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From Carême to Dumas: Rossini

Rossini, a contemporary and friend of Balzac and Dumas, was not alone a famous musician, composer of "Tell" and the "Stabat Mater," but was also a distinguished fourchette and a cook of ability. One of his most celebrated compositions that of a certain manner of preparing macaroni which is said to have vied in seductiveness with the sweetest strains of the "Barbier de Seville" is unfortunately lost to the world through a prejudice of Dumas.

One day the great romancist, who never ate macaroni in any form, asked the noted composer for his recipe, being anxious to add it to his culinary repertoire. "Come and eat some with me to-morrow at dinner, and you shall have it," was the answer. But the host, perceiving that his guest would not touch a dish on which he had bestowed so much pains, refused to give him the formula, whereupon Dumas circulated the report that it was his cook, not Rossini, who was master of the secret, and forthwith presented at length a recipe given him by the famous Mme. Ristori as "the true, the only, the unique manner of preparing macaroni à la néapolitaine." Already in 1830 the excessive charges of the fashionable restaurants were loudly complained of. On this subject the "Nouvel Almanach des Gourmands" of that date says: "The Boulevard Italien is the privileged seat of the cafésrestaurants; there one may dine excellently, but it must be confessed one is cruelly plucked. From this fact has arisen the proverb, 'One must be very hardy to dine at the Café Riche, and very rich to dine at the Café Hardi. May it not be added that one needs to be an English peer to dine at the Café Anglais, and a millionaire Parisian to try the Café de Paris? One may dine well at Véry's, but one will ruin himself; while the fish which is excellent at the Rocher de Cancale is scarcely exchanged for its weight in five-franc pieces.” Often in the midst of a dinner, on tasting of some novel dish at his favourite restaurant, the Café de Paris, Dumas would lay down his fork-"I must get the recipe of this dish." The proprietor was then sent for to authorise the novelist to descend to the kitchens and hold a consultation with his chefs. He was the only one of the habitués to whom this privilege was ever allowed; these excursions were usually followed by an invitation to dine with Dumas a few days later, when his newly acquired knowledge would be put into practice.

There were those, nevertheless, that previous to the advent of the "Dictionary" were sceptical as to Dumas' culinary accomplishments. Among such was Dr. Véron, author of the "Mémoires" and founder of the "Revue de Paris," who, with several other notabilities, had been invited by the novelist to partake of a carp of his own preparation. For days and days Véron, who was extremely fond of fish, talked of nothing else to his cordon-bleu. "Where did you taste it?" said Sophie, becoming somewhat jealous of this praise of others, -"at the Café de Paris?" "No, at Monsieur Dumas." "Well, then, I'll go to Monsieur Dumas' cook and get the recipe." "That 's of no use," objected her master. "Monsieur Dumas prepared the dish himself." "Well, then, I'll go to Monsieur Dumas himself and ask him to give me the recipe."