PUNAM GARU

MATRICULATION NO : 08015439

AN ASSIGNMENT ON FOOD, WINE AND

SOCIETY

TOPIC : Discuss to what extent celebrity chefs

(old and new) have contributed to the
development of modern cuisine and
gastronomy.

COMPILED BY : PUNAM GARU

MATRICULATION NO : 08015439

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CONTENTS PAGE

1) ABSTRACT – PAGE 3

2) INTRODUCTION – PAGE 4

3) METHODOLOGY- PAGE 5

4) CONTRIBUTIONS OF CELEBRITY CHEFS – PAGE 6-10

5) CELEBRITY CHEFS OF THE 21ST CENTURY- PAGE 11

6) CONCLUSION- PAGE 12

7) BIBLIOGRAPHY- PAGE 13

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ABSTRACT
This topic was selected for the report writing because the influence of celebrity chefs

in present days is clearly visible , media and fashion plays a vital role in determining

the food habits of the people. The extent to which old celebrity chefs influenced

cookery was a matter of research and interest also. Hence this topic was chosen as

a partial idea was already present and a research had to be done for completion of

the report. Various books have been consulted for making the report. The report

starts with the contributions of the eminent celebrity chefs (old and new), their

invented recipes, literary works,etc and nextly it talks about the celebrity chefs of the

21st century and the influence on the food culture. Hence it is seen that the celebrity

chefs have widely influenced the food culture, tastes and likings of the people

throughout the world , through their various recipes and inventions. The creations

and teachings of these chefs have passed on from generation to generation and

even now the development in culinary arts can be attributed to these celebrity chefs.

INTRODUCTION

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This report talks about the extent to which celebrity chefs (old and new) have
contributed to the development of modern cuisine and gastronomy. The report starts
with the contributions of the old and new celebrity chefs and the extent to which they
have influenced the food culture. Chefs like Escoffier, Bocuse, Cussy, Point,
Careme, etc has been discussed in the report. Their contributions may include their
invented recipes, their literary works and even the restaurants opened by them to
popularize the food culture. The last half of the report talks about the celebrity chefs
of the 21st century. The changing food culture, influence of media and fashion on
food habits and the homogenisation of food is being discussed.

METHODOLOGY

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This report is made by consulting various books on gastronomy and culinary art. An
idea about the report was formed by reading these books and then the required
information was taken from these sources to write the report.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE CELEBRITY CHEFS TO THE

DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN CUISINE AND GASTRONOMY.

APPERT (NICOLAS)

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Appert was a French inventor born in 1749 and died in 1841. He was offered a prize
of 12,000 francs for discovering the process of preserving food which was destined
for the army. Apperet found a sterilization method known as appertisation after him.
Appert published L’Art de conserver pendant plusieurs anne’es toutes les
substances animals et ve’ge’tales, which made this process available to all.

BEAUVILLIERS (ANTOINE)
He was a French cook born in 1754 and died in 1817. He founded the Grande
Taverne de Londres in the Rue de Richelieu in 1782 which was the first real
restaurant in Paris. L’Art de cuisine was written by him in 1814 which talks about
cooking, food management and service as an exact science. He also collaborated
with Care’me in writing La Cuisine ordinaire.

BOCUSE (PAUL)
He was a French cook born in 1926. He was always attached to the tradition and
cuisine of Lyon and he renewed the great classics without entering into the excesses
of nouvelle cuisine. He was the ambassador of French gastronomy throughout the
world and he also gave conferences and cookery classes, especially in Japan. La
Cuisine du marche’ and Bocuse dans votre cuis’ine was published by him in 1980
and 1982 respectively. His creations include black truffle soup, lobster Meursault and
chocolate gateau.

CAREME (MARIE-ANTOINE)
Careme was a French chef and pastrycook born in 1783 and died in 1833. He was a
theoretician as well as a practitioner and also an artistic genius. Careme had a good
taste of fashion and entertainment and he understood aristocracy, luxury and
ceremony. Therefore he prepared both spectacular and refined recipes which
included chartreuses, desserts on pedestals, elaborate garnishes and
embellishments , new decorative trimmings and novel constructions. Careme was
responsile for introducing some classic Russian dishes into French cuisine, including
borsch and koulibiac. He also redesigned certain kitchen equipments , changed the

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shape of saucepans to pour sugar and designed moulds. The vol - auvent and large
meringues are his creations. Le Patissier pittoresque, Maitre d’hotel francais, Le
Patissier royal parisien and L’Art de la cuisine au XIX siècle were books written by
Careme.

