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 The following document is a chronological frame of events throughout history that have a direct or indirect influence on food, wine and related topics. It is by no means the be all and end all, and in no way pretends to represent every event. It is continually being updated as the author uncovers new facts, figures and subjects of relevance. Every effort has been made to cross reference, but I am only human and a mistake may have occurred.
Cooking is the art and science of preparing food for eating by the application of heat. The term also includes the full range of culinary techniques: preparing raw and cooked foods for the table; final dressing of meats, fish, and fowl; cleaning and cutting fruits and vegetables; preparing salads; garnishing dishes; decorating desserts; and planning meals.
8th Century A.D.
780
Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea, the first handbook on tea, is published in China, described the cultivation, processing, and use of tea.
9th Century A.D.
800
Tofu introduced to Japan from China.
Legend has it an Arabian goatherder named Kaldi, discovered coffee after noticing his goats frisky behaviour after eating berries from an unknown bush. He gathered some of the berries and took them to a local holyman who boiled them up with water. Another legend says a Aribic doctor by the namel; Avicenna discovered it
10th Century A.D.
909
A Benedictine abbey is founded at Cluny in France.
961
The earliest inn identified by name was Le Grand Saint Bernard Hospice, founded by Augustinian monks in a Swiss Alpine pass for the convenience of pilgrims going to and from Rome. Established in AD 961, it was a massive stone structure that could offer shelter to 300 persons and beds to 70 or 80. Its special service, and one that survived until recently, was the use of Saint Bernard dogs to track down travellers lost in the Alpine snows
11th Century
1070
According to legend the premium French blue cheese, Roquefort is 'invented' in a cave
Around this time the first documented recipe for pasta is found in the book; "De arte Coquinaria per vermicelli e maccaroni siciliani" (The art of cooking Sicilian vermicelli and macaroni"). Written by Martino Corno, who was the chef to the powerful Matriarch of Aquileia.
1096
The first Butchers shop is known to have been opened in Paris on what is now the Place du Châtelet
12th CenturyTop
Greek warriors of the 12th century feasted mostly on plain, spit-roasted meats and raw onions ("for relish to the drink," as Homer wrote). The Greeks descended from nomadic Central Asian tribes that had cooked and eaten in a similar way. In the succeeding centuries, however, deforestation and the subsequent erosion of the soil (the results of widespread timbering and over-cultivation of the olive) radically altered the Greek diet and, consequently, Greek cooking techniques. Fish, which does not lend itself to spit-roasting, largely supplanted meat as the staple food, and a scarcity of timber limited the use of open fires. The Homeric heroes had butchered, salted, and roasted their own meats alfresco, while female slaves ground corn for their bread; but the mageiros, a high-ranking slave and baker-chef, supervised the cooking in later times, when foods were prepared in indoor kitchens. Under the mageiros's direction sophisticated kitchen equipment evolved, ranging from simple earthenware pots to elaborately decorated metal casseroles, kettles, cauldrons, and gridirons, and including amphorae that functioned in much the same manner as the modern bain-marie, or double boiler.
Baker guild in France set up
Cider making established in Normandy, France
1150
Arab geographer: Al-Idrisi reports that about 30km from Palermo in Trabia; "they producean abundance of pasta in the shape of string, these are sent everywhere, to Muslim and Christian countries, even by ship"
1192
Shallots thought to have been introduced into Europe by the Crusaders from the Middle East, after defeating 'Saladin' at the Battle of Ascalon
13th Century Top
Modern European cooking was shaped in large part by the conditions existing during the early Middle Ages. In the north, where abundant timber and a relatively cold climate favoured the use of open fires, the rotating spit and suspended cauldron gave rise to a cuisine that consisted of thick roasts and long-simmered soups, stews, and sauces. Because trade access to other regions was limited, home-grown raw materials were used almost exclusively. Abundant pasturage permitted large dairy herds. Dairy products were thus major components of the cuisine, and butter was the principal cooking fat. Along the Mediterranean, where olives were abundant, fuel scarce, and the climate warm, an oil-based cuisine developed. This cuisine comprised mainly light dishes that could be cooked quickly over enclosed charcoal fires and small cuts of meat that did not require prolonged exposure to heat. The Italians also made more extensive use of ingredients and culinary ideas imported from the East. The spit and cauldron, which evolved into the roasting oven and stockpot, were the chief utensils of the north, but the south relied on the skillet and the saucepan. These contrasting approaches are reflected today in dishes as different as the French tripes a la mode de Caen, which requires up to ten hours of slow cooking, and the typically Italian saltimbocca alla romana, a light veal dish that can be sauteed in minutes.
