assessed by the renowned chef Antonin
Carême (1784–1833). In the “Preliminary
Discourse” to his Maître d’Hôtel français, he
noted that the “splendor of the old cuisine”
was made possible by the lavish expenditures
of the master on personnel and materials.
After the Revolution, cooks lucky enough to
retain a position
were thus obliged, for want of help, to
simplify the work in order to be able to
serve dinner, and then to do a great deal
with very little. Necessity brought
emulation; talent made up for everything,
and experience, that mother of all
perfection, brought important
improvements to modern cuisine, making
it at the same time both healthier and
simpler.Restaurants too brought improvements; “in
order to flatter the public taste,” the
commercial chefs had to come up with novel,