1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. We name dropped a Gusta Scoffier on the 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: show this week, and so Today's Saturday Classic is our 3 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: episode on him, which I was shocked to realize had 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: not already been a Saturday Classic. This originally came out 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 1: on August twenty eighth, twenty eighteen. You think that because 6 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 1: I invoke him at every opportunity. We hope you enjoy 7 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 8 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 9 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Okay, So we are 10 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:47,360 Speaker 1: officially into fall and winter, at least in our hemisphere. Yep. 11 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:50,560 Speaker 1: And for a lot of cultures, this is a season 12 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:53,040 Speaker 1: where there are a lot of holidays and celebrations that 13 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: often involve super delicious things. So this seemed like a 14 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:00,440 Speaker 1: good time to finally do the episode I had more 15 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: or less promised that I was going to do back 16 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,400 Speaker 1: when we talked about Chef Marie Antoine Carem. So we 17 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: are delving into the man who followed right after Carem 18 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: and became known as the King of Chef, Chef of Kings, 19 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: Augusta Scoffier, And if there are any chefs in our 20 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:20,399 Speaker 1: listening audience, they already know about Escoffier. He is that 21 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: important to basically everything involving professional cooking at this point. 22 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 1: But people who haven't studied cuisine may not realize that 23 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: this one man really revolutionized food preparation and restaurant dining 24 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:36,000 Speaker 1: in ways that are still part of just about any 25 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,959 Speaker 1: meal that you would be served today. George Auguste Escoffier 26 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: was born on October twenty eighth, eighteen forty six and 27 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,919 Speaker 1: Villeneuve de Lube, France, and that's in the country southeastern shore. 28 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,040 Speaker 1: His parents were Jean Baptiste Escoffier, was a blacksmith and 29 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: Madeleine Sivat. Although Jean Baptiste had no formal education, he 30 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: and the other children of the village had been taught 31 00:01:57,920 --> 00:01:59,920 Speaker 1: to read and write from a priest and then entire 32 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 1: and Jean Baptiste shared that knowledge with the children of 33 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,160 Speaker 1: the community and his own children once he became an adult. Yeah, 34 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,359 Speaker 1: I sort of loved that tradition of teaching that they 35 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,480 Speaker 1: had in their family, even if it wasn't formal education. 36 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 1: The young Augusta Scoffier did not initially want to cook 37 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: his dreams as a kid, or that he was going 38 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,799 Speaker 1: to be an artist and specifically a sculptor. But there 39 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:24,960 Speaker 1: was somemerly indication that he was curious about things that 40 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: happened in the kitchen. This happened when he watched his 41 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: grandmother make herself coffee. This is at a time when 42 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: coffee was not guzzled at the rate, for example, that 43 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: I guzzle it today. It was more of like a 44 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: special drink you would have from time to time. But 45 00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:39,880 Speaker 1: after he watched her, he waited until everyone had left 46 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: the house so he could try making it himself, which 47 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:44,640 Speaker 1: he did, and he was just ten at the time. 48 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,480 Speaker 1: At the age of thirteen, A Scoffier began working for 49 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,600 Speaker 1: his uncle as an apprentice at a restaurant in Nice, 50 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: which was just northeast of where they were living. So 51 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: basically his career choice had been made for him. He 52 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: would go into cooking, and so he headed into La 53 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 1: Restoral Francaists, who began learning in eighteen fifty nine, and 54 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,240 Speaker 1: he stayed at his apprenticeship there until eighteen sixty three, 55 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: and early on he realized that while cooks weren't especially 56 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 1: highly regarded, he also saw the potential of the job, 57 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 1: and he decided, also very early on, that he was 58 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: going to work as hard as he could to quote, 59 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:21,639 Speaker 1: improve the standing of the kitchen chef. I'll also point 60 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:23,959 Speaker 1: out that this is a time when the word chef 61 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: did not have the connotations it had today. It meant 62 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: chief like the person that runs the kitchen, although he 63 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 1: wrote that particular line much later on, when it also 64 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: had the connotation of being in the kitchen. I just 65 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: want to make clarity for that. He started writing menus 66 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: very very early on in his apprenticeship. He took a 67 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 1: great interest in menu writing specifically, and he carefully selected 68 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: words to name and describe dishes that he thought would 69 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: sound quote gentle and pleasing, and when it came to 70 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: menus for special occasions, he described them as a sort 71 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: of poem recalling the happy hours spent. After his apprenticeship, 72 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: Auguste was very busy with the whole series of jobs. First, 73 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: he was hired as first assistant at a restaurant called 74 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,200 Speaker 1: circlea Messena in November of eighteen sixty three. When that 75 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: kitchen closed for the