Before Gordon Ramsay, There Was Escoffier, the Emperor of Chefs.

Sunday, August 17, 2008 at 8:23pm
Georges Auguste Escoffier (28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. He is a near-legendary figure among chefs and gourmets, and was one of the most important leaders in the development of modern French cuisine. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Antoine Carême, one of the codifiers of French Haute cuisine, but Escoffier's achievement was to simplify and modernize Carême's elaborate and ornate style.

Alongside the recipes he recorded and invented, another of Escoffier's contributions to cooking was to elevate it to the status of a respected profession, introducing organized discipline to his kitchens. He organized his kitchens by the brigade system, with each section run by a chef de partie.


Three of Escoffier's most noted career achievements are revolutionizing and modernizing the menu, the art of cooking and the organization of the professional kitchen. Escoffier simplified the menu as it had been, replacing the practice of service à la française (serving all dishes at once) with service à la russe (serving each dish in the order printed on the menu). He also developed the first à la Carte menu.

He simplified the art of cooking by getting rid of ostentatious food displays and elaborate garnishes and by reducing the number of courses served, a lead which you will see any chef following today when troubleshooting a failing restaurant. He also emphasized the use of seasonal foods and lighter sauces, another lead still followed religiously by chefs worldwide.
Escoffier also simplified professional kitchen organization, as he integrated it into a single unit from its previously individualized sections that operated autonomously and often created great wasted and duplication of labor.

In 1903 Escoffier published his first major book, Le Guide Culinaire, containing 5,000 recipes. The importance of this book in the world of French cooking cannot be overestimated, and even today it is used as both a cookbook and textbook for classic cooking.

Escoffier also managed the affairs of the prestigious Carlton in London between 1901 and 1919. It's said that during the later years of this period Ho Chi Minh studied under him as a pastry chef.

In 1904 and 1912 Escoffier was hired to plan the kitchens for ships belonging to the steamship company Hamburg-Amerika Lines. On the second voyage, the Kaiser William II congratulated Escoffier, telling him "I am the Emperor of Germany, but you are the Emperor of chefs."