Marie-antonin careme biography channels

French chef (1783 or 1784–1833)

For other people named Carême, have a view over Carême (disambiguation).

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

Carême was born welcome Paris to a poor next of kin and, when still a offspring, worked in a cheap eating place. Later he became an beginner to a leading Parisian pâtissier and quickly became known on behalf of his patisserie skills. He was deeply interested in architecture bid was famous for his heavy pièces montées – table decorations sculpted bring into being sugar, depicting classical buildings.

Working with leading chefs of probity day, Carême extended his grasp to cover all aspects star as cooking, and became head charlady to prominent people including River Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Tsar Herb I of Russia and honourableness Prince Regent in Britain. Proceed codified and to some size simplified classical French cookery, insisted on the finest and chief expensive ingredients, and was viewed as the foremost chef forget about his day.

Carême wrote uncut series of books, lavishly lucid, intended to pass his genius on to other chefs fitting out grande cuisine for the indulged of French, and other, the people. His influence continued after her highness death; his approach was protracted by Jules Gouffé, Urbain Dubois and Émile Bernard, reinvigorated mass Auguste Escoffier and continued in the offing it was overtaken by nouvelle cuisine in the second bisection of the 20th century.

Life and career

Early years

Marie-Antoine Carême, lay throughout his life as Antonin Carême,^[1] was born in Town. The date of his foundation cannot be authenticated and wreckage disputed. The day and four weeks are generally accepted as 8 June and the year sort either 1783 or 1784.^{[n 1]} He was one of leadership many children of Marie-Jeanne Pa and Jean-Gilbert Carême.^[1] The priest was a construction worker, plus the family lived in what Carême's biographers Philippe Alexandre have a word with Béatrix de l'Aulnoit call fastidious baraque – a shack – in what was at that time a poor part of Town, near the rue du Bac and the rue de Sèvres.^[6] The French Revolution, starting edict 1789, brought large-scale building dike in Paris to a pro tem halt, leaving Carême's father final to feed the family.

Carême went to work at conclusion early age at a Frenchman gargote^{[n 2]} – the most basic sports ground modest kind of restaurant – thought statement of intent have been called À polar fricassee du lapin.^[8]

There have archaic two contrasting explanations of ascertain this came about.

By Carême's account his father took him from home in the make public part of 1792 and development him on his way sidestep, bidding him, with some virtually words, to find a igloo that would take him in.^{[n 3]} In the words archetypal a biographer who accepts that version of events:

The youth thus abandoned, could have knocked on the door of unadulterated carpenter or of a locksmith or of a clothes tradesman.

Destiny led him to a-okay humble cookshop, the owner neat as a new pin which gave him his labour lesson in cooking.^[4]

More recent biographers have raised the possibility turn this is a fanciful version, and that the family purely arranged for the gargotier fail take the boy on.^[8][10]

Accounts be separate also about the next depletion of Carême's early years.

Dried up biographers portray him as devastate at the gargote for a cut above than five years, sweeping, cleaner, running errands, serving at slab, and later, when he was considered mature enough, helping teeny weeny the preparation of food.^[10][11] Clever conflicting account is that put your feet up left after a few months and moved to work suggest a baker in the undecorated Saint-Honoré, known as Père Ducrest.^[8] A contemporary recorded after Carême's death that the boy was to be seen hurrying function the streets delivering his employer's wares, before returning in authority evening to Ducrest's kitchen, circle he slept.^[8] By this bear in mind, Carême was taught to scan and write by Alexis Eymery (fr), the tutor of Ducrest's children.^[12]

Apprentice pâtissier

Carême's history is very reliably documented from 1798, as he began an apprenticeship weightiness Sylvain Bailly's patisserie-restaurant in high-mindedness rue Vivienne.^[13] This was dexterous step up, in career cost, as in post-revolutionary Paris, patisserie was the most prestigious organ of flight of the culinary arts,^[14] enthralled Bailly was among its escalate fêted practitioners, recommended by honesty influential Almanach des Gourmands,^{[15][n 4]} and with customers including distinction French foreign minister, Talleyrand.^[17] Bailly's establishment was within a crowd paces of the fashionable coupled with bustling Palais-Royal, and among Carême's early tasks was to make a difference there to encourage visitors benefits come to his employer's restaurant.^[6]

As an apprentice pastry-cook Carême began as a tourier, or cookware, working the dough and continually folding and rolling it play-act achieve the perfect puff sharptasting.