Medieval Cookery
By all accounts, the medieval cookery of northern Europe would not have pleased a modern palate. Sauces were merely bread-thickened broths, and such dishes as browets and hotchpots were hashes distinguishable only by their relative degrees of wetness or dryness. Spices, for the few who could afford them, were used indiscriminately to mask the pervasive odour of spoiled meat, much as the Romans had used liquamen, a rank sauce made from fish, or asafoetida, a resin with a strong, fetid flavour. Few culinary niceties were possible in kitchens where cooks were kept at arm's length from their pots by the heat of blazing log fires.
South of the Alps, however, the Italians were able to draw on culinary legacies from the Greeks, Etruscans, and Saracens and to develop regional cuisines that were both simple and balanced. Green vegetables, rare in transalpine Europe, were an essential part of the cuisine. Fish stews, inherited from the Greeks and cooked along the extensive Italian coastline, were both nutritious and delectable and required little cooking time. Pastas, polenta, and rice lent themselves to many sauces and garnishes that barely resembled the soggy sauces and bland stews of France, England, and Germany. By the early Renaissance, Italians of reasonable means cooked and ate much as most Italians do today.
The tea ceremony was originated in China by Buddhist monks who believed that tea had medicinal qualities. It was brought to Japan in the 13th century, but it was not until the 16th century that Zen monks had mastered, codified, and ennobled the drinking of tea. Once practiced only in Zen monasteries, the tea ceremony is now popular among the general public.
The Japanese tea ceremony, or cha-no-yu, is the ancient practice of serving tea according to a strict ritual that defines the manner in which tea is prepared and served. Rooted in ZEN BUDDHISM, the art of the tea ceremony symbolises aesthetic simplicity through the elimination of the unnecessary.
The traditional ceremony, as practiced today, takes place in a tea room, or cha-shitsu, situated in a garden or a special room within a house. The simply constructed room is small, accommodating a host and five guests, and the floors are covered with straw (tatami) mats. The most formal ceremony takes four hours, and two types of green tea are served. A gong is sounded to signal the beginning of the ceremony. Following a prescribed pattern, the host prepares the tea with the utmost exactness. The principal guest is served first, after which the ritual is repeated. The accurate and delicate performance of each act is thought to represent the fundamental Zen principles of harmony, respect, purity, and tranquillity.
1279
The first "official" mention of pasta; when a notary's inventory of inheritance mentions 'a basket full of macaroni'.
1295
The confection, ice cream may have been introduced to Europe in 1295, when Marco Polo returned to Italy from the Far East with a recipe for a frozen dessert that included milk.
14th Century
1311
In a charter of this year, Bishop of Amiens mentions gâteau feuilletes. Which some say prove that the French were making puff pastry well before the 17th century when some writers claim it was brought to France by Traders.
15th Century Top
Europe begin to use cast-iron stoves several hundred years after the Chinese
Haricots beans introduced into Europe from South America
In the middle of the 15th century chillies are being grown and used in Europe after being introduced from the Americas
Aubergines introduced into Europe
Christopher Columbus mentions the virtue of allspice in his journals in the latter years of this century
1404
The word 'brioche' first appears in use. Though the actual products history no doubt precedes this.