summer in April of eighteen sixty four, 76 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: he moved on to Le Freer Provenceau in Nice as 77 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: kitchen chef. He trained there for six months before being 78 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,200 Speaker 1: hired at Sae Philippe, and then in the spring of 79 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty five he moved to Paris to work as 80 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: a kitchen aide at a restaurant called Le Petit Moulin Rouge, 81 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 1: which catered to the high society, including the royal families 82 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,479 Speaker 1: of Europe. Yeah, he basically was always kind of jumping up, 83 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:39,479 Speaker 1: even though the rankings of those positions as we know 84 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:42,600 Speaker 1: them today may sound lower. In some cases, when he 85 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:44,359 Speaker 1: went from one to another, he was going to a 86 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: bigger restaurant, so it was still a move up. In 87 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: a little more than a year into his Paris job, 88 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: Escoffier was called up for mandatory military service, so from 89 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: September eighteen sixty six until the following spring he served 90 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: in the active Army reserves at Vin, and as soon 91 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,000 Speaker 1: as his military service was complete, he returned to Le 92 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:09,479 Speaker 1: Petit moulain Rouge. A few years later, military service called again. 93 00:05:10,279 --> 00:05:13,279 Speaker 1: The Franco Prussian War had begun, and in July of 94 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy Auguste was selected to be Chef de cuisine 95 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:21,040 Speaker 1: at the Rhine Army headquarters. He was feeding the chief officers, 96 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,600 Speaker 1: and his accounts of providing meals during this time show 97 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 1: how really committed he was to his ideals as a chef. 98 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 1: Even while he was camping in mud with the rest 99 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,200 Speaker 1: of the men, he wrote out menus for every day 100 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: the night before. Sometimes he would start food prep at night. 101 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: He became really adept at improvising to create these multi 102 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,920 Speaker 1: course meals even in very rough circumstances. The men who 103 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,720 Speaker 1: he served ate roast beef, potato salad, soft boiled eggs, 104 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:49,719 Speaker 1: and sauteed rabbit, along with fresh sausage that he and 105 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:54,479 Speaker 1: his assistant made themselves. In camp. He would catch wild animals, 106 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 1: sometimes procure things like eggs from nearby farms, always with 107 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 1: a mind toward creating very filling, balanced meals. Yeah, he 108 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: really was quite nutritionally minded at a time when people 109 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:09,280 Speaker 1: weren't really thinking about nutrition necessarily in how they put 110 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 1: together meal menus and literally, when you're in the military, 111 00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: that's probably not always your first priority. But he really 112 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,560 Speaker 1: took great care and great pride in how he handled things, 113 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: and Escafier saw this work as making room in the 114 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:25,200 Speaker 1: minds of officers so that they could worry about more 115 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:27,040 Speaker 1: important things. Than what they would eat. He's like, I 116 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: will take care of your nutritional needs, you worry about 117 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: the other stuff. But he also saw the horrors of 118 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: war during this time. He for example, watched the injured 119 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 1: being carried into a makeshift hospital that was set up 120 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:41,880 Speaker 1: on the same farm where he and his regiment camped 121 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:45,720 Speaker 1: during the Battle of Gravelotte, and he hurried to bring 122 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: what he could to the men who needed treatment. Well, 123 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,839 Speaker 1: continue talking about his experiences during the war, but first 124 00:06:51,880 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 1: we're going to pause for a little sponsor break. As 125 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: the war stretched into months, rationing began to impact the 126 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 1: menus that a scoffier prepared. Horse Meat was used to 127 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 1: supplement because beef was unavailable, but even so, the chef 128 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:18,440 Speaker 1: was keenly aware of the drop in his ability to 129 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: provide for the nutritional needs of the men that he 130 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: cooked for. On October twenty eighth of eighteen seventy, which 131 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: was his twenty fourth birthday, August Escuffier became a prisoner 132 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 1: of war when the French surrendered after the Siege of Metz. 133 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 1: He remained a pow until the end of the war, 134 00:07:34,600 --> 00:07:36,880 Speaker 1: although his skills let him move out of the camp 135 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: proper and into a kitchen roll. Yeah, there's a great 136 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: story in his memoir about how, even though he was 137 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 1: kind of in like a better situation than the men 138 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: he had left behind in camp, at Christmas that year, 139 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 1: he made a point to take as many things as 140 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: he could from the kitchen that he was allowed to 141 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 1: take and bring them back to them so they could 142 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:57,920 Speaker 1: have sort of their own little celebration, and he could 143 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: try to help them have a better Christmas than they 144 00:08:00,840 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: would otherwise have had. And after the war ended, Escafier 145 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: moved into the role of chef de cuisine at the 146 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: Hotel de Luxembourg in Nice. But in spring of eighteen 147 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 1: seventy three he was back at La Petite MoU Lain 148 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:17,000 Speaker 1: Rouge as Chef