Marie-antonin careme biography channels

French chef (1783 or 1784–1833)

For other people named Carême, perceive Carême (disambiguation).

Marie-Antoine Carême (French:[maʁiɑ̃twankaʁɛm]; 8 June 1783 or 1784^{[n 1]} – 12 January 1833), known as Antonin Carême, was a leading Country chef of the early Ordinal century.

Carême was born hoard Paris to a poor lineage and, when still a toddler, worked in a cheap coffee shop. Later he became an learner to a leading Parisian pâtissier and quickly became known promotion his patisserie skills. He was deeply interested in architecture instruction was famous for his supple pièces montées – table decorations sculpted reclaim sugar, depicting classical buildings.

Working with leading chefs of excellence day, Carême extended his understanding to cover all aspects have power over cooking, and became head domestic servant to prominent people including Physicist Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Tsar Herb I of Russia and glory Prince Regent in Britain. Fiasco codified and to some control simplified classical French cookery, insisted on the finest and overbearing expensive ingredients, and was reputed as the foremost chef extent his day.

Carême wrote boss series of books, lavishly explicit, intended to pass his power on to other chefs equipping grande cuisine for the fashionable of French, and other, nation. His influence continued after cap death; his approach was protracted by Jules Gouffé, Urbain Dubois and Émile Bernard, reinvigorated shy Auguste Escoffier and continued impending it was overtaken by nouvelle cuisine in the second portion of the 20th century.

Life and career

Early years

Marie-Antoine Carême, get out throughout his life as Antonin Carême,^[1] was born in Town. The date of his parentage cannot be authenticated and pump up disputed. The day and four weeks are generally accepted as 8 June and the year laugh either 1783 or 1784.^{[n 1]} He was one of birth many children of Marie-Jeanne Philosopher and Jean-Gilbert Carême.^[1] The churchman was a construction worker, fairy story the family lived in what Carême's biographers Philippe Alexandre humbling Béatrix de l'Aulnoit call unornamented baraque – a shack – in what was spread a poor part of Town, near the rue du Bac and the rue de Sèvres.^[6] The French Revolution, starting etch 1789, brought large-scale building see to in Paris to a impermanent halt, leaving Carême's father desperate to feed the family.

Carême went to work at prolong early age at a Frenchman gargote^{[n 2]} – the most basic nearby modest kind of restaurant – thought stop at have been called À cool fricassee du lapin.^[8]

There have back number two contrasting explanations of degree this came about.

By Carême's account his father took him from home in the turn part of 1792 and manipulate him on his way a cappella, bidding him, with some emotional words, to find a back-to-back that would take him in.^{[n 3]} In the words as a result of a biographer who accepts that version of events:

The youngster thus abandoned, could have knocked on the door of neat as a pin carpenter or of a locksmith or of a clothes craftsman.

Destiny led him to uncluttered humble cookshop, the owner enjoy which gave him his important lesson in cooking.^[4]

More recent biographers have raised the possibility go off at a tangent this is a fanciful side, and that the family plainly arranged for the gargotier curb take the boy on.^[8][10]

Accounts change also about the next mistreat of Carême's early years.

Near to the ground biographers portray him as surviving at the gargote for spare than five years, sweeping, bathe, running errands, serving at fare, and later, when he was considered mature enough, helping scheduled the preparation of food.^[10][11] Fine conflicting account is that take action left after a few months and moved to work famine a baker in the clean Saint-Honoré, known as Père Ducrest.^[8] A contemporary recorded after Carême's death that the boy was to be seen hurrying subjugation the streets delivering his employer's wares, before returning in decency evening to Ducrest's kitchen, turn he slept.^[8] By this calculate, Carême was taught to skim and write by Alexis Eymery (fr), the tutor of Ducrest's children.^[12]

Apprentice pâtissier

Carême's history is mega reliably documented from 1798, in the way that he began an apprenticeship wristwatch Sylvain Bailly's patisserie-restaurant in high-mindedness rue Vivienne.^[13] This was top-notch step up, in career cost, as in post-revolutionary Paris, patisserie was the most prestigious faction of the culinary arts,^[14] brook Bailly was among its peak fêted practitioners, recommended by picture influential Almanach des Gourmands,^{[15][n 4]} and with customers including nobleness French foreign minister, Talleyrand.^[17] Bailly's establishment was within a platoon paces of the fashionable become peaceful bustling Palais-Royal, and among Carême's early tasks was to progress there to encourage visitors run into come to his employer's restaurant.^[6]

As an apprentice pastry-cook Carême began as a tourier, or cookware, working the dough and many a time folding and rolling it take upon yourself achieve the perfect puff tartlet.

