Napoleonic Pleasures

The philosophy of the culinary artJean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826) is one of the world's most famous gastronomic critics. His best known work was The Physiology of Taste, published in 1825, a few months before his death. On publication, his contemporaries proclaimed him a genius and ranked this work on a level with De la Rochefoucauld's […]

Chocolate: friend or foe?At the time of the First Empire, chocolate ventured out of the apothecary's. Up to that time it had been thought of as primarily a medication: chocolate was sold as a purgative, cough mixture, and also an aphrodisiac.From this time on, chocolate, still in liquid form, turned up at the morning meal […]

Birds for your delectationHunting birds was a pastime practised by adults and especially by children. Traps, nets, pipes to attract them, slings and even ferrets were pressed into service to kill small birds, for sport, out of cruelty, and sometimes out of hunger. Thrushes and larks (“mauviettes”) were the most popular food, but people would […]

Ice cream in stock, sweet and savouryIce cream was very popular during the First Empire. In fact it was a real passion. Ice cream was sometimes called “neige” (snow) and flavoured with caramel, chocolate, vanilla, plums, peaches etc., but also with saffron, or even cloves. Certain restaurants offered more than 80 flavours.The name “sorbets” was […]

“Alouette, alouette, je te plumerai …”During the First Empire, the term “mauviette” was used not to call someone a chicken, but to designate the field lark, and by extension any similar plump bird that might make a good meal. While nowadays the only lark dish tends to be “pâté d'alouette”, in the 19th century cuisine […]

Almond flavourA blancmange is a dessert made from almond milk which has the consistency of a jelly.It was very popular all through the 19th century, when its smooth, pale appearance was appreciated. Nowadays, however, we might consider it to be rather bland. Similarly, the flavour of almond was greatly prized, whether in powdered or syrup […]

A recipe for victoryDunan, chef to Napoleon's army in Italy, is generally credited with the invention of this recipe. He had to create a meal in haste in the evening after the Battle of Marengo (14 June 1800) for the victorious General Bonaparte. Having no butter to hand, and deciding that it would take too […]

Quenching thirst: a passion for cordials On the street, people could quench their thirst from the liquorice water seller (“marchande de coco”), a familiar street figure who sold a refreshing drink made from liquorice wood and water, or by drinking lemonade (not yet fizzy lemon drink) sold by the guild of soft drinks manufacturers. At home, cordials […]

Before the mushroom made it bigThe mushroom used to be a foodstuff with no particular links to any social class; it was as likely to be found on the plates of the rich, in the form of a ragoût to accompany meat, as on the plates of poor peasants, who had gathered the mushrooms themselves […]