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- François Vatel (fräNswä´ vätĕl´), fl. 17th cent., French chef, famous in the time of Louis XIV. Mme Marie de Sévigné, in her letters, speaks of him as the chef of the prince of Condé and says that on a Friday, when the king was coming to dinner and the fish failed to arrive in time, Vatel committed suicide.
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François Vatel (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa vatɛl]; 1631 – 24 April 1671) was the majordomo (in French, maître d'hôtel) of Nicolas Fouquet and prince Louis, Grand Condé. Vatel was born either in Switzerland or in Paris in 1625, 1631, or 1635.
- Early Years
- The Fateful Banquet
- Is This Fake News? Did Vatel Even Exist
- History Notes
- Literature & Lore
Francois was born Fritz Karl Watel in Switzerland, the son of Charles Frédéric Watel, an ordinary worker (the name Watel is still common in Zurich.) His birthdate is disputed: dates suggested are 1625, 1631 or 1635. He apprenticed as a pastry cook. When his apprenticeship was finished, he worked for Nicolas Fouquet (1615-1680), Superintendent of Fi...
At the start of April 1671, Louis XIV announced that he would honour the Prince de Condé by visiting him from Thursday 23 to Saturday 25 April 1671. It was a dubious honour to have the King visit as a guest. In those days, Louis XIV insisted that all the nobles of France and their hangers-on travel with him, so that he could keep an eye on them (la...
Some have speculated that Vatel might never even have really existed. The Gazette of France, which covered the Chantilly visit of the King in depth with three pages of reporting, doesn’t mention the suicide at all. However, there’s little reason to doubt Madame de Sévigné as she knew everybody who was anybody, and everyone else she mentions in her ...
Madame de Sévignéin Paris to Madame de Grignan (her daughter-in-law) in Grignan, Provence. Friday, 24 April 1671: “I just returned here. My intention was to tell you that the King arrived yesterday evening at Chantilly. A stag was running in the moonlight, the lanterns were wonderful. The fireworks were a little obscured, but in the end the evening...
In 1981, the hotel management school in Paris, Institut Vatel, was named after Francois Vatel. In 2000, Roland Joffé produced a film called “Vatel”, in which Vatel was played by Gérard Depardieu. The celebrated chef Auguste Escoffieris reputed to have said some two hundred years later that he would just have served chicken instead of fish: Alexandr...
Dec 27, 2016 · Francois Vatel was the well-respected chef to the noble Condé family in the late 1600s. The Condés lived at Chantilly, the ancestral home of the prince of Condé. It was a grand chateau and Vatel took pride in the fine cuisine he prepared and served at the table.
The story takes place in 1671. In the context of the Franco-Dutch War, a financially struggling Louis, Grand Condé is visited by King Louis XIV for three days of festivities at the Château de Chantilly. The prince wants a commission as a general, and spares no expense in order to impress the king.
Feb 28, 2001 · Francois Vatel is remembered as the man who committed suicide because the fish didn’t arrive on time for a banquet.
May 10, 2011 · According to the infamous seventeenth-century gossip, Madame de Sévigné, on April 24, 1671 François Vatel, distraught over the late arrival of fish for a banquet in honor of Louis XIV, committed suicide by impaling himself through the heart with a sword.
François Vatel (fräNswä´ vätĕl´), fl. 17th cent., French chef, famous in the time of Louis XIV. Mme Marie de Sévigné, in her letters, speaks of him as the chef of the prince of Condé and says that on a Friday, when the king was coming to dinner and the fish failed to arrive in time, Vatel committed suicide.
