Practical gastronomy and culinary dictionary

Boswell says of this Johnson : " never knew a man who relished good eating more than he did ; when at table he was absorbed in the business of the moment, nor would he, unless in very high company, say one word, or even pay the least attention to what was said by others, until he had satisfied his appetite," which was no trifling matter, we are told ; so that, if being a thoroughbred glutton and an epicure as well qualifies a man for giving an opinion on cookery, surely Dr. Johnson's remarks may be taken as evidence enough. ^(W AXTOXIX CAREME <^ V FAMOUS CHEFS AND EPICURES 851 ANTONIN CAREME, 1784-1833. Antonin Caeeme — or, to give him his full title, Marie-Antonin Careme — was a clief of whom all cooks should feel proud ; for, as a French historian tells us, although he rose from nothing, having been " suddenly deserted in his childhood by his parents, in an agony of destitution " —yet he rose, by his own magni- ficent talents, from the lowest condition to the highest, to be one of the greatest of chefs and to administer to the tastes and bodily requirements of Talleyrand, Rothschild, the Emperor Alexander of Russia, our King George the Fourth, and many others. " The name of Careme," says Larousse, in his " Dictionnaire Universelle," "has become proverbial to designate, in a manner, the ideal of a perfect cook. Careme was not only a practitioner 'of the first water, but was also deeply learned in the culinary art, and all that appertains to it. He studied for a long time the ancient cookery of Rome when she was unequalled for her la-sdsh luxury and munificence, but of their table productions he expresses himself unfavourably. He comments in high terms upon their table decorations, cups, bowls, flowers, music, and all that, but of their dishes he says nothing of a noteworthj'- character." M, Antonin Careme was born at Paris in 1784, and as a youth attracted the attention of M. Laguipi^re, who took him in hand as a lad, and sowed the seeds in him that produced such splendid results. This great and generous service was not forgotten by Careme, and it is thus that he memorialises his friend and patron : — " To the Memory of Lagmpiere. " Rise, oh illustrious shade of Laguipiere ! Hear the words of a man who was thy devout admirer and pupil. Tiiy extra- ordinary talents have brought down upon you the hatred and persecution of those who ought to esteem you in recognition of thy noble efforts for the perfection of thine art. But what am I saying ? Is it fitting for a man of talent to enjoy in peace the fruit of his mental labours ? Have I not had a pitiable experience of it ? 0 vicissitude ! 0 ignorance ! O Laguipiere, infamous calumny has indeed surrounded thee with tribulation — on ac- count of which thou hast been forced to quit thy beautiful country, and go to serve, in Italy, a powerful man for whom you recently made delicacies in the Elysee-Bourbon. Thou hast followed thy king into Russia ; but, alas ! by a most deplorable fatality amongst military pomps, thou hast perished ; thy hands and feet frozen by the frightful climate of the north. You were compelled to sit without moving behind the cairiage of your king, longing to quit this murderous land ; but, alas ! implacable 852 PRACTICAL GASTRONOMY