“Towards 1804 I imagined our new suédoises. The shapes which they had before my time were without grace or elegance. My attempt had a decided success at a grand extra of a ball, which the marshals of France gave to the Chief-Consul, their master. The ball was magnificent; it was given in the Salle de l’Opéra decorated with hangings. M. Bécar, cook of the sugared entremets, called me in to assist him, he confided to me the suédoises. I made him thirty-six of them, and for several days afterwards these suédoises were the only topic of conversation from the kitchens to the salons of Paris. Happy times! agreeable labours!”
The following are the most striking among the Aphorisms, Thoughts, and Maxims, of the Cook Carème.
“France is the mother-country of amphitryons. Its kitchen and its wines assure the triumph of gastronomy. It is the only country in the world for good cheer. Strangers are convinced of these truths.
“The culinary art serves as a sort of escort to European diplomacy.
“The great diplomatist should have a renowned cook.
“The diplomatist is a fine appreciator of a good dinner.
“For the young nobility, embassies are courses of diplomacy and gastronomy.
“Gastronomy marches like a queen at the head of civilization, but vegetates merely in a period of revolution.
“Great doctors and great musicians are great lovers of good living; witness the celebrated Broussais, Roques, Rossini, and Boïeldieu.
“The rich man, fond of the pleasures of the table, passes through life with comfort and happiness, when he cares not a straw for public affairs.