Marie-Antoine Carême

Chef of Kings and King of Chefs

Before Anthony Bourdain, Julia Child and Gordon Ramsay whetted the appetites of everyone from the food-obsessed to the novice cook with their culinary prowess and enticing best-selling cookbooks, the world had Marie-Antoine Carême. Hailed as France’s first celebrity chef, Antonin, as he came to be known, was the founding father of haute cuisine, ushering in the dawn of a culinary golden age marked by lavish tables and fine dining. 

FROM DESTITUTE CHILD TO PASTRY GENIUS
Though Carême’s creations graced the tables of the rich, powerful and famous, his early childhood was anything but privileged. Born in the slums of Paris in 1783/84, he was abandoned by his father, a construction yard worker, somewhere around the age of ten. It was the height of the French Revolution and the streets of the capital reeked of oppression, blood and fear. Luckily, the young boy was quickly taken under the wing of a tavern cook with whom he apprenticed for six years.

His road to fame, however, began around the age of 15 when he was hired to work alongside renowned pâtissier Sylvain Bailly on rue de Vivienne, not far from the bustling shopping arcade of the Palais-Royal. In this swanky neighborhood frequented by a well-heeled clientele who wanted to see and be seen, the young man’s talent soared – literally – to sweet heights.

Carême taught himself to read and had a penchant for learning. Encouraged by Bailly to broaden his intellectual horizons, he spent his spare time at the nearby Bibliothèque Nationale, studying the history of food and immersing himself in books on classical architecture, his biggest passion. He would then attempt to recreate the structures he saw, first on paper and later as edible towers made of marzipan, sugar and pastry. These so-called pièce montées served as ornate centerpieces at banquets and were prominently displayed at the pastry shop window, much to the awe of passers-by. It wasn’t long before his magnificent sugar sculptures landed him commissions with Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, the respected diplomat who had the gift of gab, not to mention an insatiable appetite for women and eating well.

After two years, Carême left Bailly, embarking on an illustrious career that took him into the kitchens of society’s crème de la crème.

ROYAL CUISINIER
Carême opened his own bakery on rue de la Paix and continued to accept commissions for his extraordinary confections, even creating the wedding cake for Napoleon and his second bride Marie-Louise Hapsburg in 1810 and a pièce montée in the shape of an Italian gondola for the christening of their son a year later. In order to expand his knowledge of cooking in general, he worked alongside skilled chefs, one of them Boucher, cuisinier to Talleyrand.

When Napoleon, who was not very fond of diplomatic entertaining, passed this important task on to Talleyrand and purchased Château de Valençay in the Loire for this purpose, Carême was also hired to cater to these extravagant affairs. In fact, Talleyrand asked Carême to create a year’s worth of seasonal menus, and he did not fail to impress. Carême had both the drive and perfect circumstances to fully develop his craft. In his fascinating book Cooking for Kings (the first English-language biography on Carême), Ian Kelly writes: “In many ways, Valençay was the ideal backdrop for Antonin – with marvelous kitchens, able to take full advantage of France’s best country produce, within minutes of well-watered herb gardens and positioned beneath an airy dining room, the whole presided over by a wealthy gourmet.”

Carême became a sought-after chef de cuisine. In 1816, he left France for the first time and went to work for Prince Regent George IV in England. At the Royal Pavilion, Carême had access to a sprawling, well-equipped kitchen and the best produce.

Nevertheless, even a whopping salary couldn’t keep him away from France for long. He hated the wet English climate, missed his homeland terribly and didn’t get along with his colleagues, who may have been jealous of his accomplishments and probably didn’t appreciate his pompous personality either.

Carême’s list of dignified clients included Russian Emperor Alexander I, Lord Charles Stewart (British ambassador to Vienna) and finally, the enormously wealthy banker Baron James de Rothschild. 

ENDURING CULINARY LEGACY
Carême was not only the “chef of kings and king of chefs,” but he also became the first best-selling food writer. While his days were spent cooking, evenings were dedicated to penning and illustrating books filled with recipes, culinary advice and descriptions of the sumptuous menus he prepared for his clients. A clever marketeer, he included his portrait in his cookbooks and did not hesitate to boldly flaunt his credentials, naming his first book, published in 1815, Le Pâtissier Royal Parisien.

Carême was the first to systematize French cuisine, explaining everything from the principles of cooking and complex culinary techniques to the art of efficiently running a kitchen. He modernized recipes for pâte à choux, the soufflé and puff pastry; taught us how to pipe meringue through a nozzle; invented the professional chef’s hat (toque); categorized the four ‘mother sauces’; and created classics of French cuisine such as the vol-au-vent, Charlotte Russe and mille-feuille. 

Carême died in 1833, presumably from lung damage caused by years of inhaling charcoal fumes. His last work, the highly influential L’art de la cuisine française au dix-neuvième siècle, consists of five volumes (two published posthumously) and is considered the first encyclopedia of haute cuisine. In a career that spanned approximately four decades, Carême revolutionized French cooking, making remarkable contributions to the gastronomic arts and leaving an enduring culinary legacy that continues to influence chefs the world over.

EXCLUSIVE RECIPE FOR PAID SUBSCRIBERS
Looking for something special to serve on New Year’s Eve? Try my authentic recipe for a Charlotte Russe — it goes exceptionally well with Champagne!