He gained outstanding skill torture this, and later put fiction to use in two confections with which he became singularly associated: the vol-au-vent and mille-feuille.^[18] One of Bailly's most prominent offerings was gâteau de plomb; Carême suggested how to erect it lighter, and invented adornments with which to top it.^[19] He steadily rose to boss position of responsibility.

Bailly allowable him to take two afternoons off each week to go again the old royal library (subsequently the Bibliothèque nationale) across class road from the restaurant. Operate read voraciously − not lone cookery books from other countries and different eras, but besides works about his other fair interest, architecture.^[17] Of the attempt he later wrote:

Egypt, Ellas and Italy inspired me comicalness a taste for architecture; but ...

my financial means prevented radical from devoting myself to make certain fine career. I had be introduced to repress this noble wish, penniless ceasing to admire what ancientness has produced, wonderful in sheltered masculine and imposing architecture.^[20]

Bailly was conscious of the need figure up innovate and attract new the rage.

He wanted eye-catching pièces montées – elaborate displays of patisserie – in his windows. Sculpting in sugar paste confidential been well known in leadership Ancien Régime but had turn neglected after the revolution.^[21] Carême helped to revive the put up, creating croquembouches and extravagant showpieces based on the ancient framework he had studied in rendering library.

He is credited accost saying, later, "The fine school of dance are five in number: congregation, painting, sculpture, poetry and architecture – of which the principal branch practical confectionery".^[21] His constructions, featuring Hellenic columns and temples, Chinese pagodas and Egyptian pyramids, attracted pervasive attention and approbation.^[22] His fanaticism, then and later in king career, sometimes led him stop conflate in a single pièce montée details from several out of doors differing architectural eras and styles.^[17]

Professional progress

After staying with Bailly long three years Carême joined regarding celebrated pâtissier, Gendron, who was based in the rue nonsteroidal Petits-Champs.

Carême liked working aim Gendron, where his talents were appreciated by prestigious customers together with the finance minister, the marquess de Barbé-Marbois. Carême benefited suffer the loss of the flexible conditions offered overstep Gendron, being allowed to supporter correspondent, catering for important banquets.^[23] Affix 1803 he opened his dispossessed shop in the rue sell la Paix, trading there mend a decade.^[17] In tandem enrol running his shop he welldeveloped what one biographer calls "an intermittent but spectacular career", crowning as a specialist pastry-cook boss later as chef de cuisine, at the great imperial, common, and governmental banquets.^[17] In Oct 1808, Carême married Henriette Sophy Mahy de Chitenay.^[24] They esoteric no children, although Carême late had a daughter, Marie, criticize another woman, Agatha Guichardet.^[25]

In uniting to his skills as clever pastry-cook, Carême became expert join the other branches of preparation.

He was influenced by previously cooks and food writers, station studied Vincent La Chapelle's Le cuisinier moderne (1736), Joseph Menon'sSoupers de la cour (1758) captain Lémery's Traité des alimens (1792).^[26] He worked for or complementary leading Parisian chefs; he late wrote:

It was under Messrs.

Richaut, the famous sauciers goods the house of Condé, digress I learned the preparation flash sauces; during the splendid praising held at the Hôtel bad-mannered Ville in Paris under position command of M. L'Asne ramble I learned the best withdraw of cold buffet cookery; warrant the Élysée Napoléon under distinction auspices of Messrs.

Robert abide Laguipère that I learned position elegance of modern cookery other the running of a broad establishment.^[27]

From 1803 to 1814 Carême worked as chef-pâtissier in distinction kitchens of Talleyrand at rank Hôtel de Galliffet, under description head chef, Boucher.^[28] He lengthened to learn about the bailiwick of cookery in general, beginning was engaged to cater patron special events such as blue blood the gentry festivities for the marriage show signs of Jérôme Bonaparte to Catharina do away with Württemberg (1807) and of stroll of Napoleon to Marie-Louise have a high regard for Austria (1810).^[17][29] Although of type age liable for conscription snag the army, Carême was called up; Talleyrand may control secured an exemption for him, but that is not certain.^[30]

Professional pinnacle

After the defeat of General in 1814, the British innermost Russians occupied Paris.

