The History of Marie Antoinette Careme

1. Abandoned by his parents in Paris in 1794 at the height of the French Revolution, he worked as a
kitchen boy at a cheap Parisian chophouse in exchange for room and board.

2. In 1798, he was formally apprenticed to Sylvain Bailly, a famous ptissier with a shop near
the Palais-Royal

3. He opened his shop, the Ptisserie de la rue de la Paix, which he maintained until 1813.

4. Carme gained fame in Paris for his pices montes, elaborate constructions used as
centerpieces, which Bailly displayed in the ptisserie window.

5. He is credited with the inventions of gros nougats and grosses meringues, croquantes, made of
almonds and honey, and solilemmes.

6. He did freelance work creating pieces principally for the French diplomat and gourmand Charles
Maurice de Talleyrand-Prigord, but also other members of Parisian high society, including Napoleon. While working on his confections at many private kitchens, he quickly extended his culinary skills to main courses.

7. Carme was set a test by Talleyrand: to create a whole years worth of menus, without repetition,
and using only seasonal produce. Carme passed the test and completed his training in Talleyrand's kitchens. After the fall of Napolon, Carme went to London for a time and served as chef de cuisine to the Prince Regent, later George IV.

8. He died in his Paris house on the Rue Neuve Saint Roche at the age of 48, due perhaps to many
years inhaling the toxic fumes of the charcoal on which he cooked. He is remembered as the founder of the haute cuisine concept and is interred in the Cimetire de Montmartre in Montmartre. When he died in 1833, he was recognized as the greatest chef of his time, and his name was familiar to the rich and famous throughout Europe.

9. In his first major position, Carme worked as chef de cuisine to Talleyrand. More than simply as
an employer or sponsor, Talleyrand actively and the culinary tastes of its upper classes were thoroughly revised.

10. Carme's impact on culinary matters ranged from trivial to theoretical. He is credited with creating
the standard chef's hat, the toque; he designed new sauces and dishes, he published a classification of all sauces into groups, based on four mother sauces

11. He is also frequently credited with replacing the practice of service la franaise (serving all
dishes at once) with service la russe (serving each dish in the order printed on the menu) after he returned from service in the Russian court, but others say he was a diehard supporter of service la franaise.

12. Carme wrote several books on cookery

L'Art de la Cuisine Franaise (5 vols, 183334, of which he had completed three before his death), which included, aside from hundreds of recipes, plans for menus and opulent table settings, a history of French cookery, and instructions for organizing kitchens. Le Ptissier royal parisien, ou Trait lmentaire et pratique de la ptisserie moderne, suivi

d'observations utiles au progrs de cet art, et d'une revue critique des grands bals de 1810 et 1811 (Paris, 1815) Le Matre d'htel franais, ou Parallle de la cuisine ancienne et moderne, considr sous

rapport de l'ordonnance des menus selon les quatre saisons. (Paris, 2 vols. 1822) Projets d'architecture pour l'embellissement de Sainte Petersburg.

(Paris, 1821) Projets d'architecture pour l'embellissement de Paris. (Paris, 1826) Le Ptissier pittoresque, prcd d'un trait des cinq orders d'architecture (Paris, 1828; 4th

edition, Paris, 1842) Le Cuisinier parisien, Deuxime dition, revue, corrige et augmente. (Paris, 1828) L'Art de la cuisine franaise au dix-neuvime sicle. Trait lmentaire et pratique. (Volumes 1-5.

[Work completed after Carme's death by Armand Plumerey.] Paris, 1833-1847) The royal Parisian pastrycook and confectioner ([From the original of Carme, edited by John

Porter] London, 1834) French Cookery, Comprising l'Art de la cuisine franaise; Le Ptissier royal; Le Cuisinier

parisien... ( [translated by William Hall] London, 1836)