The Life and Legacy of Marie-Antonin Careme

Marie-Antonin Careme was born June 8, 1784 in Paris, France. As a boy Careme was abandoned at the age of 8 in Paris by his parents, and so he began working as a kitchen boy in Parisian chophouse to put a meal in his stomach at the end of the night and have a bed to sleep in. By the age of 14 he was apprenticed to Sylvain Bailly, a famous pastry chef at the time in Paris. Soon after, word of Careme's talent spread to the diplomats, who used his cooking for European royalty. Careme masterminded the four primary families of French sauces that form the basis of what we know today as classic French cooking and our “ Mother Sauces” Careme created and Augustus’ Escoffier later expanded them to five by adding sauce de hollandaise to the list. Thanks to Careme’s books, French chefs working at home and abroad had a basic, shared vocabulary to refer to in their cooking. Their for Careme is famed for being the inventor of classical cuisine. (or haute) Careme went on to open his own shop, Patisserie de la Rue de la Paix, which became famous for his beautifully crafted pieces montees. He created these decorative centrepieces out of materials such as nougat, marzipan, sugar and pastry. Careme was inspired by architectural history and modeled many of his creations on temples, pyramids and ancient ruins. Some of his most famous creations include Charlotte russe, Gros Nougats, Grosses Meringues, Croquants (made with almonds and honey) and solilemmes (a bun like cake.) He died at the age of 48, from inhaling all the charcoal fumes of which he was cooking from. He is forever remembered as the creator of Haute Cuisine.

Careme the cook of kings and the king of cooks had many famous quotes throughout his career that still are remembered today because...

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...Antonin Careme made food Chefs loved to eat and make and royalty’s favorite food. Through his cookbooks published in Paris, Carème grew to be the first famous chef. If one asked who ate Caremes food, the answer would be the ones who wanted to eat great food.

Throughout his entire career Careme attained a great legacy, he was Truly “The King of Cooks”. He started from what everyone knows at the bottom and worked his way all the way to the top, cooking for true royalty. Chef Careme demonstrated true perseverance and ambition by relentlessly working his ass off to get to where he got at the end. But unfortunately Careme would die at the age of 43 from inhaling the toxic fumes produced from the charcoal he cooked on.

Works Cited

Larousse Gastronomique Version 1961 http://www.gastronomica.org/an-act-ordering/ http://www.saveur.com/article/Kitchen/Towering-Cream-Puffs