Adolphe Gérard

Adolphe Gérard (1844–1900) was a French chef, restaurant and hotel owner in Colorado, US. Gérard was born in Alençon, France, in 1844. At age 15, he enrolled in a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in the commune of

Sées Sées () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. It lies on the river Orne from its source and north-by-northeast of Alençon. Sées station has rail connections to Argentan, Caen and Le Mans. Name The town's name deriv ...

. At age 20, Gérard moved to Paris, where he was apprenticed as a chef in a hotel. He then moved to London, where he worked with a newspaper on its reviews and translations (Gérard was fluent in English, German and Latin). At age 22, Gérard moved to New York City, where he again worked for a newspaper. In 1868, he enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

at Fort Hamilton, New York, and was assigned to Fort D. A. Russell near

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming, as well as the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 residents, per the 2020 US Census. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne ...

. In April 1869, he deserted and moved to Denver, Colorado, assuming the name "Louis Dupuy". He started working for the ''

Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...

'' as a roving reporter for the

mining camp Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

s. Gérard soon decided to become a miner himself. In 1873, while working in the Cold Stream Mine on Mount Sherman in

Silver Plume, Colorado Silver Plume is a Statutory Town located in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Silver Plume is a former silver mining camp along Clear Creek in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The federally designated Georgetown-Silver Plume ...

, he was badly injured in a delayed dynamite explosion in the Kennedy Tunnel. Gérard took the brunt of the blast and saved the life of a fellow miner. Gérard broke a rib and

clavicle The clavicle, or collarbone, is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately 6 inches (15 cm) long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on the left and one on the r ...

, and injured his left eye. Because he could not return to mining, the people of

Georgetown, Colorado The historic Town of Georgetown is the territorial charter municipality that is the county seat of Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,118 at the 2020 United States Census. The former silver mining camp along ...

, raised enough money for him to rent the former Delmonico Bakery. He was able to purchase the property within a few years and created a successful restaurant and hotel that he called Hotel de Paris. By the early 1890s, the original building had tripled in size. It contained numerous rooms, a formal dining room, a sizeable kitchen and an apartment for Gérard. The Hotel de Paris had

indoor plumbing Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...

with a washbasin in each room, as well as electric lighting which replaced

gas lighting Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly ...

in 1893. Dinners were served on Haviland & Co. china from Limoges, France, with elegant linens and imported glassware. The menu included steaks from cattle raised on Louis' ranch Troublesome Creek, delicacies such as oysters and

anchovies An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

in olive oil imported from France. Gérard was an avid reader of literature and philosophy. His library contained a full set of ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

''. On October 7, 1900, Gérard died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

at age 56. He left the hotel to his housekeeper Sophie Gally, who died only four months later. In 1904, the Hotel de Paris was purchased by James H. and Sarah Burkholder. Their daughter, Hazel Burkholder McAdams, owned the hotel until 1954, when the National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of Colorado acquired it and turned it into a museum. Gérard is buried with Sophie Gally. They share a grave marker inscribed with the words "''Deux Bons Amis''" ("Two good friends"). In 1985, Gérard was fictionalized by

Louis L'Amour Louis Dearborn L'Amour (; né LaMoore; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels (though he called his work "frontier stories"); however, he also wrote hi ...

in his novel ''The Proving Trail''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gérard, Adolphe 1844 births 1900 deaths French chefs French male journalists