1411
Production of the spirit Armagnac recorded
1416
The French Butchers Guild that had reigned supreme for centuries was dissolved by Royal Decree, they lost all their privileges and their shops destroyed.
1432
Caviar is first mentioned as an hors d'oeuvres in Rabelais' work; Pantagruel. It was not to become famous in France for another 500 years.
1475
An edict is granted to allow the selling of prepared pork dishes; sausages, pates etc. The start of what we now know as the charcuterie and the masters of the profession Charcutieres. The name is derived from the old French: chair, 'flesh' and cuit, cooked.
1488
Portuguese vessels reached South Africa by 1488 for purpose of spice trading
1489
Portuguese vessels reached Calicut in India by 1498 for purpose of spice trading
1493
Christopher Columbus introduces sugar cane into Hispaniola (Haiti-Dominion Republic)
1498
The toothbrush is invented by a Chinese dentist.
16th CenturyTop
Celery cultivated from the wild and poisonous variety in Italy sometime in the 16th century
Kidney beans, and vanilla pods introduced into Europe from the Americas
Rice and limes introduced to Mexico by Spanish Traders
Avocadoes 'discovered' by the Spanish in Mexico
Cashew and peanuts were introduced into Europe by Portuguese Traders from the Americas
Cauliflower is introduced to France from Italy in the middle of the 16th century.
1509
The first sugar cane mill is established in the Americas.
1513
Portuguese vessels reached Canton, China, by 1513 for purpose of spice trading
1519
Chocolate is introduced into Spain as a beverage. The term "chocolate" was originally applied to a drink similar to today's hot chocolate. The Spanish Conquistador; Hernan Cortes introduced the drink to Spain upon returning from his Mexican expedition, during which he was given some by the Aztec King Montezuma II. Gradually spreading from Spain through Europe and into England, the chocolate drink became increasingly popular.
Catherine de Medicis, born in Florence, Italy; April 13
1520
Corn (Zea mays) is imported into Spain from the West Indies by Hernan Cortes and Christopher Columbus
1524
The Spanish Conquistador; Hernan Cortes introduces the cocao beans to Europe
1533
Catherine de Medicis arrived in France from Florence with a retinue of master chefs. She brought Italian staples: milk-fed veal, baby peas, artichokes, broccoli, and various pastas. The French court tasted, for the first time, such delicacies as quenelles (fish dumplings), zabaglione (a rich egg yolk and wine custard), and scaloppine. With her arrival, French cookery embarked on a course that produced the most complex and refined cuisine in the Western world.
1554
Tomatoes from South America are cultivated in Europe.
1550
The worlds first Café was opened in Constantinople.
1553
Calvados is mentioned in the diary of 'a gentleman' of the Cotentin; Gilles de Gouberville.
1569
A strange law in France is passed, forbidding Bakers to wear breeches other than on Sundays. Which meant they could not go out in public without being immediately identified, this law was passed to force them to stay at the oven all day. They were also forbidden to gather in groups, carry a sword or any other weapon. So was the importance of the Baker in those days.
1573
The potato is brought back from the Americas and cultivated in Spain.
1574
The Corporation of Pasta Makers is founded in Genoa, Italy.
1577
The 'Regolazione dell'Arte dei Maestri Fidelari" (rules for the Pasta Masters Art Corporation) were drawn up in Savona, Italy.
1586: July 28th
First potatoes arrive in England from Colombia, brought by Sir Thomas Harriot
1589
Catherine de Medicis died at Blois 2 weeks after her husband, on January 5
17th CenturyTop
In the 17th century, chocolate houses were the social meeting places of the day
First made in 17th-century Holland, the manufacture and popularity of gin spread quickly throughout Europe, and variations of the Dutch formula began to appear. Gin is an alcoholic beverage made by distilling fermented mixtures of grains and flavouring the resulting alcohol with juniper berries. The name is derived from the French word genievre (juniper).
