Why You Should Celebrate Bastille Day in a Restaurant

July 14 is Bastille Day or “La Fête Nationale” as it is known in la belle France. There will be fireworks, street dances and, of course, parades.

But hidden within the history of this great celebration of freedom is the little-known story of how restaurants first came to be.

Before the French Revolution (which started with the storming of the hated royal prison of Bastille in Paris), dining was largely restricted to the grand estates of the French nobles or around the far more humble hearths of France’s working poor.

Indeed, even the right to cater was an exclusive affair, granted solely to the “Traiteur” Guilds by the King. These select chefs prepared only certain dishes by royal license, serving them only within their own kitchens at a fixed time with a preset menu.

So what was the average diner to do when it came to dining when one wanted to, regardless of time or appetit?

Enter Monsieur Boulanger, who in 1765 opened a “restaurer” or soup shop. He offered a choice of restorative soups (hence the name in French), along with bread and wine to the weary wishing to rest and restore their strength no matter the hour.

As one might expect, the effected Traiteur Guild saw his activities as a threat to their exclusive culinary rights within the capital. Soon Monsieur Boulanger found himself called before a royal judge for violating a royal grant of culinary privilege.

But to everyone's surprise, he was acquitted because the judge, who was a lover of fine food, ruled that the Guild was chartered to serve only ragout, and as he pointed out from the bench, anyone who loved fine food should know that a rich thick ragout is NOT ever a thin restorative broth!

Boulanger’s crowd pleasing shop/restaurant was saved! Soon he opened additional restorative soup shops across Paris. There the average man (and woman) could gather, choose what THEY wished to eat AND so empowered, discuss how the royal government seemed to serve only the wealthy and not the needs of the people, who were the true soul of France.

The final result of such conversations was revolution! And the world would never be the same again, thanks in part to soup and the new social institution it helped to create – Restaurants.

Still to this day, people around the world gather in restaurants to freely discuss life, meaning and the whether their governments serve them well. Once again, we should all raise our glasses and toast France for both the courage to claim the right of individual expression and the innovative ability to create something as beneficial to humanity as restaurants!

Post Note, July 13, 2012: If you still have any doubts about celebrating Bastille Day in a restaurant, just consider a much enjoyed tradition within the Culinary Industry, the Waiters' Race, now run in over 53 countries by the very best with a tray! 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012

Macarons are THE Chic New Wedding Trend

Every once in a while a new wedding trend appears that captures the heart of brides everywhere.

One such trend now sweeping the wedding world is macarons, yes, macaron cookies – but as you've never seen them before.

But first a little history to put things in perspective. Catherine de Medici brought the ancestor of the macaron from Italy to France in 1533 when she arrived (with Italian chefs in tow) to marry France's King Henry II.

She also brought forks and napkins – and medieval table manners improved greatly, to say the least. For the several centuries that followed, sweet delights such as macarons were enjoyed only by members of the upper class.

Indeed by the time the French Revolution occurred in 1789, the mobs of Paris were more than ready to believe that the French Queen Marie Antoinette had answered their cries for food with the indifferent remark, “Let them eat cake". She never said any such thing. The revolutionary pamphleteers made up the statement merely to further their cause.

As the French State spun into a mad frenzy of bloodletting, thanks to "Madame Guillotine", Napoleon appeared and with a strong military arm re-established order. Once in control, he began to redesign French life, starting with the removal of many privileges enjoyed by the elite upper-class.

One such action taken by Napoleon was to close the monasteries and convents in France, which had long been allied with the privileged monarchy. Thousands of monks and nuns were suddenly without home or work. Some chose to fight the Dissolution Order and went to their deaths instead.

Others adapted to secular life yet privately continued their spiritual practice. The Carmelite Sisters in Nancy, France chose to live rather than die. Kindly offered lodging by the convent’s former doctor, Monsieur Gormand, Sisters Marguerite and Marie–Elizabeth left their black and white habits behind in 1792 and dressed in the clothes of the day. 

