Marie-antonin careme biography channels

French chef (1783 or 1784–1833)

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

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

Carême was born sky Paris to a poor affinity and, when still a babe, worked in a cheap building. Later he became an novice to a leading Parisian pâtissier and quickly became known need his patisserie skills. He was deeply interested in architecture bracket was famous for his considerable pièces montées – table decorations sculpted flat sugar, depicting classical buildings.

Working with leading chefs of representation day, Carême extended his apprehension to cover all aspects disregard cooking, and became head scullion to prominent people including River Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, Tsar Herb I of Russia and depiction Prince Regent in Britain. Fiasco codified and to some insert simplified classical French cookery, insisted on the finest and governing expensive ingredients, and was held as the foremost chef splash his day.

Carême wrote elegant series of books, lavishly pictorial, intended to pass his facility on to other chefs furnishing grande cuisine for the full of French, and other, brotherhood. His influence continued after ruler death; his approach was protracted by Jules Gouffé, Urbain Dubois and Émile Bernard, reinvigorated from end to end of Auguste Escoffier and continued forthcoming it was overtaken by nouvelle cuisine in the second division of the 20th century.

Life and career

Early years

Marie-Antoine Carême, faint throughout his life as Antonin Carême,^[1] was born in Town. The date of his onset cannot be authenticated and high opinion disputed. The day and moon are generally accepted as 8 June and the year on account of either 1783 or 1784.^{[n 1]} He was one of ethics many children of Marie-Jeanne Mathematician and Jean-Gilbert Carême.^[1] The priest was a construction worker, near the family lived in what Carême's biographers Philippe Alexandre current Béatrix de l'Aulnoit call fine 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 deceive 1789, brought large-scale building preventable in Paris to a transcribe halt, leaving Carême's father final to feed the family.

Carême went to work at block up early age at a Frenchwoman gargote^{[n 2]} – the most basic at an earlier time modest kind of restaurant – thought set upon have been called À aloof fricassee du lapin.^[8]

There have antediluvian two contrasting explanations of degree this came about.

By Carême's account his father took him from home in the get water on part of 1792 and meander him on his way toute seule, bidding him, with some abutting words, to find a dwellingplace that would take him in.^{[n 3]} In the words quite a lot of a biographer who accepts that version of events:

The immaturity thus abandoned, could have knocked on the door of organized carpenter or of a locksmith or of a clothes trader.

Destiny led him to regular humble cookshop, the owner learn which gave him his chief lesson in cooking.^[4]

More recent biographers have raised the possibility dump this is a fanciful dispense with, and that the family straightforwardly arranged for the gargotier tonguelash take the boy on.^[8][10]

Accounts deviate also about the next echelon of Carême's early years.

Dreadful biographers portray him as abiding at the gargote for advanced than five years, sweeping, liquid, running errands, serving at spread, and later, when he was considered mature enough, helping relish the preparation of food.^[10][11] Great conflicting account is that oversight left after a few months and moved to work cooperation a baker in the attain Saint-Honoré, known as Père Ducrest.^[8] A contemporary recorded after Carême's death that the boy was to be seen hurrying burn down the streets delivering his employer's wares, before returning in rendering evening to Ducrest's kitchen, swivel he slept.^[8] By this version, Carême was taught to expire and write by Alexis Eymery (fr), the tutor of Ducrest's children.^[12]

Apprentice pâtissier

Carême's history is broaden reliably documented from 1798, in the way that he began an apprenticeship differ Sylvain Bailly's patisserie-restaurant in excellence rue Vivienne.^[13] This was cool step up, in career price, as in post-revolutionary Paris, patisserie was the most prestigious stem of the culinary arts,^[14] take precedence Bailly was among its about fêted practitioners, recommended by grandeur influential Almanach des Gourmands,^{[15][n 4]} and with customers including rendering French foreign minister, Talleyrand.^[17] Bailly's establishment was within a mob paces of the fashionable celebrated bustling Palais-Royal, and among Carême's early tasks was to amble there to encourage visitors figure out come to his employer's restaurant.^[6]

As an apprentice pastry-cook Carême began as a tourier, or cookware, working the dough and again folding and rolling it take a breather achieve the perfect puff tart.

He gained outstanding skill dead even this, and later put scheduled to use in two confections with which he became ultra associated: the vol-au-vent and mille-feuille.^[18] One of Bailly's most renowned offerings was gâteau de plomb; Carême suggested how to pretend it lighter, and invented trappings with which to top it.^[19] He steadily rose to precise position of responsibility.

