Édouard Nignon (; 9 November 1865,
Nantes
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabit ...
- 30 October 1934,
Bréal-sous-Montfort
Bréal-sous-Montfort (, literally ''Bréal under Montfort''; ) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in the region in Brittany in northwestern France.
It is located in the outer southwest district of Rennes
Rennes (; br, Roaz ...
) was a French
chef
A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a k ...
and writer of
cookbooks
A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes.
Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food.
Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cours ...
.
Life
One of eight children of a day laborer and a seamstress, Nignon became an apprentice at Cambronne Restaurant at the age of 9. A year later, he joined Monier Restaurant, where he learned to read and write. After more work in Angers and Cholet, he arrived to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, where he assisted famous chefs and eventually became a chef himself.
He lived in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
, where he served the highest dignitaries, including the emperors
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
and
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until hi ...
. He worked as the chef of
Claridge's in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
from 1894 to 1901. In 1908, he bought Larue Restaurant in Paris. He retired in 1928.
When his restaurant was going through a crisis in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, he started writing cookbooks. His most famous cookbook, ''Éloges de la cuisine française'' ("Praise of French Cuisine"), was published in 1933. It promoted
deglazing with water, clear broths, and parsimonious seasoning.
Nignon is credited with inventing the ''beuchelle tourangelle'', a veal kidney and rice stew inspired by the Austrian ''beuschel'' stew.
Interested in unusual taste combinations, he created
oyster
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not a ...
s with
camembert and ''homard a la dinardaise'', a lobster salad with the "insane trio" of truffles, mustard and pickles.
Legacy
Ignored by the general public, Nignon has been recognized by chefs as one of the fathers of modern cuisine.
His legacy has been revived after a long period of being eclipsed by his more famous contemporary,
Auguste Escoffier
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. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-An ...
.
, one of the founders of ''
nouvelle cuisine'', described Nignon as a visionary chef who had a huge influence on French cooks such as himself and
Joël Robuchon
Joël Robuchon (, 7 April 1945 – 6 August 2018) was a French chef and restaurateur. He was named "Chef of the Century" by the guide Gault Millau in 1989, and awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (France's best worker) in cuisine in 1976. ...
. A recent article on contemporary cookbooks called Nignon "the
Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaube ...
of the ovens," who created "gourmet epics". His ''Eulogies'' were called a "seminal book" of "bourgeois cuisine."
An original copy of Nignon's ''Heptameron'' was sold for 16 thousand euros in the 2010s.
Chef Yvon Garnier founded Culinary Institute Edouard Nignon in Nantes.
Works
* 1919 : ''L'Heptaméron des gourmets ou les Délices de la cuisine française'' (The Seven Days of Gourmets or the Delights of French Cuisine)
* 1926 : ''Les Plaisirs de la table, où sous une forme nouvelle, l'auteur a dévoilé maints délicieux secrets et recettes de bonne cuisine, transcrits les précieux avis de gourmets fameux et de fins gastronomes, conseillers aimables et sûrs en l'art de bien manger'' (The pleasures of the table, where the author uses a new form to reveal many delicious secrets and recipes of fine cuisine, transcribing precious advice of famous gourmets and fine gastronomes, kind and confident counsellors of the art of fine dining)
* 1933 : ''Éloges de la cuisine française'' (Praise of French cuisine), with a preface by
Sacha Guitry
Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and follo ...
.
References
External links
Institut Édouard Nignon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nignon, Édouard
French chefs
French cookbook writers
Writers from Nantes
1865 births
1934 deaths
Businesspeople from Nantes