François Vatel (1631 – April 24, 1671) was a "Maître d'hôtel", famous for "inventing" Chantilly cream, a sweet, vanilla-flavoured whipped cream, for an extravagant banquet for 2,000 people hosted in honour of Louis XIV by Louis, the great Condé in April 1671 at the Château de Chantilly; hence the name crème Chantilly.
At this same banquet, Vatel, the consummate perfectionist, was supposedly so distraught about the lateness of the fish—the banquet was to be held on a Friday—and about other mishaps that he committed suicide by running himself through with a sword. According to some versions of the story, his body was discovered by an aide who came to tell him of the arrival of the fish. His death was treated as a national tragedy. [1]
This often-repeated story was described in a letter by the marquise de Sévigné.
Vatel was already renowned for having served Nicolas Fouquet in the splendid inauguration fête at the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte that took place on 17 August 1661, the occasion of Fouquet's downfall.
Popular Culture
In more modern times, he was depicted in the 2000 film Vatel by Roland Joffé, with Gérard Depardieu playing the role of Vatel.
References
- ^ D. & P. Kladstrup Champagne pg 30 Harper Collins Publisher ISBN 0060737921
Further reading
- Dominique Michel 1999.Vatel ou la naissance de la gastronomie (Editions Fayard)
- Patrick Rambourg 1999. Recettes du Grand Siècle (Editions Fayard)
- Mathilde Mottoule 2006. Vatel ou l'origine d'un mythe.
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