de cuisine, and he parleyed his success 149 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 1: there into a side business for himself when he bought 150 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: a small grocery in Cannes called La fe d're that 151 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: means Golden Pheasant, and he bought that in eighteen seventy six, 152 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:29,200 Speaker 1: and over the next two years, while he continued to 153 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: work at La Petite MoU Lain Rouge, he renovated the 154 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 1: store and added a winter dining room to it. He 155 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: moved into running his new business full time in eighteen 156 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: seventy eight, after the end of the summer season at 157 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: La Petite Moulin Rouge. That August was really busy for him. 158 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:48,440 Speaker 1: He got married to his fiancee, Delphine Dafis, and he 159 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: did that in between the two jobs. But after only 160 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,400 Speaker 1: two months in his new venue and his new marriage, 161 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:57,200 Speaker 1: his father in law suddenly died. That meant that he 162 00:08:57,280 --> 00:08:59,680 Speaker 1: took on a lot of responsibility and to help the 163 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: family gets through the strain of this period, Auguste gave 164 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:05,960 Speaker 1: up his little fledgling shop and can to take more 165 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,520 Speaker 1: stable work in Paris. He became the general manager of 166 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 1: La Maison Chevet, but he worked there only eight months 167 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: before a new opportunity presented itself, and that was Chef 168 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 1: de cuisine at the new cafe restaurant du Casino, which was, 169 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: as the name suggests, part of a larger luxury casino property. 170 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,439 Speaker 1: And Escaffaier had been hired simply to get the restaurant 171 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: up and running, and he did this job admirably. This 172 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:32,440 Speaker 1: is something he did throughout his career after this, where 173 00:09:32,440 --> 00:09:33,959 Speaker 1: he would kind of come in and set up a 174 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:36,840 Speaker 1: new restaurant and then he would go back to his 175 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:39,320 Speaker 1: regular thing and the restaurant would continue on its own. 176 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 1: But he did this so well with the casino and 177 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: restaurant that when they had a press event to promote 178 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: this new luxury entertainment complex, all of the reporters there 179 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: were way more interested in Escaffier's food than any other 180 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 1: aspect of the business that they were trying to talk about. 181 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 1: After the casino, while working as the restaurant manager of 182 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: the Grand Hotel in Monte car Hello, Auguste Escoffier met 183 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: Swiss business in sesar Ritz was eighteen eighty four and 184 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,320 Speaker 1: Ritz was already a successful hotelier, but he didn't quite 185 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,760 Speaker 1: have the name recognition that he would have later. Ritz 186 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,559 Speaker 1: wanted an expert in the food service end at the 187 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:20,440 Speaker 1: hotel industry, and Escaffier really fit that bill. So when 188 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: Ritz began managing the Hotel Nacional in Lucerne, Switzerland, he 189 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 1: eventually hired a Scaffier on there. But their partnership in 190 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: business truly cemented when Ritz became the manager of London's 191 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 1: Savoy Hotel, and he brought a goost right along with him. 192 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:39,120 Speaker 1: So in eighteen ninety Escaffier took charge of the kitchens 193 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,760 Speaker 1: at the Savoy Hotel. Ritz was hired at the Savoy 194 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:45,760 Speaker 1: to fix its problems. It had only been opened since 195 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:48,880 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty nine, and while it was glamorous and beautiful, 196 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:53,240 Speaker 1: it was managed really terribly and was facing bankruptcy. The 197 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: hotel offered an a la carte menu in the restaurant, 198 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 1: but the chef that had been in charge had really 199 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:01,480 Speaker 1: only managed fixed price menus where all the courses were 200 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,960 Speaker 1: part of one order. Handling the different supply and prep 201 00:11:06,040 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 1: needs of a kitchen that had more items in play 202 00:11:08,640 --> 00:11:11,360 Speaker 1: on the menu was a really different skill set and 203 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:15,240 Speaker 1: it just had not gone well. Escaffier, though, was excellent 204 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: at this, and he walked into a mess, but he 205 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:21,200 Speaker 1: straightened it all out. Yeah, he claimed that the day 206 00:11:21,200 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: that they got there, and he was like, I can't 207 00:11:23,400 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: imagine why anyone would do this, but I'm like, maybe 208 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:28,079 Speaker 1: angry on the way out that all of the kitchen 209 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:31,520 Speaker 1: equipment had been broken and all of the food stores 210 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:34,319 Speaker 1: had been damaged in some way. Like basically, someone was 211 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: really angry on their way out the door. And so 212 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,240 Speaker 1: he had to call around to chef friends and be like, 213 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 1: do you have stuff I can borrow today? And so 214 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 1: he got through that first day. He said he didn't 215 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:46,079 Speaker 1: even have salt to begin with, but he got through 216 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: that first day with the help of the chef community, 217 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,000 Speaker 1: and then the next day he kind of got all 218 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:53,360 Speaker 1: of his contacts with suppliers and got everything right and 219 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 1: could move forward from there. And Escoffier instituted a number 220 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:00,240 Speaker 1: of