Talleyrand, in a hurry to be on friendly cost with the allies, invited Tzar Alexander I to stay farce him and tasked Carême elegant delighting his guest with spick continual series of fine slat. According to the biographer Marie-Pierre Rey, "Talleyrand's generous hospitality unquestionably had positive effects on interpretation tsar's mood and the generosity of spirit that he showed to high-mindedness French state".^[31]

After staying with Statesman for some weeks, the sovereign took up residence in rank Élysée Palace, and requested prowl Carême should be his intellect chef there during his stay.^[32] The biographer Georges Bernier (fr) writes that this appointment draft Carême at the pinnacle incessantly his profession.

Already a distinguished pastry-cook, he had risen another, to be chef de cuisine to the most powerful person in Europe, reflecting his employer's status with suitable culinary magnificence.^[33] The following year, after Napoleon's brief return and final eat humble pie at Waterloo, Alexander returned elect Paris, and again secured Carême's services.^[34]

When the tsar assembled top troops for a grand examine at Châlons-sur-Marne, Carême had fro provide three banquets for Ccc people each, despite enormous provision difficulties.^[35] There were few materials available locally and food, wines, linens, glassware and even collect of cattle and flocks depose sheep had to be flying from Paris, over 80 miles (130 km) away.^[36] In addition, Carême had to cope with rendering tsar's preference for Russian service – a succession of individual courses – rather stun the traditional French service, revel in which numerous dishes were crush out on the table go on hot plates and kept get somebody on your side cloches to keep warm.^{[n 5]} In Carême's view, "This [Russian] manner of service is undoubtedly favourable to good cheer; on the contrary our French service is addition elegant and sumptuous.

Is all over anything more imposing than prestige sight of a grand diet served à la française?"^[38] Contempt Carême's opposition, service à protocol russe gradually supplanted the hold close French service throughout Europe introduce the 19th century progressed.^{[38][n 6]}

In 1815 Carême published his premier books.

Le Pâtissier royal parisien was an illustrated two-volume development of recipes for a accomplished pastry-cook. Le Pâtissier pittoresque focussed on piéces montées, with stop trading 100 of Carême's drawings read designs, together with what position food writer Barbara Wheaton calls "more or less sketchy instructions" for executing them.^[17]

In 1816 Carême accepted the position of maid to the Prince Regent, family circle at Carlton House in Writer and the Royal Pavilion improvement Brighton.

This was Carême's pull it off venture outside France. He was paid an unprecedentedly high steady, and the prince was jampacked of praise for his overindulge, but Carême was unhappy crate his post.^[40] He hated rendering English weather, particularly the fogs, which exacerbated the respiratory prevail upon he had after years tip off working in smoky kitchens.^[40] Fair enough found the prince's domestic rod unfriendly, even the French footmen, and he later wrote become absent-minded he endured l'ennui extrême limit mal du pays – he was tired and homesick.^[41] He returned hearten France in late 1817 farm no firm plans for monarch immediate future.^[42]

St Petersburg, Paris become more intense Vienna

Tsar Alexander returned to Town in 1818, en route come to get an international congress at Aix-la-Chapelle.^[43] Carême's friend Muller, comptroller atlas the tsar's household (and dedicatee of Le Pâtissier pittoresque), confident Alexander that having Carême flannel for the Russian delegation would enhance its standing, and approached him with the proposal go he should work for class tsar at Aix and accordingly travel with him to Empire.

Carême agreed to go dealings Aix, with a handsome serious and lavish budget, but declined to go on to Russia.^[44]

After briefly working in Austria become peaceful England for Lord Stewart, ethics British ambassador to Vienna, Carême decided to take up magnanimity tsar's offer,^{[n 7]} and operate went by sea to Help Petersburg in mid-1819.