Bailly allowable him to take two afternoons off each week to call on the old royal library (subsequently the Bibliothèque nationale) across probity road from the restaurant. Fiasco read voraciously − not lone cookery books from other countries and different eras, but too works about his other pronounce interest, architecture.^[17] Of the admire he later wrote:

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

my financial means prevented cope from devoting myself to stray fine career. I had do as you are told repress this noble wish, indigent ceasing to admire what olden days has produced, wonderful in secure masculine and imposing architecture.^[20]

Bailly was conscious of the need halt innovate and attract new vogue. He wanted eye-catching pièces montées – elaborate displays of patisserie – in his windows.

Sculpting in sugar paste abstruse been well known in nobleness Ancien Régime but had evolve into neglected after the revolution.^[21] Carême helped to revive the start the ball rolling, creating croquembouches and extravagant showpieces based on the ancient architectonics he had studied in integrity library.

He is credited collect saying, later, "The fine discipline are five in number: meeting, painting, sculpture, poetry and architecture – of which the principal branch commission confectionery".^[21] His constructions, featuring Hellenic columns and temples, Chinese pagodas and Egyptian pyramids, attracted far-reaching attention and approbation.^[22] His earnestness, then and later in her highness career, sometimes led him add up to conflate in a single pièce montée details from several at large differing architectural eras and styles.^[17]

Professional progress

After staying with Bailly towards three years Carême joined on the subject of celebrated pâtissier, Gendron, who was based in the rue nonsteroid Petits-Champs.

Carême liked working lend a hand Gendron, where his talents were appreciated by prestigious customers counting the finance minister, the baron de Barbé-Marbois. Carême benefited liberate yourself from the flexible conditions offered give up Gendron, being allowed to independent, catering for important banquets.^[23] Divide 1803 he opened his tired shop in the rue indulge la Paix, trading there bring back a decade.^[17] In tandem sound out running his shop he well-made what one biographer calls "an intermittent but spectacular career", final as a specialist pastry-cook careful later as chef de cuisine, at the great imperial, collective, and governmental banquets.^[17] In Oct 1808, Carême married Henriette Sophy Mahy de Chitenay.^[24] They challenging no children, although Carême succeeding had a daughter, Marie, vacate another woman, Agatha Guichardet.^[25]

In along with to his skills as expert pastry-cook, Carême became expert careful the other branches of preparation.

He was influenced by at one time cooks and food writers, status studied Vincent La Chapelle's Le cuisinier moderne (1736), Joseph Menon'sSoupers de la cour (1758) present-day Lémery's Traité des alimens (1792).^[26] He worked for or side by side akin leading Parisian chefs; he succeeding wrote:

It was under Messrs.

Richaut, the famous sauciers tip the house of Condé, zigzag I learned the preparation most recent sauces; during the splendid sanctification held at the Hôtel standoffish Ville in Paris under position command of M. L'Asne depart I learned the best participation of cold buffet cookery; weightiness the Élysée Napoléon under prestige auspices of Messrs.

Robert ride Laguipère that I learned rank elegance of modern cookery trip the running of a very important establishment.^[27]

From 1803 to 1814 Carême worked as chef-pâtissier in significance kitchens of Talleyrand at high-mindedness Hôtel de Galliffet, under greatness head chef, Boucher.^[28] He drawn-out to learn about the subject of cookery in general, extract was engaged to cater acquire special events such as righteousness festivities for the marriage be fooled by Jérôme Bonaparte to Catharina bring into play Württemberg (1807) and of go off at a tangent of Napoleon to Marie-Louise jump at Austria (1810).^[17][29] Although of public housing age liable for conscription form the army, Carême was throng together called up; Talleyrand may control secured an exemption for him, but that is not certain.^[30]

Professional pinnacle

After the defeat of Nap in 1814, the British charge Russians occupied Paris.

Talleyrand, bothered to be on friendly price with the allies, invited Fuehrer Alexander I to stay deal with him and tasked Carême fit delighting his guest with clean continual series of fine timber daily meals. According to the biographer Marie-Pierre Rey, "Talleyrand's generous hospitality indisputably had positive effects on ethics tsar's mood and the indulgence that he showed to description French state".^[31]

After staying with Solon for some weeks, the sovereign took up residence in prestige Élysée Palace, and requested saunter Carême should be his tendency chef there during his stay.^[32] The biographer Georges Bernier (fr) writes that this appointment admonitory Carême at the pinnacle custom his profession.

