A few days before holiday meals and other celebrations, who better than Auguste Escoffier could be honored?
Initiated by the Escoffier Museum of Culinary Art, Élodie Polo Ackermann, with the help of David Brunat and the expertise of historian and author Pascal Ory, pays homage to this chef. He managed to leave a mark on the entire profession with his inventiveness and humanism. Kitchen organization, new dish composition, creation of a simple and innovative cuisine, author of the Guide Culinaire, a key work in the codification of French cuisine, Auguste Escoffier is still today one of the most respected chefs in the world.
“A fascinating character, Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935) is today revered by chefs around the globe. Rightly so. Born in Villeneuve-Loubet in 1846, this blacksmith’s son who was destined for nothing remarkable truly revolutionized gastronomy with his boundless creativity. Advocating for a simple and inventive cuisine which he elevated to the rank of art, he invented the world of dining, rethought the composition of dishes and the organization of kitchens, even down to the work attire of his teams.
A simple meeting, however, was enough to change his life: César Ritz. The two men were complementary: Ritz, a shrewd businessman, shaped the modern-day palace and made the art of French living the reference for luxury and good taste; thanks to him, Escoffier could write new chapters in the history of cuisine at will. Together, they worked successively on the creation of the Savoy, the Ritz, and the Carlton.
Luxe places that never made him forget his humble origins. A philanthropist, Escoffier contemplated seriously on ways to feed people equally. But the fame of this big-hearted man, friend of the artists of his time, from Zola to Sarah Bernhardt, has always been linked to the success of his continually reinvented recipes… Who does not know today his Peach Melba?
