Brillat Savarin

Title page of Physiologie du goût with a portrait of Brillat-Savarin

Brillat-Savarin — The Great Gastronome

Lyon saw the birth of the greatest gastronome the world has ever known: Brillat-Savarin. (Curnonsky in Traditional Recipes of the Provinces of France). In his grand Physiologie du Goût (The Physiology of Taste), Savarin lovingly describes their dinners. He was among the first to write seriously about eating and the art of the table. In recognition of his accomplishments, a cheese, an omelet, a salmon dish, a garnish, and a consommé all bear his name.

“The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness
than the discovery of a new star.”

From Belley to America

Brillat-Savarin was born in Belley in the region of Bresse, an area rich in food and wine. From an early age, the young Anthelme loved to visit the kitchen and breathe in the aromas coming from the stoves. He learned to play the violin, studied law and was elected first magistrate and later mayor of his town. During the Terror that followed the French Revolution, he was forced to flee the country, eventually making his way to New York.

“I was in the drawing room, enjoying my dinner,” said Brillat-Savarin, beginning an anecdote. “What!” interrupted his friend. “Eating dinner in a drawing room?” “I must beg you to observe, monsieur,” explained the great gastronome, “that I did not say I was eating my dinner, but enjoying it. I had dined an hour before.”

Brillat-Savarin in the New World

To support himself, he gave French lessons and played violin in the John Street Theater orchestra. One biographer reports that, to escape an outbreak of yellow fever, he left for Connecticut, walking much of the way and visiting Yale and Harvard. He later stayed for some time at a farm, which he described as “a rustic and generous Eden.” He then spent three months in Boston before moving on to Philadelphia. While there, he accompanied a friend to a meeting with Thomas Jefferson, at which he asked Jefferson how to prepare a wild turkey.

“Let the progress of the meal be slow, for dinner is the last business of the day;
and let the guests conduct themselves like travelers due to reach their destination together.”

Return to France

Finally receiving permission to return to France, he sailed from Philadelphia in June 1796. There he was appointed to various posts, eventually becoming a judge on the Supreme Court of Appeal. The rest of his life was spent peacefully, entertaining his friends lavishly and, in return, being invited to some of the best tables in Paris. Over the years he worked on his gastronomic memoirs, filling many pages with recipes, anecdotes and observations on food, taste and life.

The Philosophy of Taste

For Brillat-Savarin, gastronomy was about much more than food. Eating well was part of the art of living: the pleasure of choosing ingredients, preparing a meal, setting the table and, above all, sharing food and conversation with others. His Physiologie du Goût, published in 1825, transformed these pleasures into reflections on appetite, taste, hospitality and human nature.

“Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are.”

— Brillat-Savarin

Source:
Photo, Wikipedia.
This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 70 years or fewer.