Auguste Escoffier

Auguste Escoffier (born October 28, 1846, Villeneuve-Loubet, France—died February 12, 1935, Monte-Carlo, Monaco) was a French culinary artist, known as “the king of chefs and the chef of kings” who earned a worldwide reputation as director of the kitchens at the Savoy Hotel (1890–98) and afterward at the Carlton Hotel, both in London. Escoffier’s career spanned more than six decades, a record-making term of service in his profession, and his name became synonymous with classical French cuisine (see grande cuisine).

Early life and military service

Escoffier was born in Villeneuve-Loubet, a small village in the French Riviera located halfway between Monaco and Cannes, France. His father was a blacksmith, and his uncle had a restaurant in Nice, where Escoffier began his career in 1859 at the age of 13. In 1865 Escoffier left Nice to work at the Petit Moulin Rouge, an upscale Paris restaurant. He served there until he was conscripted into the French army.

During the Franco-German War (1870–71), Escoffier was appointed chef de cuisine (head chef) at the headquarters of the Rhine Army’s Second Division. He was taken prisoner at the siege of Metz and later cooked for Marshal Patrice de Mac-Mahon and the French emperor, Napoleon III. In the 1880s and ’90s Escoffier wrote about his wartime culinary experience—“Mémoires d’un cuisinier de l’armée du Rhin” (“Memories of a Cook in the Army of the Rhine”) and “L’Alimentation du soldat en campagne” (“The Soldier’s Diet in the Field”)—for Art Culinaire magazine.

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King of chefs

In 1884 Escoffier began working at the Grand Hotel in Monte Carlo, and it was there that he met the hotelier César Ritz. In 1890 Escoffier was given the direction of the kitchens of the newly opened Savoy Hotel, which was managed by Ritz, and he created the pêche Melba (peach Melba) in honor of the famous Australian opera singer Nellie Melba, who frequently ordered peaches and ice cream when she was staying there in 1893. At the Savoy, Escoffier instituted the brigade de cuisine—a hierarchical kitchen structure inspired by his military service. In a kitchen brigade each person in the kitchen staff had a specialization, which created efficiencies, streamlined communication, and allowed the chef de cuisine to oversee the entire operation. Newfound efficiencies allowed restaurants to expand their offerings, increase the complexity of their dishes, and reduce service times. The brigade system soon became ubiquitous in professional kitchens and remains a central organizing principle of kitchens worldwide.

Escoffier and Ritz moved to the Carlton Hotel in 1899. Ritz left in 1902, but Escoffier remained, building a fabulous reputation for haute cuisine until his retirement in 1920. On one occasion Emperor William II is reported to have said to Escoffier, “I am the emperor of Germany, but you are the emperor of chefs.” In recognition of his services to the prestige of French cooking abroad, he was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1920—the first chef to receive the honor. He was made an officer of the order in 1928.

Publications

Besides the renown of his name, said to be greater even than that of French gastronomy founder Marie-Antoine Carême, Escoffier wrote several 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 according to their order of presentation and included the first à la carte menus; Le Livre des menus (1912; “The Book of Menus”); and Ma cuisine (1934; “My Cuisine”). His ideas about the organization of professional kitchens were widely disseminated through Larousse Gastronomique (1938), a definitive work on classical French cuisine by Escoffier’s friend Prosper Montagné, a noted chef. Escoffier’s memoir, Souvenirs inédits (1985; Memories of My Life), was published posthumously. Escoffier also published the monthly magazine Le Carnet d’épicure (“Notebook of a Gourmet”), which ran from 1911 to 1914.