Antonin Lent

Lent (Antoninus) : Marie-Antoine Carême (aka Antonin) is a Chef et confectioner French (Paris 1784 – same as 1833). Known as "the king of chefs and the chef of kings", he was the first to bear this name of "chef". An early practitioner and eminent representative of the French concept of haute cuisine, he is considered the founder of this grandiose style, sought after by both the royal courts and the nouveau riche of Paris. He is one of the first cooks to have acquired international fame.
Born in Paris, he was abandoned there at the age of eight, at the height of the French Revolution in 1792, by destitute parents already in charge of fourteen children: his drudgery father, considering that his clever boy was the only one in the family to to have a chance to rise socially, leaves him at one of the barriers in Paris with a backpack and a few coins. After a few days of wandering, he finds a home with an innkeeper: he works there as a kitchen boy in a cheap Parisian restaurant in exchange for room and board. Learning quickly, his abilities were noticed and at the age of thirteen he entered as an apprentice with the famous pastry chef Sylvain Bailly, rue Vivienne, near the Palais-Royal. In the evening, he transcribes all the tricks in his notes. At 17, he was promoted to "first tourtier" there under the orders of his master. Jean Avice, pastry chef at the Hôtel de Galliffet where Talleyrand's Ministry of External Relations is located. Recognizing his talent, Bailly facilitated his outings to allow him to go and draw at the Cabinet des Estampes and prepared for his independence by stipulating that he would be free to leave as soon as a better offer presented itself. Carême opened his first shop, the Pâtisserie on rue de la Paix, which he kept until 1813.
He became famous in Paris for his mounted pieces, elaborate constructions used as centerpieces, which Bailly displayed in the window of his patisserie. Carême makes these treats, which sometimes reach several feet in height, entirely from sugar, marzipan and pastry. He gave them shapes inspired by temples, pyramids and ancient ruins, taking his ideas from books on the history of architecture, which he studied at the National Library thanks to the enlightened attitude of his first employer Bailly. . Considering the culinary art as a branch of architecture, he designs his own pastries with great taste and according to the best models, which he borrows from Vignole or Palladio. Passionate about his art, he was entrusted with the making of the mounted pieces intended for the table of the First Consul and, later, for that of Talleyrand. He invents pieces made of large nougats and large, crunchy meringues made from almonds and honey. By dint of study and hard work, he managed to elevate the culinary art to the rank of a science and acquired a great reputation in all the courts of Europe. While working on his treats in many of the private kitchens of Parisian high society, he quickly extended his culinary talents to main courses presented during French service.
Napoleon was famous for his indifference to food. However, he understood the importance of social relations in the world of diplomacy. In 1804, he financed for Talleyrand the purchase of the Château de Valençay, a large estate outside Paris. The castle is destined to become a diplomatic meeting place. When Talleyrand moved to Valençay, he took Carême with him and offered the chef a challenge: to create a whole year of menus, without repetition and using only seasonal products. Carême passes the test and completes his training in the kitchens of Talleyrand. After the fall of Napoleon, Carême went to London in the service of the Prince Regent, the future George IV, for whom he produced famous ambiguous dinners. Back on the continent, he accepted the invitation of Tsar Alexander I to come to Saint Petersburg, where his stay was so brief that he never had the opportunity to prepare a meal for the Tsar. He also works for the Emperor of Austria Francis I or Princess Bagration. He returns to Paris where he becomes the head of the banker James de Rothschild.
Cooking with charcoal, he inhaled large quantities of toxic fumes for years. He certainly died of it, at the age of 48, on January 12, 1833 in Germany. He is buried in the Montmartre cemetery in Paris, where all the former millers of the Montmartre hill are buried.

Marie-Antoine Carême, influenced by the ideas of Catherine de Medici, decided to return to the true values ​​of gastronomy; Contrary to the preparations of the Middle Ages which endeavored to mask the rancid and stale tastes of the meats, Carême notably established a new paradigm for the sauces imposing them lighter and subtler. In addition, being passionate about architecture, in his treatises are reproduced the engravings of the buffets and dishes he made. At his side, his disciple Jules Gouffé, was the first cook to publish the cookbook as we know it today, including the precise quantities of ingredients as well as cooking times and temperatures.
Far from behaving like a mere employer, Talleyrand actively encouraged Carême to produce a refined new style of eating, using fresh herbs and vegetables as well as simplified sauces with few ingredients. Talleyrand's table became famous during the Congress of Vienna negotiations following the fall of Napoleon. When the congress dispersed, the map of Europe and the culinary tastes of its upper classes were also revised.
Lent's impact on culinary matters is both practical and theoretical. We owe him the creation of the toque in 1821 during his stay in Vienna in the service of Lord Charles Stewart (*).
In addition to developing new sauces, he published a classification of all sauces into four basic groups: German, Bechamel, Spanish and Creamy. He is also believed to be behind the practice of service à la française (serving all dishes at once) being replaced by service à la russe (which serves each dish in the order printed on the menu) after his return. of the Russian court, but opinions diverge on this point.Carême's written work includes the Picturesque Pastry Chef (1815), the French Maître d'hôtel (1822), the Parisian Royal Pastry Chef (1825) and above all the Art de la cuisine au XIX, siècle (1833), encyclopedia in 5 volumes (the last two being from the pen of his disciple Plumerey). These works invite the reader to the table of emperors, kings and princes for whom this ceremonial kitchen was designed.
The portrait of Antonin Carême appears on the gold medal of theCulinary Academy of France.