CUSSY (LOUIS, MARQUIS de)

Cussy was born in 1766 and died in 1837 and was one of the greatest gastronomies
of the 19th century. He invented 366 different ways of preparing chicken. Les
Classiques de la table was published by him in 1843, in which he devoted many
pages to the history of gastronomy.

DUGLE’RE’ (ADOLPHE)
He was a French chef born in 1805 and died in 1884. His creations were potage
Germiny, Anna potatoes, sole and sea bream a` la Dugle`re` and souffle` a` l`
anglaise. He is known as a taciturn artist who revelled in contemplative isolation.

DUMAINE (ALEXANDRE)
Dumaine was a French chef born in 1895 and died in 1974. Dumaine was the head
chef of famous establishments like Carlton (in Vichy then in Cannes), the Cafe` de
Paris and the Hotel Louvois in Paris, and the Oasis Hotel at Biskra. Dumaine
collaborated with Henry Clos-Jouve in producing Ma cuisine, which is a book of
recipes interspersed with various reminiscences.

ESCOFFIER (AUGUSTE)
He was a French chef born in 1846 and died in 1935. He is regarded as the emperor
of the world’s kitchen. Escoffier created numerous recipes , most notably peach
Melba, chaufroid Jeannette, cuisses de nymphe aurore and Rejane salad and
Rachel mignonettes of quail. His famous culinary writings are Le Guide culinaire and
Le Livre des menus and Ma cuisine.

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FAVRE (JOSEPH)
Favre was a Swiss chef born in 1849 and died in 1903. He is a renowned
theoretician and has written Dictionnaire universel de cuisine et d’ hygie`ne
alimentaire, which contains not only large number of recipes but also very interesting
history of cookery. The journal La Science culinaire was founded by him in 1877 in
Geneva and in 1893 he founded the first Academy of Cookery.

GILBERT (PHILE`AS)
Gilbert was a French cook born in 1857 and died in 1942. He was a great
practitioner, theoretician and scholar. He has written books like La Cuisine
re`trospective, La Cuisine de tous les mois and L’ Alimentation et laTechnique
culinaire a` travers les ages and has also collaborated in the writing of Escoffier’s
Guide culinaire.

GOUFFE` (JULES)
Gouffe` was a French cook born in 1807 and died in 1877. His important culinary
works are Livre de cuisine, Le Livre des conserves, Le Livre de patisserie and Le
Livre des soupes et des potages.

GUILLOT (ANDRE`)
He was a French chef born in 1908. He was an outspoken chef and has attacked
well established traditions. According to him flambe` dishes are nothing more than
play- acting and the flambé process must be carried out at the start of cooking in the
privacy of the kitchen. His famous works include La Grande Cuisine bourgeoise and
La Vraie Cuisine legere.

LACAM (PIERRE)
Lacam was a French pastrycook and culinary historian born in 1836 and died in
1902. Lacam has many petit fours, desserts and puddings topped with Italian
meringue to his creation. He is renowned for his masse`na which he dedicated to the
Duc de Rivoli. Lacam also invented the pastry crimper. His literary works are Le

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Nouveau Patissier- Glacier francais et etranger, Memorial historique et geographique

de la patisserie and Le Glacier classique et artistique en France et en Italie.

LA CHAPELLE (VINCENT)
He was a French chef born in 1703. His book The Modern Cook gained worldwide
recognition and his recipes were simple and hence suitable for the cooks of the
1980’s. His famous creations include stuffed sole, scallions cooked in white wine,
mackerel with fennel and gooseberries and lamb ratons
.
NIGNON (EDOUARD)
He was a French chef born in 1865 and died in 1934. He is regarded as one of the
greatest masters of French cuisine. He was the head chef to the Tsar, the Emperor
of Austria, and President Woodrow Wilson. He took over the management of the
restaurant Larue in 1918 and exchanged the white chef’s waistcoat for the black suit
of a maitre d’ Hotel. His recipes like beuchelle tourangelle are still very famous. His
books include L’Heptameron des gourmets ou les Delices de la cuisine francaise,
Eloges de la cuisine francaise and Les Plaisirs de la table.

