Auguste  Escoffier
 
His life
Its oeuvre

Birth

1846: Birth of Auguste Escoffier in Villeneuve-Loubet (Alpes-Maritimes) on October 28 of a blacksmith father.

1859: At the age of 13, he learned the trade with his uncle at the French Restaurant in Nice for 5 years.

1865: Hired at the Petit Moulin Rouge, an elegant restaurant in Paris, as a roaster then sausage clerk.

Carrier start

1870: Franco-Prussian War. Chef de cuisine at the headquarters of the Army of the Rhine in Metz. Beginning of his reflections on preserves and culinary preparations. At the fall of Metz, Chef de cuisine for Marechal Mac Mahon then in captivity in Wiesbaden.

1873: After a winter season in Nice, he returns as Chef de cuisine at the Petit Moulin Rouge, frequented by the entire aristocracy and celebrities of the time.

Married and owner

1876: Purchase of the Faisan Doré in Cannes, an edible house to which he adds a restaurant for the winter season. It was shared between Paris and Cannes for two years.

1878: Wedding on August 28 with Delphine Daffis, daughter of a Parisian publisher. They will have three children: Paul, Daniel and Germaine.
He sold his business in Cannes in the following months due to several deaths in his in-laws.

First writings

1883: Publication of L’Art Culinaire, magazine in which Auguste Escoffier will publish his "Memoirs of a cook of the Army of the Rhine" and "The food of the soldier in war".

A decisive meeting

1884: Meeting in October with César Ritz, director of the Grand Hôtel de Monte-Carlo, to take charge of the kitchens in winter and those of the Grand National in Lucerne in summer. Beginning of a long, friendly and fruitful collaboration between the two men who will establish together the rules of the international luxury hotel and palaces, still in force today.

1886: Publication of his first work, the Treatise on the art of working with flowers in wax.

The Savoy in London

1890: Ritz and Escoffier take over the destinies of the Savoy in London, a prestigious establishment and the most beautiful hotel of its time, opened a year earlier.

Beginning of its collaboration with the Little Sisters of the Poor, by providing them with unused surpluses; collaboration which will continue until his retirement in 1920.

 

The Ritz in Paris

1898: Inauguration of the Ritz, Place Vendôme in Paris on June 5 with a lavish gala dinner. Meet the most important personalities in the world who join Parisian society on this occasion. Great success with immediate prestige. Escoffier will manage the kitchens for the first few months.

The Carlton in London

1899: On July 1 the two men opened the Carlton in London, where their clientele followed them, like Sarah Bernhardt, the Prince of Wales and those around him.

1902: Departure from Ritz who, ill, returned to his native village. Escoffier remained there until his retirement in 1920.

The Culinary Guide

1903: Publication of the first edition of the Culinary Guide, which will become the Cook's Bible. Reissue three times during the lifetime of Auguste Escoffier, in 1907, 1912 and 1921 and translation into more than ten languages.

Creation by Escoffier of the first mutual insurance company for cooks in Great Britain, to help his colleagues in greatest difficulty.

International Consultant 

1904: Consultant to the German shipping company Hamburg-America Line to furnish the kitchens of Ritz-Carlton restaurants to their liners.

1906: Face-to-face meeting with Emperor William II in June aboard the Amerika, then again in 1913 during the Imperator's inaugural cruise.

1907: First trip to the United States aboard the Deutschland.

Jubilee

1909: Professional jubilee at Café Monico in London. At the request of Escoffier, remittance to the cooks retirement home near Paris of the subscription amount which must be offered to him.

The humanist

1910: Publication of the brochure Mutual assistance project for the extinction of pauperism. While sickness and old age were synonymous with poverty, he offered various measures of material security and retirement, thus imagining real Social Security before the time.

Second trip to the United States, for the opening of the Ritz-Carlton in New York.

Sharing and transmission

1911: Creation by Escoffier of the magazine Le Carnet d'Épicure, to promote tourism in France to the English people.

Opening of Westminster College in London, of which he is one of the founders, to train students in the kitchen and the dining room.

Barely escaped the London Carlton fire. Establishment of the Carlton Hotel brigade in Cannes

Epicure's Dinners

1912: Publication of the Book of menus, an essential complement to the Culinary Guide.

Creation of the Gourmet League and organization of the first "Epicure's Dinner". It’s the same French dinner, served the same day in different places around the world. The first dinner will bring together more than 300 people at the Cecil Hotel in London and more than 4 000 guests in 37 European restaurants.

World War One

1914: Tenth and last Epicure's Dinner, bringing together over 10 000 guests in 140 cities in Europe, New York and Montreal.

Creation by Escoffier of a committee to help the families of cooks mobilized in France.

Death of his second son Daniel in the first months of the war.

Aide Mémoire Culinaire

1919: Knight of the Legion of Honor, awarded by President Raymond Poincaré visiting London on the first anniversary of the armistice of 1918.

Publication of the Aide-Mémoire Culinaire, to facilitate service.

Going to retire

1920: The Carlton leaves London to retire to his villa in Monte-Carlo after 61 years of a brilliant and busy professional life. He will have trained more than 2000 chefs who will make French cuisine and products known worldwide. He will nevertheless remain very active during his retirement.

Became editor-in-chief of the first editorial board of La Revue Culinaire, a magazine still published today.

Active retirement

1923: Danish sovereigns hand over the Dannebrog Order Cross to Copenhagen.

1926: Third trip to the United States, invited by the Cunard Line for its 80th birthday.

1927: Publication of Le Riz. The best, most nutritious food for low-income households, showing Escoffier's concern that everyone can not only eat but eat properly.

Légion d'Honneur

1928: Raised to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor in Paris by Edouard Herriot, Minister of Public Education and Fine Arts, who thanked him for having given all his nobility to the profession of cook.

He is the first cook to receive this distinction.

But, he writes, "I knew that this honor also spilled over into our entire profession. “

Last years

1929: Publication of La vie à bon marché: La Morue, aimed at consumers with modest incomes like Le Riz.

1930: Fourth and last trip to the United States, for the opening of the Hotel Pierre in New York, whose brigade he set up under the supervision of his pupil, Charles Scotto.

1934: Publication of Ma Cuisine, a simplified version of the Culinary Guide for home cooks, also translated into several languages.

The great departure

1935: Auguste Escoffier died on February 12 in his home in Monte-Carlo, two weeks after his wife Delphine.

He is buried, according to his desire, in the cemetery of Villeneuve-Loubet.


To discover a more complete biography and bibliography, we advise you to visit the website of the Escoffier Museum of Culinary Art.

Complete biography about Auguste Escoffier

C'est pour rendre hommage à Auguste Escoffier que les Disciples Escoffier ont été crées en 1954.

"La bonne cuisine est la base du véritable bonheur" Auguste Escoffier

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