Jerusalem artichoke introduced to Europe from its native North America early this century
Parsley introduced to America by British colonists
Italy denounces coffee as "Satan's Brew"
1600
British merchants formed the East India Company (1600-1858) and introduced teas into England and the American colonies
1602
The Dutch East India Company is founded
The Massachusetts Bay colonist are introduced to clams by the native Indians
1610
The first inn built in the original American colonies was the Jamestown Inn in Virginia, established about 1610. Lodging houses--called inns or taverns in the north, and ordinaries in the south--were soon established near seaports, canals, river landings, and post roads. An 18th-century Massachusetts law provided penalties for any town that did not offer lodging for travellers
The principle of vending did not emerge again after its first known mention in 200 B.C. until the 17th century, when coin-operated honour boxes holding tobacco were common in English taverns.
1615
Pierre Francoise de la Verenne born: (died in 1678) author of Le Vrai Cuisinier, published in 1651
Ann of Austria introduces drinking chocolate to the French Court
1620
Wild turkeys found by the Pilgrims in the New World
1627
Last known specimen of 'aurochs' (ancient breed from where domestic cattle were bred) recorded in Poland.
1630
Louis de Béchameil born, he was a French financier, farmer-general, and steward to the house of the Duke of Orleans. It is thought that Béchamél sauce is named after him.
1634
Dijon in France granted the exclusive rights to make mustard
1644
The drink; COFFEE, was introduced into Europe in the mid-17th century, by a traveller named La Royne.
1647
A blast furnace at Saugus, Mass., was casting iron stoves. Many of these early stoves were jamb stoves, which were intended to make a fireplace more efficient and distribute its heat more effectively. The most common was the five-plate stove, made of five flat iron plates that formed a rectangular box with one open side. A hole was cut in the back of the fireplace completely through the wall to the room behind it, and the stove was inserted into the opening with the open end of the stove being flush against the rear wall of the fireplace. The remainder of the stove protruded into the room to be heated. When a fire was built in the stove, it served to heat both areas. Designers of these early stoves delighted in casting intricate designs into the visible portions.
1650
In English, spellings of coffee and coffy were established; the former becoming the single standard by 1700
1651
Le Vrai Cuisinier published, the first cookbook to summarise the French Nobilities cooking practices. Written by Pierre Francoise de la Varenne.
1654
French writer; Nicolas de Bonnefons publishes a work called, 'Les delices de la campagne', it was to prove a turning point in French cuisine. The book was responsible in the French turning away from the practices from the Middle ages of spice overuse and being concerned with the natural flavour of food.
1660
American cultivated strawberries introduced to Europe from the New World
1668
Coffee introduced to the Americas
1669
The Ambassador of the Turkish Government to Louis XIV; Soliman Aga, popularises coffee at the French Court.
1670
Coriander being cultivated for the first time in the USA in Massachusetts
1672
At the Saint Germain fair in Paris an Amenian gentleman named Pascal set up a stall selling coffee, his success however was fleeting as coffee was yet to become a sociably acceptable drink.
1678
French botanist M. Marchant demonstrated that mushrooms grew from spawn, thus starting the cultivation of the vegetable
1683
The Café and coffee drinking is firmly established in Vienna, Austria after the invading Turks left behind hundreds of sacks of beans. Given to the victor; Kolschitzky, it was he who created the now famous Vienna coffee.
Around this time the croissant was created in Vienna, Austria in celebration of defeating the Turks. The shape mirrors the Turkish crescent symbol.
1689
The English, who had previously imported distilled liquors, began to encourage the domestic manufacture of spirits from English grain; and gin, which could be cheaply made and sold, rapidly became the solace and the scourge of the nation's poor.
1690's
Lloyd's Insurance takes its name from the late-17th-century London coffee house of Edward Lloyd, where marine insurers met to do business.
1696
The first Parisian café was opened by an Italian; Café Procope
19th Century
Top
The early 19th century marked the beginnings of large-scale candymaking, especially in England.