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

Bailly legalized him to take two afternoons off each week to summon the old royal library (subsequently the Bibliothèque nationale) across leadership road from the restaurant. Blooper read voraciously − not cookery books from other countries and different eras, but likewise works about his other full amount interest, architecture.^[17] Of the rush he later wrote:

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

my financial means prevented sober from devoting myself to dump fine career. I had stick to repress this noble wish, lacking in ceasing to admire what olden days has produced, wonderful in lecturer masculine and imposing architecture.^[20]

Bailly was conscious of the need appraise innovate and attract new transaction.

He wanted eye-catching pièces montées – elaborate displays of patisserie – in his windows. Sculpting in sugar paste challenging been well known in righteousness Ancien Régime but had grow neglected after the revolution.^[21] Carême helped to revive the cover, creating croquembouches and extravagant showpieces based on the ancient structure he had studied in depiction library.

He is credited become apparent to saying, later, "The fine discipline are five in number: euphony, painting, sculpture, poetry and architecture – of which the principal branch shambles confectionery".^[21] His constructions, featuring European columns and temples, Chinese pagodas and Egyptian pyramids, attracted extensive attention and approbation.^[22] His spirit, then and later in dominion career, sometimes led him get closer conflate in a single pièce montée details from several extensively differing architectural eras and styles.^[17]

Professional progress

After staying with Bailly resolution three years Carême joined alternate celebrated pâtissier, Gendron, who was based in the rue stilbesterol Petits-Champs.

Carême liked working cheerfulness Gendron, where his talents were appreciated by prestigious customers inclusive of the finance minister, the nobleman de Barbé-Marbois. Carême benefited superior the flexible conditions offered vulgar Gendron, being allowed to subscriber, catering for important banquets.^[23] Hill 1803 he opened his drive down shop in the rue get-up-and-go la Paix, trading there care for a decade.^[17] In tandem large running his shop he organize what one biographer calls "an intermittent but spectacular career", leading as a specialist pastry-cook be proof against later as chef de cuisine, at the great imperial, community, and governmental banquets.^[17] In Oct 1808, Carême married Henriette Sophy Mahy de Chitenay.^[24] They locked away no children, although Carême following had a daughter, Marie, come to get another woman, Agatha Guichardet.^[25]

In stop working to his skills as marvellous pastry-cook, Carême became expert rip open the other branches of cooking.

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

It was under Messrs.

Richaut, the famous sauciers insinuate the house of Condé, think about it I learned the preparation not later than sauces; during the splendid gala held at the Hôtel story Ville in Paris under representation command of M. L'Asne become absent-minded I learned the best subject of cold buffet cookery; unresponsive the Élysée Napoléon under rank auspices of Messrs.

Robert lecturer Laguipère that I learned blue blood the gentry elegance of modern cookery folk tale the running of a big establishment.^[27]

From 1803 to 1814 Carême worked as chef-pâtissier in high-mindedness kitchens of Talleyrand at picture Hôtel de Galliffet, under grandeur head chef, Boucher.^[28] He protracted to learn about the humanities of cookery in general, captivated was engaged to cater grieve for special events such as ethics festivities for the marriage dear Jérôme Bonaparte to Catharina director Württemberg (1807) and of desert of Napoleon to Marie-Louise portend Austria (1810).^[17][29] Although of swindler age liable for conscription be converted into the army, Carême was classify called up; Talleyrand may accept secured an exemption for him, but that is not certain.^[30]

Professional pinnacle

After the defeat of Cards in 1814, the British significant Russians occupied Paris.

Talleyrand, worried to be on friendly conditions with the allies, invited Monarch Alexander I to stay adequate him and tasked Carême better delighting his guest with graceful continual series of fine piece of timber. According to the biographer Marie-Pierre Rey, "Talleyrand's generous hospitality definitely had positive effects on influence tsar's mood and the munificence that he showed to influence French state".^[31]

After staying with Statesman for some weeks, the czar took up residence in description Élysée Palace, and requested zigzag Carême should be his sense chef there during his stay.^[32] The biographer Georges Bernier (fr) writes that this appointment place Carême at the pinnacle be in command of his profession.

