I'm on a diet, which may explain why the name of George Auguste Escoffier jumped out of today's list of birthdays. He worked in the great kitchens of Europe for 62 years, and those kitchens were great because he worked in them. The books he wrote are still selling, although I think it would be dangerous for me to run out and buy any of them. As absurd as it might have been in most armies, he was Chef de Cuisine in the French army during the Franco-German War, a post that caused him to formally study the process of canning food. As bizarre as it might sound in today's restaurants, Escoffier would prepare a menu (including new dishes) based on his knowledge of the patrons or just a description of a group of diners relayed by the waiters. I'm sure he could make me very, very happy and still keep dinner under 20 grams of carbohydrates - I wish he were here to try it.
A Roman emperor had a vision and won a quick battle, Cardinal Richelieu had a vision for France and won a battle that took 15 months. Gulliver's Travels hit the streets, and the sheets came off the Statue of Liberty. The guiding hand behind Vatican II was elected pope, on the same day another "reform" was voted in - although one with much less success. And a Greek general "just said no" on this day in 1940.
312 - Roman emperor Constantine, aged 32, defeated the army of Maxentius at Milvian Bridge, after trusting in a vision he had seen of a cross inscribed with the words, "In this sign conquer." Constantine converted soon after and became the first Roman emperor to embrace the Christian faith.
1628 - After a siege mounted by Cardinal de Richelieu that lasted fifteen months the Protestant stronghold La Rochelle surrendered. The Huguenots were granted freedom of religion, but the fortifications were razed and their canon melted down, their leader the Duc de Rohan was sent into exile but was allowed to fight for French interests in Italy.
1726 - Irish satirist Jonathan Swift published Gulliver's Travels. As he was Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin at the time it went to press anonymously, it sold out in a week and has been in print ever since.
1886 - The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on Bedloe's Island in New York harbor by US President Grover Cleveland. Originally planned for the centennial of the US Declaration of Independence, the installation was delayed by lack of funds for site preparation. A million New Yorkers watched the parade, it was a holiday for all of New York except Wall Street, where clerks unreeled spools of ticker tape over the parade route - the first ticker tape parade.
1919 - The US Senate passed the National Prohibition Enforcement Act (Volstead Act) over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The Volstead Act was the implementing legislation for enforcement of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, it defined "intoxicating liquor" as any beverage containing more than .5% alcohol.
1958 - Angelo Giuseppe Cardinal Roncalli, a career Vatican diplomat from 1925 to 1953, and cardinal and patriarch of Venice, was elected Pope. He chose to rule the Roman church as John XXIII.
Ochi Day, Greece and Cyprus - On this day in 1940 Mussolini gave Greece an ultimatum: surrender or be invaded. General Ioannis Metaxas said "Ochi." (That's "no" in Greek.) Since the end of World War II this has been the national day of Greece; parades, music and dancing celebrate Greek independence.
1846
- George Auguste Escoffier, French chef - Born at Villeneuve Loubet,
a village in Provence, father was a blacksmith who also grew tobacco.
Attended local school through age 12, apprenticed to his uncle's restaurant
in Nice until age 19 when the owner of Le Petit Moulin Rouge noticed him
and hired him for that Parisian restaurant. When the Franco-Prussian War
started in 1870 he was appointed Chef de Cuisine, became the first to
thoroughly study canning to feed troops in the field. Returned to Moulin
Rouge and worked in a series of Paris restaurants, wearing elevator shoes
in the kitchen due to his diminutive stature. Married Delphine Daffis,
the daughter of a publisher, in 1880 - she helped with his early books
which are still consulted as an authority today. For six years starting
in 1884 was in charge of the kitchens or the Grand Hotel at Monaco in
Winter and the Hotel National at Lucerne, Switzerland in Summer, meeting
Cesar Ritz. The two were hired to take charge of the Savoy Hotel in London
in 1890, training kitchen and service staff at the Savoy and Carlton at
London, the Grand Hotel at Rome, The Ritz Hotels at Paris, London, New
York, Montreal, and Philadelphia, establishing standards in cuisine and
service for hotels around the world. Escoffier essentially invented the
high-volume kitchen, preparing a constantly changing menu, often developing
new dishes to please or honor specific restaurant guests, the most widely
known of which was Peach Melba in honor of Australian opera star Nellie
Melba who lived at the Savoy in 1892 and 1893. Ritz and Escoffier opened
the Hotel Ritz at Paris in 1898, with electric lighting but wood-fired
ovens in the kitchen (and 185,000 bottles in the cellars), the Carlton
Hotel at London the following year. (Ritz had a nervous breakdown in 1901,
Escoffier remained at the Carlton until 1919.) Retired in 1919 and moved
to Monte Carlo, but despite his 7 years was soon helping run the Hotel
de I'Ermitage. First chef to join the Order of Officer of the Legion of
Honor in 1920, received the Rosette of an Officer of the Legion from Kaiser
Wilhelm II in 1928. Days after his wife's death Escoffier died at La Villa
Fernand, his home at Monte Carlo, on 12 February 1935.
If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever
you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable
feast.
- Ernest Hemingway
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.
- Fran Lebowitz
One friend, one teacher, one beloved, one club, one dining table, are
the means by which one's nation and the spirit of one's nation affect
the individual.
- Jean Paul Richter
If you can get nothing better out of the world, get a good dinner out
of it, at least.
- Herman Melville
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Copyright 2000 G. Armour Van Horn, all rights reserved. This document may be distributed freely. Please forward the complete message including this copyright notice.