Saw the start of the cultivation of watercress
In the early 1800's at the kitchen of Parker House; one of the USA's oldest Hotels, the famous Boston Cream Pie was given its chocolate glaze topping
In the late 19th century the common variety of celery that we use today, was developed in the USA
1800
The word 'Balthazar' in use to describe a large bottle of Champagne, that is equivelent to 16 regular bottles. Named after the last King of Babylon, Balthazar's father also has a bottle size named after him; the Nebuchadnezzar, which holds 20 bottles.
1801
A massive 580.18kg is produced in the USA, as a present for President Thomas Jefferson.
1802
The Café Anglais is opened in the Boulevard des Italiens. It was named in honour of the peace treaty just signed between England and France. Originally just a coffee house for coachman and servants, it became famous when it was bought by a Paul Chevreuil who turned it into a fashionable eating establishment. Although it was not until the arrival of the great Chef Adolphe Dugléré that it truelly gained its gastronomic reputation. One of its private rooms was made famous for etenity in Offenbach's; La Vie parisienne. It was finally demolished in 1913.
1804
The seven-story Boston Exchange Coffee House, opened in 1804, was in its time the largest and best-equipped hotel in America, with more than 200 apartments and a total of 300 rooms. These included stores, offices, banquet halls, ballrooms, dining rooms, numbered private bedrooms, a billiard room, a hairdresser's room, and a large number of bathing rooms. Its central, domed area, the Exchange, was used as a commercial meeting place.
1809
Frenchman Nicolas Appert develops the first effective method for canning food.
1809
Alexis Benoit Soyer born: October, 14th in Meaux-en-Brie (north west of Paris). One of the greatest and most underated of the master chefs), Soyer was not just a chef but also an inventor and notable charity worker. He was Chef at the famous Reform Club in London for a quarter of his life.
1810
The canning process, like so many other developments in the FOOD INDUSTRY, was developed in response to the problem of feeding military forces in the field. In an attempt to overcome the problem of food spoilage, a prize was offered by the French in 1795 for the invention of a method of keeping food safe for troops. Nicolas APPERT, a chef in Paris, accepted this challenge and developed the canning process. The immensity of his undertaking becomes clearer when it is recognised that he had to fashion containers in which to package his product. Using bottles closed with cork and wire, he won the prize for his canning process in 1810. At about the same time, the tin-coated metal can was patented in England, giving rise to the term canning. Today virtually all types of food are canned commercially, and the products are available in cans of all sizes. Unlike the freezer necessary for frozen foods, no special device is needed for prolonged storage of cans
The British chemist Sir Humphrey Davis, separates the molecules of salt into its two elements; sodium and chlorine, thus starting others to understand the process/ chemical reactions that take place when using salt in curing, freezing etc. This in turn led to better preserving processes.
1813
Baron Léon Brisse born; died at Fontenay aux Roses in 1876. Brisse began his career in the services of the Water and Forestry, though was forced to leave after a scandel. He began a career in journalism specialising in articles on food. In the newspaper La Liberté he had the idea of printing a different menu everyday. In 1868 these were eventually published in a collection; Les Trois Cent Soixant Six Menus du baron Brisse or The 366 Menus of Baron Brisse. His other published works were:
Recette a l'usage des menages bourgeois et des petit menages (1868)
La Petite Cuisine du baron Brisse (1870)
La Cuisine en Careme
Not being able to cook himself he was often taken to task for some of his 'ridiculous' recipes. However his name was given to a garnish for large joints of meat; onions, chicken forcemeat and stuffed olive tartlets.
1815
The worlds first commercial biscuit factory is set up in Carlisle, Scotland; The Carr Establishmnet
1816
Louis Bignon born in Hérisson, France; died in Macau 1906. A great restauranteur, he started his career as a waiter at the Café d'Orsay before moving on to the Café au Foy. He later purchased it and handed it over to his brother in 1847. Taking over the Café Riché he made it one of the best in Paris. Made a Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honour in 1868 and and officer in 1878. Bignon was the first restaranteur to wear the rosette of the Legion of Honour.