But how to support themselves? Once funds from the Crown had provided for the necessities of life. But no more. It was then that the Sisters remembered the Order’s recipe for macarons that had delighted so many visitors to their Convent in better days.

Soon the Sisters’ tasty brown macarons, made from ground almonds, egg whites and sugar, began to make the city of Nancy a leading culinary destination. Indeed, the Sisters became so famous they came to be referred to simply as "les Soeurs Macarons” or “the Macaron Sisters”. (Their shop still operates in Nancy to this day).

It wasn't long before the Sisters’ fame and culinary creations were noted in Paris. But sweetly humble has never been Paris' style. Pastry Master Louis Ernest Laduree converted the Convent treat into a stunning dessert available in a seemingly endless array of colors.

Today creative brides around the world are using macarons to create weddings with an elegant French flair. Whether it's a modified croquembouche tower replacing the traditional tiered wedding cakes or as stunning guest favors, macarons are now enjoyed everywhere. Look how lovely (and how inexpensive - $3.20 per serving vrs $5.00 per traditional cake slice)! Nice, nice, nice!

 Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2012

Post Note, July 5, 2012: "Macaron" with only one "o" is the correct spelling for this French culinary treasure. "Macaroons" with two "o's" referes to a different pastry containing shredded coconut that often appears within Jewish cuisine.

Macarons are smooth; macaroons resemble small peaked mountains. There IS a difference but both are perfect for celebrating Bastille Day (or La Fête Nationale) on July 14th. Viva la France!

Bastille Day and Les Miserables Musical Celebrate French Food and Freedom Perfectly

July 14^th is Bastille Day or la Fête Nationale in la belle France as the home of freedom stops and starts to celebrate “liberté, egalité and fraternité”.

Festivities include La Bal du 14 Juillet, a giant dance party traditionally held on the Place de la Bastille where the infamous stormed Bastille Prison once stood, the firehouse galas or ‘Bals des Pompiers’ and the grand (and seemingly endless) formal military parade down the stunning Champs-Elysées Avenue.

But dearest to the French (and all those who love all matters French) are the magnificent fireworks launched over the iconic Eiffel Tower. The 2011 display theme is “From Broadway to Paris”.

But in all fairness, perhaps that theme is backward because one of the greatest musicals ever written was France’s gift to Broadway (and the world): Les Miserables. And no other musical better presents the need for freedom that is the essence of Bastille Day (and the essential heart of the hospitality industry). 

Based on a book written by Victor Hugo, the novel Les Miserables follows the life of Jean Valjean, who is imprisoned for 19 years at hard labor for stealing only a loaf of bread for his sister’s starving son.

Though stealing food is a crime, the insensitive nature of society to hunger and the excessive sentence establishes the two major themes that run throughout the novel, the musical and French history – the parallel values of human justice and inclusive cuisine. 

Justice, understanding and compassion are granted or withheld by the various members of the world that Valjean passes through, including a kind country bishop who feeds and then lies to protect him to the hate-blinded and eternally unforgiving Inspector Javert. 

Equally threaded throughout this legendary story is role of cuisine in both a true and false understanding of hospitality.

From the stolen bread to the final wedding feast of Valjean’s beloved ward Cosetta, Hugo serves up one food metaphor after another in his novel, holding as it were, a mirror up to the true and false moral appetites of mankind.

Especially memorable is the false and totally disgraceful innkeeper Thenardier, who only seeks to exploit every guest, and the honorable Marius who mourns his murdered friends, who supported revolutionary change, among the empty chairs and tables of their favorite student cafe.

The final feast of meaning that both Hugo and the musical share is that freedom and hospitality are eternally intertwined because each requires a respect for every individual met and served.

What better and truer theme could there be for Bastille Day, France's Fête National, surrounded by many of the world's greatest hotels and restaurants, open to all and encouraging everyone everywhere to enjoy life, freedom and honor all others in the true and universal spirit of hospitality.  

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011