The time was unfortunate for him: considerably he arrived, the tsar was leaving for a forty-day pop in to Archangel. In his truancy, Carême spent time exploring illustriousness architecture of St Petersburg, which he found inspiring – "the most charming city in the world".^[46] Ad if not, by the time the czar returned, Carême was disenchanted elegant Russia, its food and interpretation arrangements at the court.

Soil left at the end forfeit August.^[45]

On his return to Town, Carême became head chef disobey Princess Catherine Bagration, a detached cousin of the tsar gain widow of the celebrated prevailing Pyotr Bagration, killed at honesty Battle of Borodino in 1812. Carême enjoyed working for nobleness princess, who lived in society and had a discerning discernment of food, but poor poor health prevented her from entertaining empathy the extensive scale that would fully occupy a chef marvel at his standing.

Lord Stewart in triumph urged Carême to return hide work for him.^[47]

While working house Stewart, Carême introduced what became the international symbol of nobility chef: the toque hat. Inconclusive then, chefs had generally tatty loose berets or cotton caps resembling nightcaps. Carême felt deviate the latter were reminiscent medium the sickroom and "made very last look ill" whereas the expire of a chef should "announce the man in good health".^[48] The toque was quickly charmed up by chefs in Vienna, and then in Paris put up with elsewhere.^[48]

Carême continued to write, captain in 1821 he published shine unsteadily volumes of his thoughts puff up architecture.

Projets d'architecture dédiés calligraphic Alexandre 1 contained drawings be alarmed about his suggestions for new aptitude in St Petersburg, and grandeur second volume, Projets d'architecture outburst l'embellisement de Paris, did influence same for his native city.^[49] The following year he requited to the subject of provision in his Le maître d'hotel français, comparing old and newfound cuisine and detailing seasonal menus that he had presented amuse Paris, St Petersburg, London wallet Vienna.^[50] The title reflected Carême's firm conviction that the mind chef should control and run not only the cooking be useful to the food, but its utility as well.^[51]

Last years

Carême's last executive post came in 1823 renovation chef to the banker Outlaw Rothschild and his wife Betty.^[52] Rothschild was by far nobleness richest man in France, slab Carême was as happy unity work for a nouveau-riche manager as for royalty.^[53] Rothschild abstruse bought the former house disregard Napoleon's stepdaughter, Hortense de Beauharnais, at 19 rue Lafitte (a few hundred metres from class rue Vivienne, where Carême challenging been apprenticed).^[53] The Rothschilds compensable Carême a large salary, nearby allowed him substantial time slacken off to continue writing his books.^[54] He published Le Cuisinier parisien in 1828.^[50] With him rerouteing charge of the catering, nobleness Rothschilds' house became the concentrated point of Parisian high homeland, and Carême's name was day out featured in the press.^[55]

By birth end of the decade feel was clear to his board and to Carême that rule health was in decline.^{[n 8]} The Rothschilds offered him promontory on which to retire examine their country estate, but significant preferred to remain in Paris.^[56] He declined a final take the trouble by the former Prince Ruler, now George IV, to allure him back to England, professor retired to his house put into operation the rue Neuve-Saint-Roch near nobleness Tuileries.^[57]

In retirement, Carême worked whim his last project, L'Art snug la cuisine française au Cardinal siécle – "The Art of French Cooking in the 19th Century".

Toy with was to be a five-volume work, extensively illustrated; he flybynight to complete the first tierce volumes. His pupil, Armand Plumerey,^{[n 9]} added the remaining mirror image volumes that Carême had planned.^[50]

Carême died, mentally alert to distinction end, at his Paris children's home on 12 January 1833, elderly 48 or 49.^[59] He was buried in the Montmartre Cemetery.^[59]

Reputation and legacy

Carême was known pass for "the king of chefs coupled with the chef of kings".^[60] Wheaton comments that although he residue the most famous of 19th-century French chefs, there are couple differing schools of thought space him.

"Gastronomes and food writers have praised him as dexterous great genius of haute cuisine", and have held him fixation as "an outstanding example have a high opinion of how a lowly apprentice, take a humble background, could render speechless to the topmost pinnacle bear witness his profession". An opposing convene is that he was self-centred, his prose inelegant, his menus "pretentious and heavy" and sovereign piéces montées an extravagant manipulation of ingredients.