1822
American surgeon William Beaumont begins his study of the gastric process.
Sometime around this era Chef's hat started to appear
1824
French engineer Ferdinand Carré born at Moislains, Somme. Carré pioneered methods of refrigeration. In 1862 he exhibited at the Universal London Exhibition, a machine to produce ice that had an output of 200 kg per hour.
1825
December 8, Brillat-Savarin's; great work: La Physiologie du gout (1825) is published, a treatise on the fine art of gastronomy. Published in English as The Physiology of Taste (1825), it was the first work to treat dining as a form of art, and gastronomy as "the intelligent knowledge of whatever concerns man's nourishment."
1826
In February, Brillat-Savarin died in Paris.
1827
English inventor John Walker introduces the first friction matches.
1828
The Dutch made chocolate powder by squeezing most of the fat from finely ground cacao beans. The cocoa butter from pressing was soon being added to a powder-sugar mixture, and a new product, eating chocolate, was born.
1830
Sometime in the 1830's it is thought that in a restaurant at Saint Germain en Laye, Collinet creates Bearnaise sauce.
1831
Cyrus McCormick invents a mechanical reaper.
Professional chefs had existed in Europe at least since the emergence of Athens as the cultural center of the classical world, but no single individual's impact on a national cuisine even remotely approached that of Antonin CAREME, (born June 8, 1784, died Jan. 12, 1833) who revolutionised French cooking (and northern European cooking in general) during a career spent in the kitchens of Europe's social and political leaders. Stressing "delicacy, order, and economy," Careme systematised and codified French cooking, brought symmetry and logical progression to the service of meals, and introduced a new awareness of freshness and sanitation into the French kitchen. Careme wrought culinary miracles with the inadequate equipment at his disposal. The charcoal-burning stoves with which he worked brought his delicately constructed dishes into direct contact with live embers, often scorching or setting them ablaze. Ovens had to be stoked and emptied of ashes repeatedly and, with no effective means of temperature control, armies of cooks were required to give their undivided attention to individual dishes.
1832
Parisian caterer and food retailer, Germain Charles Chevet dies in Paris. He set up a shop in the Palais Royal and subsequently founded a dynasty of caterers. His shops were frequented by the likes of Brillet Savarin and Rossini for the high quality venison, pâtés, foie gars and seafood he supplied. His son Joseph took over the business after his death.
1833
Marie Antonin Careme died January 12, 1833
George Huntington Hartford, born Augusta, Maine, Sept. 5, 1833, d. Aug. 29, 1917, was an American merchant who helped develop what became for a time the largest U.S. grocery chain.
1834
Jacob Perkins, an American engineer living in London, patented (1834) the first practical ice-making machine, a volatile-liquid refrigerator using a compressor that operated in a closed cycle and conserved the fluid for reuse.
1836
Charles Ranhofer born: (died 1899); the first internationally famous Chef from an American establishment.
1837
John Lea and William Perrin 'produce' their first successful batch of their world famous sauce. A Lord Sandy asked them a few years earlier, to produce a sauce from a recipe he brought back from Bengal. After following the recipe to the letter they found the resulting sauce was far from palatable, so it was barrelled and left in their cellar, only to be rediscovered years later after it had fermented into what we now know as Worcester sauce.
1839
French politician and fianancier; Marie Vicomte de Botherel (b.1790 at La Chapelle du Lou, died 1859) has the idea of installing mobile kitchens on buses operating in the suburbs of Paris. While all of Paris seemed to admire his venture it failed as a business. However it is regarded as the forerunner to the modern day 'restaurant car'.
1840
Gas was first used for cooking, and interest grew as the availability of gas spread.
