died on February 12, 1935 at the age of 88 in
Monte Carlo, a few days after his wife, Delphine Daffis.
Publications
- Le Traité sur L'art de Travailler les Fleurs en Cire (Treatise on the Art of Working with Wax Flowers) (1886)
- Le Guide Culinaire (1903)
- Les Fleurs en Cire (new edition, 1910)
- Le Carnet d'Epicure (A Gourmet's Notebook) (1911)
- Le Livre des Menus (Recipe Book) (1912)
- L'Aide-memoire Culinaire (1919)
- Le Riz (Rice) (1927)
- La Morue (Cod) (1929)
- Ma Cuisine (1934)
- 2000 French Recipes (1965, Translated to English by Marion Howells) ISBN 1-85051-694-4
- Memories of My Life (1996, from his own life souvenirs published by his grandson in 1985 and translated into English by L. Escoffier, his great granddaughter in-law), ISBN 0-471-28803-9
- Les Tresors Culinaires de la France (2002, collected by L. Escoffier from the original Carnet d'Epicure)
Further Information
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