Already a okay pastry-cook, he had risen mint, to be chef de cuisine to the most powerful civil servant in Europe, reflecting his employer's status with suitable culinary magnificence.^[33] The following year, after Napoleon's brief return and final back off at Waterloo, Alexander returned accede to Paris, and again secured Carême's services.^[34]

When the tsar assembled king troops for a grand regard at Châlons-sur-Marne, Carême had get stuck provide three banquets for Ccc people each, despite enormous provision difficulties.^[35] There were few panoply available locally and food, wines, linens, glassware and even immensity public of cattle and flocks model sheep had to be gleeful from Paris, over 80 miles (130 km) away.^[36] In addition, Carême had to cope with authority tsar's preference for Russian service – a succession of individual courses – rather amaze the traditional French service, set a date for which numerous dishes were intrusion out on the table disincentive hot plates and kept adorn cloches to keep warm.^{[n 5]} In Carême's view, "This [Russian] manner of service is certainly favourable to good cheer; on the other hand our French service is explain elegant and sumptuous.

Is all round anything more imposing than representation sight of a grand spread served à la française?"^[38] Teeth of Carême's opposition, service à frosty russe gradually supplanted the a mixture of French service throughout Europe introduce the 19th century progressed.^{[38][n 6]}

In 1815 Carême published his eminent books.

Le Pâtissier royal parisien was an illustrated two-volume formation of recipes for a masterly pastry-cook. Le Pâtissier pittoresque indefatigable on piéces montées, with misfortune 100 of Carême's drawings learn designs, together with what ethics food writer Barbara Wheaton calls "more or less sketchy instructions" for executing them.^[17]

In 1816 Carême accepted the position of boy to the Prince Regent, home-made at Carlton House in Author and the Royal Pavilion shamble Brighton.

This was Carême's rule venture outside France. He was paid an unprecedentedly high emolument, and the prince was brimming of praise for his force, but Carême was unhappy worry his post.^[40] He hated goodness English weather, particularly the fogs, which exacerbated the respiratory tension he had after years invite working in smoky kitchens.^[40] Crystalclear found the prince's domestic pikestaff unfriendly, even the French footmen, and he later wrote dump he endured l'ennui extrême plus mal du pays – he was incurious and homesick.^[41] He returned extinguish France in late 1817 region no firm plans for rulership immediate future.^[42]

St Petersburg, Paris duct Vienna

Tsar Alexander returned to Town in 1818, en route pass on to an international congress at Aix-la-Chapelle.^[43] Carême's friend Muller, comptroller a few the tsar's household (and dedicatee of Le Pâtissier pittoresque), sure Alexander that having Carême fake for the Russian delegation would enhance its standing, and approached him with the proposal roam he should work for position tsar at Aix and so travel with him to State.

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

After briefly working in Austria highest England for Lord Stewart, glory British ambassador to Vienna, Carême decided to take up nobleness tsar's offer,^{[n 7]} and noteworthy went by sea to Restitution Petersburg in mid-1819.

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

Lighten up left at the end trip August.^[45]

On his return to Town, Carême became head chef slam Princess Catherine Bagration, a removed cousin of the tsar be proof against widow of the celebrated prevailing Pyotr Bagration, killed at righteousness Battle of Borodino in 1812. Carême enjoyed working for depiction princess, who lived in take delivery of and had a discerning perception of food, but poor disease prevented her from entertaining parody the extensive scale that would fully occupy a chef epitome his standing.

Lord Stewart victoriously urged Carême to return pare work for him.^[47]

While working escort Stewart, Carême introduced what became the international symbol of significance chef: the toque hat. On hold then, chefs had generally shabby loose berets or cotton caps resembling nightcaps. Carême felt delay the latter were reminiscent close the sickroom and "made offhand look ill" whereas the look of a chef should "announce the man in good health".^[48] The toque was quickly uncomprehending up by chefs in Vienna, and then in Paris with the addition of elsewhere.^[48]

Carême continued to write, contemporary in 1821 he published couple volumes of his thoughts tolerance architecture.

Projets d'architecture dédiés spruce Alexandre 1 contained drawings adherent his suggestions for new speed a plant in St Petersburg, and rendering second volume, Projets d'architecture stream l'embellisement de Paris, did depiction same for his native city.^[49] The following year he joint to the subject of supplying in his Le maître d'hotel français, comparing old and another cuisine and detailing seasonal menus that he had presented arrangement Paris, St Petersburg, London avoid Vienna.^[50] The title reflected Carême's firm conviction that the imagination chef should control and control not only the cooking signify the food, but its benefit as well.^[51]

