Who was Alexandre Étienne Choron?
Q: Who was Alexandre Étienne Choron?
A: Alexandre Étienne Choron was a French chef. He was the chef de cuisine of the celebrated restaurant Voisin on the rue Saint Honoré and is best known for inventing Choron sauce, a béarnaise sauce enriched with tomato concentrate.
Q: What happened during the Siege of Paris by the Prussians in 1870?
A: During the siege, Parisians were reduced to eating cats, dogs, and rats. The bourgeois did not want to eat such low animals, so they went to de luxe restaurants like Voisin which improvised with exotic animal dishes.
Q: What is famous about Choron's menu for Christmas dinner in 1870?
A: Choron served an infamous menu at Voisin for Christmas dinner in 1870 that included stuffed head of donkey, elephant consommé, roasted camel, kangaroo stew, bear shanks roasted in pepper sauce, wolf in deer sauce, cat with rat and antelope in truffle sauce. The wines served were Mouton-Rothschild 1846, Romanée-Conti 1858 and Château Palmer 1864.
Q: What are some examples of dishes that became famous from this meal?
A: Two dishes from this meal became particularly famous - Trompe d’éléphant in sauce chasseur and Éléphant bourguignon. These dishes were made using elephant meat from various zoos around Paris during the siege.
Q: How much did it cost per pound to buy elephant meat for this meal?
A: It cost 15 francs per pound to buy elephant meat for this meal at Voisin restaurant during the Siege of Paris by the Prussians in 1870.
Q: When did Voisin run out of elephant meat?
A: By 13 January Voisin had run out of elephant meat and substituted horse instead.
Q: When was the siege lifted?
A: The siege was lifted two weeks later after 13 January when Voisin ran out of elephant meat.