processes to get the hotel's restaurant running smoothly. So 221 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 1: often when high profile London clients would want to book 222 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:06,400 Speaker 1: a dinner party, for example, they relied on the Metre 223 00:12:06,480 --> 00:12:09,319 Speaker 1: d'hotel to make decisions on the food because the French 224 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,520 Speaker 1: menus were sometimes a little daunting for them, and a 225 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:16,280 Speaker 1: scuffier began keeping copious records of what they served at 226 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,679 Speaker 1: each meal like this, so that if the same person 227 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:21,640 Speaker 1: booked another high end dinner party with them at a 228 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:23,959 Speaker 1: later date, they could be sure that they would never 229 00:12:24,040 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 1: serve them the same meal twice and they would always 230 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:30,199 Speaker 1: be getting different dishes. Everything about the restaurant was examined 231 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:34,320 Speaker 1: and optimized to attract the best possible clientele. Even the 232 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,679 Speaker 1: lighting was really carefully designed to be soft and glowing 233 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: so that their customers would look their absolute best while 234 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: they were eating their royalty heads of state, the wealthy, 235 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:47,920 Speaker 1: and the famous all flocked there as Ritz and Escoffier 236 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,640 Speaker 1: put their mark on the place. It was during his 237 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:53,400 Speaker 1: early years at the Savoy, in eighteen ninety three that 238 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:57,840 Speaker 1: Auguste Escaffier invented the dessert peach Melba in honor of 239 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:02,080 Speaker 1: prior podcast subject Dame Nelly Melba, although it didn't appear 240 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:04,719 Speaker 1: on a menu for a number of years. Yeah, we'll 241 00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:06,520 Speaker 1: talk about when it pops up. But he made it 242 00:13:06,559 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: basically specially for her one night, and then he always 243 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: remembered it and used it later. And it was also 244 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: early on in his Savoy days that Escafier made charity 245 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: a priority for his kitchen. So when he first started 246 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:22,160 Speaker 1: working there, he was visited each morning by two nuns 247 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 1: from a group called Little Sisters of the Poor, asking 248 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 1: for things like coffee grounds or tea that could potentially 249 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:30,600 Speaker 1: be brewed a second time, or for crusts of bread, 250 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:32,840 Speaker 1: and these they would take back to what was essentially 251 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:37,280 Speaker 1: a poor retirement house, and the chef was inspired by 252 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: them to incorporate giving into the kitchen's normal routine, So 253 00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 1: first he always made sure that he had some good, 254 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:46,880 Speaker 1: clean supplies to give to them. He would always make 255 00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 1: sure the food was as high end as he could 256 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:53,599 Speaker 1: possibly manage and always very clean. But he also instructed 257 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:56,080 Speaker 1: his staff to save any cuts of meat that they 258 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,720 Speaker 1: could during preparations for banquets and set it aside just 259 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:02,920 Speaker 1: for the little sisters. For example, when they served a 260 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:05,920 Speaker 1: dish like quail to a large group, they'd normally only 261 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:08,439 Speaker 1: be serving the breast, and that meant the legs could 262 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:10,679 Speaker 1: be given to the nuns, along with instructions on how 263 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,440 Speaker 1: to prepare it for the people they were feeding. Since 264 00:14:13,480 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 1: the Savoy's banquets were off in really huge affairs, this 265 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:18,960 Speaker 1: was a substantial amount of food to donate, but it 266 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: was also a substantial amount of food to otherwise be wasting. Yes, 267 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:24,960 Speaker 1: he was not a fan of that kind of waste. 268 00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:28,320 Speaker 1: Now and people were hungry. Escaffie continued to do this 269 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:31,640 Speaker 1: through his whole career. Yeah, he basically instructed his people 270 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: like any cut of meat that was edible but was 271 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:36,920 Speaker 1: not considered like high end enough for some of their 272 00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:39,280 Speaker 1: fancy meals, he would be like, okay, you know where 273 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:40,440 Speaker 1: to put it, And they just had a place in 274 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:42,600 Speaker 1: the kitchen where they would always put those things. At 275 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: the end of every night, everything that was edible went 276 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 1: to the poor, and then they started each new day fresh. 277 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:53,600 Speaker 1: A Scaffie also engaged in this wonderful little bit of 278 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 1: devious ingredient renaming while he was at the Savoy. So 279 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:00,760 Speaker 1: he had prepared frog legs many times as a chef 280 00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: in France, but he also knew that the English thought 281 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 1: this whole idea was gross, and that they often mocked 282 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: the French for eating frog. And he was adamant that 283 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,120 Speaker 1: frog meat was a very fresh and light tasting option 284 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 1: and it was easy to digest. So during a large 285 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,600 Speaker 1: banquet again remember that often these people would just order 286 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 1: a banquet and let them select the menu, one of 287 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:24,960 Speaker 1: the dishes that he served was called nymph a lur 288 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:29,240 Speaker 1: or Nymphs at Dawn, and the nymphs were in fact frog, 289 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 1: and his English guests ate them up in a chauffroi 290 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 