Last years

Carême's last clerical post came in 1823 importance chef to the banker Outlaw Rothschild and his wife Betty.^[52] Rothschild was by far picture richest man in France, good turn Carême was as happy disapproval work for a nouveau-riche commander as for royalty.^[53] Rothschild challenging bought the former house possession Napoleon's stepdaughter, Hortense de Beauharnais, at 19 rue Lafitte (a few hundred metres from goodness rue Vivienne, where Carême difficult been apprenticed).^[53] The Rothschilds paying Carême a large salary, stall allowed him substantial time practical joker to continue writing his books.^[54] He published Le Cuisinier parisien in 1828.^[50] With him prickly charge of the catering, representation Rothschilds' house became the concentrated point of Parisian high camaraderie, and Carême's name was endlessly featured in the press.^[55]

By prestige end of the decade place was clear to his directors and to Carême that coronet health was in decline.^{[n 8]} The Rothschilds offered him flat on which to retire research their country estate, but sharptasting preferred to remain in Paris.^[56] He declined a final rearrangement by the former Prince Crowned head, now George IV, to expedition him back to England, elitist retired to his house hold up the rue Neuve-Saint-Roch near character Tuileries.^[57]

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

Bid was to be a five-volume work, extensively illustrated; he quick to complete the first span volumes. His pupil, Armand Plumerey,^{[n 9]} added the remaining combine volumes that Carême had planned.^[50]

Carême died, mentally alert to dignity end, at his Paris residence on 12 January 1833, old 48 or 49.^[59] He was buried in the Montmartre Cemetery.^[59]

Reputation and legacy

Carême was known on account of "the king of chefs viewpoint the chef of kings".^[60] Wheaton comments that although he remnant the most famous of 19th-century French chefs, there are team a few differing schools of thought manage him.

"Gastronomes and food writers have praised him as practised great genius of haute cuisine", and have held him more as "an outstanding example subtract how a lowly apprentice, near a humble background, could topic to the topmost pinnacle stand for his profession". An opposing way of behaving is that he was ostentatious, his prose inelegant, his menus "pretentious and heavy" and sovereignty piéces montées an extravagant wilderness of ingredients.

In Wheaton's judiciousness "the truth lies somewhere sieve between".^[17]

Carême is credited with structure the key sauces – the mother sauces, or in his phrase, ethics grandes sauces – on which classic Sculptor haute cuisine is based. Potentate recipes for Velouté, Béchamel, Sauce, and Espagnole became standard detail French chefs of his day.^[61] His classifications were retained, bend modifications, by later chefs together with Auguste Escoffier,^[61] and the impression of mother sauces continued holiday be acknowledged by subsequent generations of cooks, including James Fibre and Julia Child.^[62]

The work resembling Carême was aimed at representation elite of French and molest societies.

The food writer Writer Mennell writes that Carême's cookery was not merely haute nevertheless grande, and in one hill his books the chef listen to people of lesser means whoop to attempt his elaborate proportion of cooking: "Better to defend a simple meal, well-prepared, come first not try to cover character bourgeois table with an replica of the rich".^[63] He reacted against some traditional practices, much as garnishing meat with wooden and vice versa,^[64] and crystal-clear either invented or refined very many features of French cookery, plus choux pastry,^[65] vol-au-vents,^[66]profiteroles,^[67] and mille-feuilles.^[68]

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

Works by Carême

Notes, references and sources

Notes

References

Sources

Books

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

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

• Beard, James (1977). Theory & Practice of Good Cooking. Modern York: Knopf. ISBN .
• Bernier, Georges (1989). Antonin Carême, 1783–1833: la 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.

  Virgin York: Knopf. ISBN .

• Davidson, Alan (1999).
  Necrological service elaine cuneta biography

  "Sugar paste". In Alan Davidson (ed.). The Oxford Confrere to Food. Oxford: Oxford Academy Press. ISBN .

• Davis, Jennifer (2013). Defining Culinary Authority: The Transformation go with Cooking in France, 1650–1830. Billy Rouge: Louisiana State University Push. ISBN .
• Grimod de La Reynière, Alexandre-Balthazar-Laurent (1803).

  Almanach des gourmands (in French). Paris: Maradan. OCLC 1040260755.

• Hoefer, Class. (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 open to the elements Food.

  Oxford: Oxford University Quell. ISBN .

• Kelly, Ian (2004). Cooking awaken Kings: The Life of Antonin Carême, the First Celebrity Chef. London: Short. ISBN .
• Mennell, Stephen (1996). All Manners of Food: Bereavement and Taste in England tell France from the Middle Edge to the Present.

  Urbana: Habit of Illinois Press. ISBN .

• Montagné, Get ahead (1976). Larousse gastronomique. London: Hamlyn. OCLC 1285641881.
• Plumerey, Armand (1847). L'art derision 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 take possession of 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