Auguste Escoffier biography
Auguste Escoffier, in full Georges-Auguste Escoffier, (born October 28, 1846, Villeneuve-Loubet, France—died February 12, 1935, Monte-Carlo, Monaco), French culinary artist, often called “the king of chefs and the chef of kings,” who earned a worldwide repute as director of the kitchens on the Savoy Hotel (1890–99) and afterward on the Carlton Hotel, each in London. His title is synonymous with classical French delicacies (see grande delicacies).
Escoffier started his profession on the age of 12, and, when he retired from the Carlton Hotel on the age of 74, he counted 62 years of energetic service, a span thought of a document in his career. The title of Escoffier grew to become of worldwide reputation when in 1890 he was given the route of the kitchens of the newly opened Savoy Hotel, and he created the péche Melba (peach Melba) in honour of the well-known singer Nellie Melba when she was staying there in 1893. In 1899 he moved to the Carlton Hotel, the place he was to construct a superb repute for haute delicacies in the course of the subsequent 23 years; on one event Emperor William II is reported to have mentioned to Escoffier, “I am the emperor of Germany but you are the emperor of chefs.” In recognition of his providers to the status of French cooking overseas, he was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1920 and made an officer of the order in 1928.
Besides the renown of his title, mentioned to be better even than that of Marie-Antoine Carême, Escoffier wrote a number of books, notably Le Guide culinaire (1903, cowritten with Philéas Gilbert and Émile Fetu; The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery), which listed dishes based on their order of presentation and included the primary á la carte menus; Le Livre des menus (1912; “The Book of Menus”); and Ma delicacies (1934; “My Cuisine”). Escoffier additionally printed the month-to-month journal Le Carnet d’epicure (“Notebook of a Gourmet”), which ran from 1911 to 1914.
Escoffier radically simplified meals service by advocating using seasonal elements and the abandonment of elaborate garnishes. He additionally streamlined the group {of professional} kitchens. These concepts have been extensively disseminated by Larousse Gastronomique (1938), a definitive work on classical French delicacies by Escoffier’s good friend Prosper Montagné, a famous chef. Escoffier’s memoir, Souvenirs inédits (1985; Memories of My Life), was printed posthumously.