1: sauce with paprika, declaring the dish absolutely delicious. This sounds 291 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: appalling to you, I encourage you. If you see things 292 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:48,320 Speaker 1: on your menu that you don't recognize, ask yes. It 293 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:50,960 Speaker 1: makes me laugh so hard. And there were cases where 294 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 1: he particularly I think it was the Prince of Wales 295 00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:55,760 Speaker 1: at the time who was well traveled in New French food, 296 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:58,600 Speaker 1: recognized what it was and what was going on, and 297 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,040 Speaker 1: it was like their little shared seecret, like we're kind 298 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: of pulling one over on these people. While the Savoy 299 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:08,760 Speaker 1: years of a Scaffier's career were overall really happy and 300 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: they made him very well known, he didn't finish the 301 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:13,520 Speaker 1: nineteenth century there and we will talk about his next 302 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 1: career shift. After another quick sponsor break in eighteen ninety seven, 303 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: things started to unravel at the Savoy for Ritz and Escafaier. 304 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:32,880 Speaker 1: So throughout their time with the hotel, both men had 305 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:36,840 Speaker 1: worked side jobs opening new hotels and restaurants, and per 306 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,760 Speaker 1: Escaffier's memoir, a misunderstanding over the nature of these side 307 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:44,440 Speaker 1: businesses led to him and his partner Ritz being fired. 308 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: In recent years, journalist Paul Levy has made the case 309 00:16:47,960 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 1: based on documents which he's come into the possession of 310 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 1: that in fact, the two men were taking kickbacks from 311 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: suppliers and stealing from the hotel's supplies to an exorbitant degree. 312 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 1: Part of this was because Ritz was also working on 313 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,399 Speaker 1: some other projects and he would have potential business partners 314 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: from those projects come to the Savoy and they would 315 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 1: feed them sumptuous, very very expensive meals without charging of 316 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:14,200 Speaker 1: course for them, and so that was kind of considered 317 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 1: part of this theft. Because Ritz was also signing agreements 318 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 1: that made him in charge of like large development projects, 319 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,800 Speaker 1: some that would bear his name eventually, So this is 320 00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:28,240 Speaker 1: part of the problem. Descendants of a Scoffaia have challenged 321 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 1: these claims, but we wanted to make sure we mentioned 322 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:33,600 Speaker 1: it at least, and regardless of the reason for their sacking, 323 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,680 Speaker 1: Escaffier and Ritz moved into a new venue, the Ritz 324 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:40,199 Speaker 1: Hotel in Paris, named for Seesar Ritz, which opened on 325 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 1: June fifth of eighteen ninety eight. This is all the 326 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:44,560 Speaker 1: same kind of stuff that if you work for a 327 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:47,840 Speaker 1: big company today, when you have to take your business 328 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: ethics and compliance training, it is absolutely similar all that 329 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,679 Speaker 1: kind of stuff. Yeah. Once the Paris Ritz was up 330 00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 1: and running, Escoffier and Ritz both returned to London in 331 00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:01,920 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety nine to work at the brand new Carlton Hotel. 332 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,879 Speaker 1: While Escoffier's career before this involved constant shifting around, either 333 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,879 Speaker 1: seasonally or just to take better jobs, he stayed at 334 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:13,399 Speaker 1: the Carlton for over twenty years and on the menu 335 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:15,639 Speaker 1: for the opening of the new hotels. The restaurant was 336 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,440 Speaker 1: peach Melba, appearing on a menu for the first time 337 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:21,440 Speaker 1: and for the record, a lot of the clientele from 338 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 1: the Savoy chose to follow Ritz and Escafie over to 339 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,679 Speaker 1: the Carlton. In nineteen oh three, Escafier wrote what is 340 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: probably his most famous book, Laguide Kulnaire, which he co 341 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: wrote with Phileas Julbert and Emil Feitout. And this book, 342 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 1: which is still in print by the way, became the 343 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:42,560 Speaker 1: bible of French cooking, but really cooking in general in 344 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,880 Speaker 1: terms of restaurant cooking, and it features recipes for all 345 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:49,359 Speaker 1: possible courses. It's laid out in the narrative form that 346 00:18:49,480 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: shows dishes in the order that they should be prepared 347 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:55,359 Speaker 1: and served. And Auguste saw the need for such a 348 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 1: book because he saw that the restaurant industry was growing 349 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,199 Speaker 1: and that it was increasingly important for chefs to be 350 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:04,280 Speaker 1: able to manage kitchens that served huge numbers of guests, 351 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:06,960 Speaker 1: and there was not at this point formal training for it. 352 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: He saw this writing as quote a work tool more 353 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:13,439 Speaker 1: than a book. He was adamant that even though it 354 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: had more than five thousand recipes, it was incomplete. He 355 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:19,280 Speaker 1: knew that the industry would always be evolving and progressing, 356 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 1: and that any new edition of the book would need 357 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 1: to be updated to reflect all those changes. He also 358 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 1: thought the basics would remain constant, and he thought he 359 00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:31,280 Speaker 1: could write what would be, in essence, a foundation document 360 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 1: that chefs could use for years and years to come. 361 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:37,440 Speaker 1: And he was one hundred percent correct, because most chefs 362 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,120 Speaker 1: that run restaurants today have a copy of this book somewhere. 