OLIVER (RAYMOND)
He was a French chef born in 1909 and is considered to be a great innovator and
reformer of French cuisine. His creations include dishes such as red mullet with basil
butter in puff pastry, ragout of pike and crayfish with aniseed, sautéed chicken in
honey vinegar, stuffed guinea fowl, a` la bordelaise and other classic regional
dishes. He also demonstrated cookery in television programmes. He used to lecture
in other countries and is the author of La Gastronomie a`travers le mond, La Cuisine,
Cuisine pour mes amis and Les Amis du Ve`four.

POINT (FERNAND)
He was a French chef born in 1897 and died in 1955. He was a renowned teacher
and his cuisine bore marks of the great classical cuisine. It took several years for him
to perfectly make marjolaine. According to him garnishes must be matched like a tie
to a suit and a good meal must be harmonious as a symphony and as well

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constructed as a Norman cathedral. He believed that the most difficult preparations

were the ones that appear to be the easiest.
[Reference: Gillespie,C,2001., European Gastronomy into 21st Century.
Woburn: Butterworth- Heinemann.
Larousse,1998. The Worlds Greatest Cookery Encyclopedia, Great Britain: Hamlyn]

CELEBRITY CHEFS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

According to Peterson and Birg (1988:67-68) who questioned 120 chefs in Chicago ,
in which a majority of 92% chefs claimed themselves to be artistic. A clear
contradiction in expressing personal style was observed. Therefore a conclusion to
the made research was that chefs always strive for expression of personal style and
the development of new products. Chefs portray their creativity through performing
and non performing arts , through presentation of the chef.

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According to Fearnley-Whitting stall (1999:28) most of the present celebrity chefs

can trace their gastronomic lineage back to the pioneers of cookery in the 1980’s.
There were five chefs – two Roux brothers, a Mosiman, a Blanc and a Ladenis in the
beginning of the 80’s. These five masters taught dozens of young chefs of the way
prepare serious French food. Likewise generation after generation the teachings of
the old five masters have been passed on , and now the present celebrity chefs can
trace their tutelage , directly or indirectly , back to the Big Five.
Fearnley-Whitting stall argues that the positive outcome of the rising number of
celebrity chefs is the improvement of standards. However this has also lead to the
mediocrity of excellence, whereby food produced is of high standard but when
experienced on a regular basis it tends towards uninspiring homogeneity of course.
Homogeneity is not all compatible with creativity and innovation is a quality which is
a must for the culinary proffesion. Therefore the celebrity chefs owes their creation
and cookery more to the influence of fashion and the insatiable appetite of the media
for visual excitement and entertainment. This phenomenon is not sustained by
evolutionary process in cuisine but by the demands of the celebrity itself. Hence a
little is heard about nouvelle cuisine in present days which has been a recurring
phenomenon in the history of French and English gastronomy.

[Reference: Wood,R.C,2000, Strategic Questions in Food and Beverage

Management, Butterworth- Heinemann.]

CONCLUSION

Hence it is learnt that the pioneers of culinary art right from the old ages to the
present times, the way they have influenced, improved and made cooking known
and famous to all through their famous writings. Various new recipes have been
introduced by these chefs, some of which have even being named after them, many
restaurants and famous eateries have been opened by them which have made the
food culture more famous, their works have moved on from generation after
generation and is still the standard recipe of many food items. Earlier this culture

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invoked out of sheer dedication towards culinary arts and the classical menus were
considered to be the base or mother of all the dishes. However this thinking and
culture is fast changing due to the influence of media and fashion. The present
celebrity chefs are more concerned about the eye appeal of the dishes rather than
the taste of the food items. The food trends or culture is getting ruled by fashion or
the demand of the celebrities. This has even led to the loss of creativity in the
culinary preparations and hence homogeneity is placing its foot in the present food
culture. Therefore this is the way celebrity chefs have influenced previously and is
even influencing now the food culture of the world.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) Gillespie,C,2001., European Gastronomy into 21st Century. Woburn:

Butterworth- Heinemann.

2) Hall,C.M;Sharples,L;Mitchell,R;Macionis,N & Cambourne,B.,2003, Food

Tourism Around the World, Burlington:Butterworth- Heinemann.

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3) Larousse,1998. The Worlds Greatest Cookery Encyclopedia, Great Britain:

Hamlyn

4) Wood,R.C,2000, Strategic Questions in Food and Beverage Management,

Butterworth- Heinemann.

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