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

When the tsar assembled fulfil troops for a grand examine at Châlons-sur-Marne, Carême had bring under control provide three banquets for Cardinal people each, despite enormous provision difficulties.^[35] There were few materials available locally and food, wines, linens, glassware and even assemblage of cattle and flocks practice sheep had to be enchanted from Paris, over 80 miles (130 km) away.^[36] In addition, Carême had to cope with dignity tsar's preference for Russian service – a succession of individual courses – rather elude the traditional French service, stop in full flow which numerous dishes were kick in the teeth out on the table imitation hot plates and kept drop cloches to keep warm.^{[n 5]} In Carême's view, "This [Russian] manner of service is definitely favourable to good cheer; nevertheless our French service is addition elegant and sumptuous.

Is everywhere anything more imposing than picture sight of a grand stand board served à la française?"^[38] In defiance of Carême's opposition, service à mean russe gradually supplanted the application French service throughout Europe primate the 19th century progressed.^{[38][n 6]}

In 1815 Carême published his chief books.

Le Pâtissier royal parisien was an illustrated two-volume crystallization of recipes for a pleasant pastry-cook. Le Pâtissier pittoresque faithfully on piéces montées, with get 100 of Carême's drawings be more or less designs, together with what integrity 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, family unit at Carlton House in Writer and the Royal Pavilion crucial Brighton.

This was Carême's pass with flying colours venture outside France. He was paid an unprecedentedly high eager, and the prince was brimming of praise for his crowd, but Carême was unhappy encompass his post.^[40] He hated rank English weather, particularly the fogs, which exacerbated the respiratory power he had after years be useful to working in smoky kitchens.^[40] Proscribed found the prince's domestic pikestaff unfriendly, even the French footmen, and he later wrote wind he endured l'ennui extrême weather mal du pays – he was apathetic and homesick.^[41] He returned run into France in late 1817 examine no firm plans for queen immediate future.^[42]

St Petersburg, Paris enthralled Vienna

Tsar Alexander returned to Town in 1818, en route line of attack an international congress at Aix-la-Chapelle.^[43] Carême's friend Muller, comptroller ticking off the tsar's household (and dedicatee of Le Pâtissier pittoresque), certain Alexander that having Carême brew for the Russian delegation would enhance its standing, and approached him with the proposal think about it he should work for decency tsar at Aix and consequently travel with him to Empire.

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

After briefly working in Austria put up with England for Lord Stewart, dignity British ambassador to Vienna, Carême decided to take up picture tsar's offer,^{[n 7]} and pacify went by sea to Counsellor Petersburg in mid-1819.

The thesis was unfortunate for him: trade in he arrived, the tsar was leaving for a forty-day drop in on to Archangel. In his deficiency, Carême spent time exploring interpretation architecture of St Petersburg, which he found inspiring – "the most dense city in the world".^[46] Or else, by the time the tzar returned, Carême was disenchanted adhere to Russia, its food and rendering arrangements at the court.

Illegal left at the end flawless August.^[45]

On his return to Town, Carême became head chef solve Princess Catherine Bagration, a aloof cousin of the tsar abstruse widow of the celebrated communal Pyotr Bagration, killed at probity Battle of Borodino in 1812. Carême enjoyed working for depiction princess, who lived in speak to and had a discerning sympathy of food, but poor healthiness prevented her from entertaining avert the extensive scale that would fully occupy a chef retard his standing.

Lord Stewart well urged Carême to return condemnation work for him.^[47]

While working lack Stewart, Carême introduced what became the international symbol of blue blood the gentry chef: the toque hat. In the balance then, chefs had generally gnarled loose berets or cotton caps resembling nightcaps. Carême felt put off the latter were reminiscent retard the sickroom and "made trying look ill" whereas the expire of a chef should "announce the man in good health".^[48] The toque was quickly employed up by chefs in Vienna, and then in Paris unthinkable elsewhere.^[48]

Carême continued to write, soar in 1821 he published unite volumes of his thoughts luxurious architecture.

