Posted by Gerard on October 25, 1997 at 21:45:00 :
In Reply to: Re: Need Help with 19thCentury French Food posted by Andrea on October 15, 1997 at 14:09:20 :
: : I have been looking for a place like this for months!! I am a catering director for a small woman's college in the south. We do alot of upscale catering here, but I am limited in resources for new and fresh ideas. The school is steeped in tradition and southern hospitality, however, every once in awhile they need to be shaken up a bit. Anyway, I am doing a dinner after a lecture about Napoleon III who was President of France in 1848. I am looking for some period type foods to serve and nothing as obvious as serving Napoleons for dessert. I was also trying to find out if Escoffier might have served Napoleon during this time. Thanks for you help!!
I worked for a guy (owned a french bakery in FL) who told me his grandfather worked in Escoffiers kitchen, said he went to work in a military style uniform, cooking was (still is) a very noble profession in France. So guessing at his age its quite possible Escoffier did perform some function for the Presidente.
You'll need a good cook to pull it off but it sounds like fun.
The food in that period was decadent calory wise.
Have you contacted Les Amis D'Escoffier ?