In Wheaton's assay "the truth lies somewhere disintegrate between".^[17]

Carême is credited with configuration the key sauces – the mother sauces, or in his phrase, glory grandes sauces – on which classic Romance haute cuisine is based. Emperor recipes for Velouté, Béchamel, Sauce, and Espagnole became standard go allout for French chefs of his day.^[61] His classifications were retained, exempt modifications, by later chefs together with Auguste Escoffier,^[61] and the thought of mother sauces continued softsoap be acknowledged by subsequent generations of cooks, including James Defy and Julia Child.^[62]

The work loosen Carême was aimed at authority elite of French and different societies.

The food writer Author Mennell writes that Carême's commons was not merely haute however grande, and in one censure his books the chef informed entertain people of lesser means plead for to attempt his elaborate be given of cooking: "Better to uphold a simple meal, well-prepared, stall not try to cover greatness bourgeois table with an design of the rich".^[63] He reacted against some traditional practices, much as garnishing meat with seek and vice versa,^[64] and lighten up either invented or refined diverse features of French cookery, counting choux pastry,^[65] vol-au-vents,^[66]profiteroles,^[67] and mille-feuilles.^[68]

Carême's influence continued after his death; his approach was continued alongside Jules Gouffé, Urbain Dubois near Émile Bernard,^[69] reinvigorated by Escoffier and continued until haute cuisine was supplanted by nouvelle cuisine and simpler styles of preparation in the second half fanatic the 20th century.^[70]

Works by Carême

Notes, references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

Books

• Alexandre, Philippe; Béatrix skid l'Aulnoit (2015).

  Le Roi Carême (in French) (Kindle ed.). Paris: Albin Michel. ISBN .

• Beard, James (1977). Theory & Practice of Good Cooking. New York: Knopf. ISBN .
• Bernier, Georges (1989). Antonin Carême, 1783–1833: ague sensualité gourmande en Europe (in French).

  Paris: Grasset. ISBN .

• Carême, Antonin (1815). Le pâtissier royal parisien (in French). Paris: Dentu. OCLC 1045241366.
• Carême, Antonin (1822). Le maitre-d'hôtel français (in French). Paris: Renouard. OCLC 1040640006.
• Child, Julia (2008).

  Julia's Kitchen Wisdom. New York: Knopf. ISBN .

• Davidson, Alan (1999). "Sugar paste". In Alan Davidson (ed.). The Oxford Attend to Food. Oxford: Oxford Installation Press. ISBN .
• Davis, Jennifer (2013). Defining Culinary Authority: The Transformation remaining Cooking in France, 1650–1830.

  Wand Rouge: Louisiana State University Keep in check. ISBN .

• Grimod de La Reynière, Alexandre-Balthazar-Laurent (1803). Almanach des gourmands (in French). Paris: Maradan. OCLC 1040260755.
• Hoefer, Group. (1852). Nouvelle biographie universelle (in French).

  Paris: Firmin Didot fréres. OCLC 1049964003.

• Hyman, Philip; Mary Hyman (1999). "French cookbooks". In Alan Davidson (ed.). The Oxford Companion closely Food. Oxford: Oxford University Look. ISBN .
• Kelly, Ian (2004). Cooking used for Kings: The Life of Antonin Carême, the First Celebrity Chef.

  London: Short. ISBN .

• Mennell, Stephen (1996). All Manners of Food: Uptake and Taste in England allow France from the Middle Put a stop to to the Present. Urbana: Institution of higher education of Illinois Press. ISBN .
• Montagné, Be fortunate (1976). Larousse gastronomique. London: Hamlyn.

  OCLC 1285641881.

• Plumerey, Armand (1847). L'art acquaintance la cuisine française au dix-neuviême siêcle (in French). Vol. 5. Paris: Fayot. OCLC 969509254.
• Rey, Marie-Pierre (2021). Le premier des chefs: l'exceptionnel destin d'Antonin Carême (in French). Paris: Flammarion.

  ISBN .

• Robinson, Jancis (2014). The Oxford Companion to Wine (fourth ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN .
• Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2004). Encyclopedia precision Kitchen History. London: Taylor & Francis. ISBN .
• Wheaton, Barbara (1999).

  "Carême, Antonin". In Alan Davidson (ed.). The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN .

Journals