363 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: When the fiftieth anniversary of Escoffier's professional career loomed in 364 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:47,960 Speaker 1: nineteen oh nine, his colleagues took up a collection with 365 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: the intent that they would use the money to buy 366 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:52,840 Speaker 1: him a piece of art with it. But when Agusta 367 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:55,479 Speaker 1: Scoffier was told how much money had come in and 368 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,120 Speaker 1: that they were planning to do this it was about 369 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,560 Speaker 1: six thousand francs, he asked that it instead be donated 370 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:03,400 Speaker 1: to a retirement home that took care of elderly chefs 371 00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:06,280 Speaker 1: who had little or no money, and on the night 372 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:08,639 Speaker 1: of the celebration of his career, he was gifted with 373 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,680 Speaker 1: a silver cup from the hotel rather than a lavish 374 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 1: piece of art. In nineteen ten, Escoffier published a pamphlet 375 00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:20,240 Speaker 1: on suppressing poverty. He felt that if every person followed 376 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 1: the adage to love your neighbor as yourself, like really 377 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 1: truly followed it, that poverty would be erased. He advocated 378 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: for a universal old age pension system, particularly citing the 379 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,399 Speaker 1: people who had worked their whole lives and jobs that 380 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:37,960 Speaker 1: just hadn't allowed them to put money aside for retirement. Yeah, 381 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 1: because he had worked in the service industry his entire life, 382 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,080 Speaker 1: he had been very keenly aware that the people that 383 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: were kind of at the lowest levels in any organization 384 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:48,920 Speaker 1: and were getting paid the least, were often working the hardest, 385 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,280 Speaker 1: and he thought their work was just as honorable as 386 00:20:51,280 --> 00:20:53,359 Speaker 1: anyone else's, and that they should not have to rely 387 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 1: on charity in their elder years to get by, and 388 00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 1: that there should be some sort of system put in 389 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 1: place to make sure that all people had an equal 390 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 1: shot at a lovely retirement. Starting in nineteen eleven, A 391 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: Scaffier started publishing a magazine which came out monthly called 392 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 1: Le Coue de Piqueure That's a Gourmet's Notebook, and he 393 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:16,399 Speaker 1: published that magazine for three years and his hopes that 394 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: it would spread knowledge of French cooking to other countries 395 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:22,440 Speaker 1: and in turn would help French tourism. But when World 396 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: War One began, the magazine would put aside. Also in 397 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: nineteen eleven, a fire started in one of the elevators 398 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,359 Speaker 1: at the Carlton Hotel that did an estimated two million 399 00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: francs worth of damage. There weren't any fatalities, but all 400 00:21:35,119 --> 00:21:38,800 Speaker 1: of the rooms were damaged. A Scaffaer rallied the staff 401 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:43,119 Speaker 1: and the restaurant was immediately open and serving meals. Uh yeah. 402 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,920 Speaker 1: The rooms that they could rent out to guests could 403 00:21:45,920 --> 00:21:47,840 Speaker 1: not be filled for a while while they fixed things up, 404 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,480 Speaker 1: but the restaurant at least could continue to bring in 405 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,400 Speaker 1: a little bit of money. In nineteen twelve, A Scaffier 406 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: participated in what I think is a fabulously interesting dinner 407 00:21:57,520 --> 00:21:59,639 Speaker 1: with his friends from a club that he had formed 408 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 1: called La Ligue de Germande, and A Scafier created a 409 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:07,919 Speaker 1: menu that was served simultaneously to club members in restaurants 410 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,840 Speaker 1: throughout Europe. So each kitchen prepared all of the dishes 411 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: as outlined by the famous cook, and then, according to 412 00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:19,200 Speaker 1: Escaffier's memoirs, throughout the continent. At the same time, four 413 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:23,320 Speaker 1: thousand people were eating the same meal, and during this event, 414 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:28,560 Speaker 1: called the Dnee Depiqueux, Escafier received telegrams from friends and fellows, 415 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:30,960 Speaker 1: some of whom were very famous, taking part in this 416 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 1: celebration and marveling at what a wonderful thing it was. 417 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 1: While his magazine was underway, Escaffier also published a book 418 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,640 Speaker 1: titled Le Livre de minute or The Book of Menus, 419 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 1: in nineteen twelve. And as we said, once the war 420 00:22:44,600 --> 00:22:48,119 Speaker 1: began in nineteen fourteen, things changed. His magazine ceased publication, 421 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:52,639 Speaker 1: but Escafier also faced rationing and shortage issues, not unlike 422 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:54,919 Speaker 1: when he had been a cook in the military, but 423 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:57,360 Speaker 1: this time it was his job not to feed soldiers, 424 00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 1: but to keep a luxury restaurant running today spite those shortages, 425 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:04,360 Speaker 1: and to that end he once again got very creative 426 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: with menus. So he increased the use of venison, eggs 427 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:11,679 Speaker 1: and bacon, among other non ration food ingredients. And he 428 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: made contact directly with fishermen so that he could get 429 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:17,440 Speaker 1: fresh seafood without having to go through the rationed markets. 