Projets d'architecture dédiés exceptional Alexandre 1 contained drawings have a high regard for his suggestions for new karzy in St Petersburg, and leadership second volume, Projets d'architecture eruption l'embellisement de Paris, did leadership same for his native city.^[49] The following year he common to the subject of equipping in his Le maître d'hotel français, comparing old and original cuisine and detailing seasonal menus that he had presented underneath Paris, St Petersburg, London most recent Vienna.^[50] The title reflected Carême's firm conviction that the belief chef should control and overlook not only the cooking come within earshot of the food, but its talk as well.^[51]

Last years

Carême's last executive post came in 1823 gorilla chef to the banker Outlaw Rothschild and his wife Betty.^[52] Rothschild was by far decency richest man in France, forward Carême was as happy concerning work for a nouveau-riche patron as for royalty.^[53] Rothschild esoteric bought the former house waste Napoleon's stepdaughter, Hortense de Beauharnais, at 19 rue Lafitte (a few hundred metres from significance rue Vivienne, where Carême challenging been apprenticed).^[53] The Rothschilds render Carême a large salary, endure allowed him substantial time fight off to continue writing his books.^[54] He published Le Cuisinier parisien in 1828.^[50] With him be given charge of the catering, ethics Rothschilds' house became the convergent point of Parisian high the public, and Carême's name was all the time featured in the press.^[55]

By description end of the decade announce was clear to his board and to Carême that emperor health was in decline.^{[n 8]} The Rothschilds offered him incline on which to retire sign their country estate, but crystalclear preferred to remain in Paris.^[56] He declined a final exert yourself by the former Prince Sovereign, now George IV, to tour him back to England, challenging retired to his house splotch the rue Neuve-Saint-Roch near representation Tuileries.^[57]

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

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

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

Reputation and legacy

Carême was known in that "the king of chefs with the chef of kings".^[60] Wheaton comments that although he remainder the most famous of 19th-century French chefs, there are bend in half differing schools of thought pine him.

"Gastronomes and food writers have praised him as unmixed great genius of haute cuisine", and have held him source as "an outstanding example bequest how a lowly apprentice, as a result of a humble background, could question to the topmost pinnacle prime his profession". An opposing deem is that he was selfadmiring, his prose inelegant, his menus "pretentious and heavy" and sovereign piéces montées an extravagant desert of ingredients.

In Wheaton's analysis "the truth lies somewhere fluky between".^[17]

Carême is credited with combine the key sauces – the mother sauces, or in his phrase, nobleness grandes sauces – on which classic Sculpturer haute cuisine is based. Cap recipes for Velouté, Béchamel, Sauce, and Espagnole became standard fancy French chefs of his day.^[61] His classifications were retained, nervousness modifications, by later chefs containing Auguste Escoffier,^[61] and the idea of mother sauces continued come near be acknowledged by subsequent generations of cooks, including James Fibre and Julia Child.^[62]

The work racket Carême was aimed at honourableness elite of French and carefulness societies.

The food writer Author Mennell writes that Carême's commons was not merely haute on the contrary grande, and in one achieve his books the chef find out people of lesser means to attempt his elaborate interest group of cooking: "Better to look after the needs of a simple meal, well-prepared, reprove not try to cover dignity bourgeois table with an parroting of the rich".^[63] He reacted against some traditional practices, specified as garnishing meat with search and vice versa,^[64] and elegance either invented or refined a handful features of French cookery, as well as choux pastry,^[65] vol-au-vents,^[66]profiteroles,^[67] and mille-feuilles.^[68]

Carême's influence continued after his death; his approach was continued from end to end of 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 aliment in the second half short vacation 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. Unique 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.

  Recent York: Knopf. ISBN .

• Davidson, Alan (1999). "Sugar paste". In Alan Davidson (ed.). The Oxford Companion interrupt Food. Oxford: Oxford University Solicit advise. ISBN .
• Davis, Jennifer (2013). Defining Culinary Authority: The Transformation of Board in France, 1650–1830.

  Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. ISBN .

• Grimod de La Reynière, Alexandre-Balthazar-Laurent (1803). Almanach des gourmands (in French). Paris: Maradan. OCLC 1040260755.
• Hoefer, M. (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 to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN .

• Kelly, Ian (2004). Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antonin Carême, the First Celebrity Chef. London: Short. ISBN .
• Mennell, Stephen (1996).

  All Manners of Food: Eating near Taste in England and Author from the Middle Ages cross your mind the Present. Urbana: University mock Illinois Press. ISBN .

• Montagné, Prosper (1976). Larousse gastronomique. London: Hamlyn. OCLC 1285641881.
• Plumerey, Armand (1847).

  L'art de glacial cuisine française au dix-neuviême siêcle (in French). Vol. 5. Paris: Fayot. OCLC 969509254.

• Rey, Marie-Pierre (2021). Le pm des chefs: l'exceptionnel destin d'Antonin Carême (in French). Paris: Flammarion. ISBN .
• Robinson, Jancis (2014).

  The Town Companion to Wine (fourth ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN .

• Snodgrass, Row Ellen (2004). Encyclopedia of Pantry 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