Family and consumer science
One of the first to champion the economics of running a home was
Catherine Beecher (sister to
Harriet Beecher Stowe). Catherine and Harriet both were leaders in the mid-19th century in talking about domestic science. They came from a very religious family that valued education especially for women.
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Corbis
Farmer provided scientific explanations of the
chemical processes that occur in food during cooking, and also helped to standardize the system of measurements used in cooking in the USA. Before the
Cookbook's publication, other American recipes frequently called for amounts such as "a piece of
butter the size of an
egg" or "a teacup of milk." Farmer's systematic discussion of measurement — "A
cupful is measured level ...
A tablespoonful is measured level. A teaspoonful is measured level." — led to her being named "the mother of level measurements."
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Georges Auguste Escoffier (pronounced
[ʒɔʁʒ ɔ.gyst ɛs.kɔ.fje]; 28 October 1846,
Villeneuve-Loubet,
Alpes-Maritimes – 12 February 1935) was a French
chef,
restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional
French cooking methods. He is a legendary figure among chefs and gourmands, and was one of the most important leaders in the development of modern
French cuisine. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of
Antoine Carême, one of the codifiers of French
haute cuisine, but Escoffier's achievement was to simplify and modernize Carême's elaborate and ornate style. Referred to by the French press as
roi des cuisiniers et cuisinier des rois ("king of chefs and chef of kings"
[1]—though this had also been previously said of Carême), Escoffier was France's pre-eminent chef in the early part of the 20th century.
Alongside the recipes he recorded and invented, another of Escoffier's contributions to cooking was to elevate it to the status of a respected profession by introducing organized discipline to his kitchens. He organized his kitchens by the
brigade de cuisine system, with each section run by a
chef de partie.
Escoffier published
Le Guide Culinaire, which is still used as a major reference work, both in the form of a cookbook and a textbook on cooking. Escoffier's recipes, techniques and approaches to kitchen management remain highly influential today, and have been adopted by chefs and restaurants not only in France, but also throughout the world.
[2] Contents
In 1897,
César Ritz and Escoffier were both dismissed from the
Savoy Hotel. Ritz and Escoffier were implicated in the
disappearance of more than £3400 of wine and spirits, and Escoffier had been receiving gifts from the Savoy's suppliers.
[3] By this time, however, Ritz and his colleagues were already on the point of commercial independence, having established the Ritz Hotel Development Company, for which Escoffier set up the kitchens and recruited the chefs, first at the
Paris Ritz (1898), and then at the new
Carlton Hotel in London (1899), which soon drew much of the high-society clientele away from the Savoy.
[4] In addition to the
haute cuisine offered at luncheon and dinner, tea at the Ritz became a fashionable institution in Paris, and later in London, though it caused Escoffier real distress: "How can one eat jam, cakes and pastries, and enjoy a dinner – the king of meals – an hour or two later? How can one appreciate the food, the cooking or the wines?"
[5]In 1913, Escoffier met
Kaiser Wilhelm II on board the
SS Imperator, one of the largest ocean liners of the
Hamburg-Amerika Line. The culinary experience on board the
Imperator was overseen by Ritz-Carlton, and the restaurant itself was a reproduction of Escoffier's Carlton Restaurant in London. Escoffier was charged with supervising the kitchens on board the
Imperator during the Kaiser's visit to France. One hundred and forty-six German dignitaries were served a large multi-course luncheon, followed that evening by a monumental dinner that included the Kaiser's favourite strawberry pudding, named
fraises Imperator by Escoffier for the occasion. The Kaiser was so impressed that he insisted on meeting Escoffier after breakfast the next day, where, as legend has it, he told Escoffier, "I am the Emperor of Germany, but you are the Emperor of Chefs." This was quoted frequently in the press, further establishing Escoffier's reputation as France's pre-eminent chef.
[6]
Le Guide Culinaire (1903)
The original text was printed for the use of professional
chefs and kitchen staff;
Escoffier's introduction to the first edition explains his intention that
Le Guide Culinaire be used toward the education of the younger generation of
cooks. This usage of the book still holds today; many
culinary schools still use it as their
culinary textbook.
Le Guide Culinaire is considered
[by whom?] the definitive reference for the traditional French
cuisine classique.
Its style is to give
recipes as brief descriptions and to assume that the reader either knows or can look up the
keywords in the description; as a result, it is often considered an intimidating work for beginning
cooks.
Le Répertoire de la Cuisine, written by Escoffier's student Louis Saulnier, is a companion guide to this culinary reference.
Mark Bittman is the author of "How to Cook Everything" and other cookbooks. He has been writing for the The NewYork Times for nearly 20 years, and his weekly column, The Minimalist, for 11 years. He is a regular on the "Today" show, and has hosted two public television series and is currently appearing in a third. His forthcoming book, "Food Matters," which addresses the crises of obesity, overconsumption and climate change, will appear Jan. 1. On Bitten, he chews on food and all things connected to it. He can be reached at bitten@nytimes.com.