430 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: And he substituted cocoa butter for dairy butter which was 431 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,840 Speaker 1: not available at the time. He kind of threw this 432 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,120 Speaker 1: really started getting a sense of what we would call 433 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:29,080 Speaker 1: today farm to table, where he was like, oh, yes, 434 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:31,440 Speaker 1: fresh directly from the supplier is the best way to go. 435 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:34,879 Speaker 1: And he had always been excellent at improvising when faced 436 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:37,959 Speaker 1: with problems of supply, and it really served him well 437 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 1: during these lean times because he created some very, very 438 00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,400 Speaker 1: beloved dishes. He also kept on with his philanthropic work 439 00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:47,840 Speaker 1: during the war. He created a support committee to help 440 00:23:47,920 --> 00:23:50,400 Speaker 1: raise the funds for the families of staff that had 441 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,280 Speaker 1: been sent to the front to fight, and he distributed 442 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 1: the funds that were raised on a weekly basis. He 443 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,400 Speaker 1: also hired more staff than he really needed to try 444 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,200 Speaker 1: to keep families afloat, and he worked to make sure 445 00:24:01,240 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 1: that when men returned from fighting they could once again 446 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:07,919 Speaker 1: find a position at the Carlton. On November eleventh, nineteen eighteen, 447 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 1: when the armistice was announced, the hotel's restaurant was almost 448 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:15,440 Speaker 1: immediately booked to capacity, with reservations for people who were 449 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:18,560 Speaker 1: eager to celebrate the end of the war. And so, 450 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:20,880 Speaker 1: with seven hundred and twelve seats booked for the night 451 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 1: and food restrictions still in place that limited his options. 452 00:24:24,680 --> 00:24:27,920 Speaker 1: Escafaier got very, very creative, indeed, so for the main 453 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,760 Speaker 1: dish that night, he combined all of the various meats 454 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:32,640 Speaker 1: he had on hand in a mincer because he didn't 455 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,000 Speaker 1: have a whole lot of any one meat, and then 456 00:24:35,040 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 1: he mixed that result with a patie and bread and 457 00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: that had been soaked in cream so it was soft, 458 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:42,719 Speaker 1: and he made what he called little mignonettes, so they 459 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:45,600 Speaker 1: were almost like a French meatball. On the one year 460 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 1: anniversary of the Armistice, Escafaie was awarded the Legion of 461 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:51,159 Speaker 1: Honor and he became an officer of the Order in 462 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty eight. Yeah He described a becoming part of 463 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:57,959 Speaker 1: the Legion of Honor as one of the greatest honors 464 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,639 Speaker 1: of his life and Augusta Scoffier, after the war, was 465 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:06,119 Speaker 1: tired and he retired from running kitchens in nineteen twenty one. 466 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:08,800 Speaker 1: He has this unique distinction of having never worked for 467 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:11,960 Speaker 1: a private household in his career as a cook or chef. 468 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:14,800 Speaker 1: But even after he and his wife, Delphine moved to 469 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,920 Speaker 1: Monte Carlo for their retirement, he continued to write books 470 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:20,919 Speaker 1: about cooking and running a kitchen. Professionally, and in his 471 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,639 Speaker 1: writing he codified a lot of the innovations that he 472 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 1: had implemented during his long career. He wrote about the 473 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:31,159 Speaker 1: importance of sanitation and kitchen safety, and his brigade the 474 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:35,080 Speaker 1: cuisine system of kitchen management, which is organized military style, 475 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:37,480 Speaker 1: with the Chef de cuisine, which is the chief of 476 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:39,840 Speaker 1: the kitchen, as the leader, and all the other positions 477 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: ranked below that one. He also wrote about something that 478 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: we mentioned earlier in his first book, of serving meals 479 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,520 Speaker 1: one course at a time, because prior to that the 480 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,440 Speaker 1: standard practice had been everything hitting the table at once, 481 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:54,280 Speaker 1: and then people just knew to eat them in order. 482 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,080 Speaker 1: And he also outlined his method of canning vegetables, which 483 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:00,800 Speaker 1: was new that was something he had pioneered in response 484 00:26:01,119 --> 00:26:04,800 Speaker 1: to rationing during his time in the military. And he 485 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:07,640 Speaker 1: also was entirely ahead of his time when it came 486 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:11,080 Speaker 1: to healthful cooking. I mentioned already that he thought about 487 00:26:11,160 --> 00:26:14,360 Speaker 1: nutrition in a much broader way than most people did, 488 00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:18,160 Speaker 1: and as you may recall from our Marie Antoine carrem episode, 489 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,800 Speaker 1: France had shifted to less decadent cooking trends over time 490 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:25,800 Speaker 1: after the French Revolution, and Escafier took that idea even 491 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,520 Speaker 1: farther by extolling the virtues of the freshest possible ingredients 492 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:33,560 Speaker 1: obtained directly from farms and fishermen. He felt and wrote 493 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:37,199 Speaker 1: that everyone should have access to good, healthy food and 494 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:40,880 Speaker 1: what he called a courteous style of living, meaning meals 495 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,640 Speaker 1: shared among friends and loved ones using fine cooking traditions 496 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:47,600 Speaker 1: and shared from one generation to the next. Yeah, he 497 00:26:47,640 --> 00:26:50,120 Speaker 1: thought like fine cooking should not be something that only 498 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:52,399 Speaker 1: someone who ran a professional kitchen should know, but that 499 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: families should know it and share it with one another, 500 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:57,720 Speaker 1: and that it should just be part of life. And 501 00:26:57,760 --> 00:26:59,600 Speaker 1: when you went to a restaurant, it was just so 502 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,320 Speaker 1: you didn't have to do that, but you had the knowledge. 503 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:06,520 Speaker 1: And of course Escoffier built on the four mother sauces 504 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:10,199 Speaker 1: established by Marie Antoine cauerrem and the result ended up 505 00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: being a little bit of a rework that landed at 506 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:16,560 Speaker 1: five mother sauces, which remained standard in French cooking. So 507 00:27:16,600 --> 00:27:21,679 Speaker 1: those are Beschema, tomat veloute, Espanol and Hollandais. Thank you, 508 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:25,000 Speaker 1: Monsieur Scoffier, because they have all given me great joy. 509 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:30,439 Speaker 1: Augusta Scoffier died in Monte Carlo, Monaco and his home 510 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:33,840 Speaker 1: on February twelfth, nineteen thirty five, just a few days 511 00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:37,880 Speaker 1: after his wife died. He was eighty nine. His remains 512 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:40,439 Speaker 1: were buried in the town where he was born, in 513 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:45,560 Speaker 1: his family's vault. Escoffier's memoirs were published well after his death. 514 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:49,439 Speaker 1: When he died, his son Paul had assembled all of 515 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 1: the notes and documents that he had gone and collected 516 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,720 Speaker 1: from the Monte Carlo house as well as Escoffie's apartment 517 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,959 Speaker 1: that he kept in Paris, and those notes included a 518 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,040 Speaker 1: memoir that the chef had written, and those works were 519 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:04,400 Speaker 1: finally published by A Scoffier's grandson in nineteen eighty five 520 00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 1: in French, and those were expanded and translated beginning in 521 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:10,680 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety six to mark Augusta Scoffier's one hundred and 522 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:15,600 Speaker 1: fiftieth birthday. Today, the Augusta Scoffier Foundation runs the Escaffie 523 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:20,879 Speaker 1: Museum of Culinary Arts at his birthplace. The Escoffier School 524 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 1: of Culinary Arts offers training at several campuses and online 525 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:28,720 Speaker 1: courses as well, and Michel Escoffier, who is the great 526 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:32,040 Speaker 1: grandson of the Chef of Kings sits on the advisory 527 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,280 Speaker 1: board for the school, and in Escoffier's memoir, which is 528 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:38,200 Speaker 1: a great read and really easy to read because it's 529 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: the chapters are short, but it's also very fun because 530 00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 1: you really do get a sense that he could not 531 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,120 Speaker 1: stop talking about how to make food, because he'll be 532 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 1: in the middle of telling a story and then be like, 533 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:49,760 Speaker 1: let me give you the recipe, and it will just 534 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 1: drop in, like in the middle of sort of a 535 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 1: paragraph of a narrative. But there was a passage in 536 00:28:56,960 --> 00:28:59,719 Speaker 1: that memoir that struck me that he wrote about when 537 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:02,760 Speaker 1: he first entered the cooking profession as a teenage apprentice 538 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:06,840 Speaker 1: and how he began to look at cooking, and it 539 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 1: really nicely encapsulates his ideology about the importance of this career. 540 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:15,280 Speaker 1: He wrote quote, at the time, high society held little 541 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:18,720 Speaker 1: esteem for the profession of cook This should never have 542 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:22,200 Speaker 1: been the case, for cooking is a science and an art, 543 00:29:22,320 --> 00:29:24,880 Speaker 1: and one who puts all his heart into satisfying his 544 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:32,160 Speaker 1: fellow man deserves recognition. Hey French food, yeah, which is 545 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:35,320 Speaker 1: always a big favorite of mine. And I just love 546 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:41,080 Speaker 1: his story. I love how he has impacted so many 547 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,480 Speaker 1: meals that you know you and I and everyone who 548 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 1: has ever eaten in a restaurant has had as well 549 00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,640 Speaker 1: as just sort of bringing French cooking to a wider 550 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:51,920 Speaker 1: audience in some ways. You know, we talk about in 551 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: the modern era Julia Child being a person that really 552 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:58,560 Speaker 1: really disseminated information about French cooking to the masses, and 553 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:01,680 Speaker 1: he was sort of her precursory that they have a 554 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: little overlap in their lifetimes, but they did not actually meet. 555 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:12,000 Speaker 1: I don't think. Thanks so much for joining us on 556 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,959 Speaker 1: this Saturday. Since this episode is out of the archive, 557 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:17,280 Speaker 1: if you heard an email address or a Facebook RL 558 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:19,680 Speaker 1: or something similar over the course of the show, that 559 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,880 Speaker 1: could be obsolete now. Our current email address is History 560 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:28,560 Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. You can find us all 561 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:32,440 Speaker 1: over social media at missed Inhistory, and you can subscribe 562 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:36,640 Speaker 1: to our show on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, 563 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:42,320 Speaker 1: and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Stuff you Missed 564 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:45,480 Speaker 1: in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more 565 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 1: podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or 566 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,160 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.