1842
James Dewar a Scottish physicist is born. James Dewar invented the vacuum flask. He died in 1923 aged 81.
1844
The first successful refrigeration machine in the United States was developed in 1844 by John Gorrie. His device did not use a volatile liquid but operated by the principle that air gets hot when compressed and cools when it expands. The air refrigerating principle was extensively used during the latter part of the 19th century and during the early years of the 20th century, although it is little used at the present time
Henry John Heinz, b. Pittsburgh, Pa., Oct. 11, 1844, d. May 14, 1919, the founder of the H. J. Heinz Company, Inc., manufacturer of prepared foods.
1845
Failure of the potato crop leads to a famine in Ireland.
1846
Georges Auguste Escoffier, born October 28, 1846, d. Feb. 12, 1935
The Pastry Chef, Chiboust creates the Saint Honoré gâteau in honour of the Paris district in which he workd and also the patron saint of Pastry Chefs and bakers.
1850
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, b. Glasgow, Scotland, May 10, 1850, d. Oct. 2, 1931, was the founder of the tea and provision company, Lipton, Ltd. Lipton made his fortune primarily on cured meats, eggs, butter, and cheeses. His small store in Glasgow grew to include a chain of shops throughout the United Kingdom; he also owned foreign tea, coffee, cocoa, and rubber plantations; fruit orchards, bakeries, and jam factories in England; and a meat-packing house in Chicago. Lipton was knighted in 1898 and made a baronet in 1902. An ardent yachtsman, he tried unsuccessfully to win the America's Cup in the races of 1899, 1901, 1903, 1920, and 1930
Another type of refrigeration unit, the absorption-type machine, was developed by Ferdinand Carre in France between 1850 and 1859. Such devices, which can operate exclusively by burning natural gas or other fuel, were commonly used prior to the widespread availability of electricity. The first machines of this type used water as a refrigerant and sulfuric acid as an absorbent, but in 1859, Carre switched to an ammonia-water system that is still in use. The public, however, resisted the use of artificial ice, fearing that it was unhealthy. Resistance declined after the American Civil War; during that war a number of Carre's machines had been slipped through the Union blockade and were able to provide much-needed ice to the southern states
A Belgian peasant discovers wild chicory cultivated in warmth and shade grew elongated shoots with edible leaves. A Belgian botanist; Brezier managed to cultivate it further to give us the modern day chicory salad plant.
1851
Jacob Fussell begins making ice cream in commercial quantities in Baltimore. The first ice cream factory was built Jacob Fussell, and the industry thereafter grew rapidly.
1855
American physician John Gorrie, b. Charleston, S.C., Oct. 3, 1803, d. June 16, 1855, was issued the first U.S. patent for "a machine for the artificial production of ice." In Apalachicola, Fla., where he practiced, Gorrie noticed that his patients seemed to recover more quickly in cool weather. He began to develop methods for artificially cooling the air and eventually invented and patented a mechanical refrigeration device that operated much like a present-day refrigerator. Unable to find investors willing to back the manufacture of his machine, he died of a "nervous collapse" at the age of 52
1859
French inventor Ferdinand Carre develops a refrigeration system.
Nellie Melba, b. Helen Mitchell in Richmond, Australia, May 19, 1859, d. Feb. 23, 1931, was a fabulously successful operatic soprano and for whom Escoffier created and named his dish; 'Peach Melba'.
The first successful food-store chain was the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P), which was founded in this year, but began its great expansion after World War I.
1860
Will Keith Kellogg, b. Battle Creek, Mich., Apr. 7, 1860, d. Oct. 6, 1951, the creator of Kellogg's Corn Flakes. As a young man he worked with his brother, Dr. John H. Kellogg, at the latter's Battle Creek Sanitarium, where they developed toasted wheat flakes and other vegetarian health foods. In 1906 he organised the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company and merchandised his product with heavy advertising. He added other breakfast foods to the company's line, making it the world's largest manufacturer of prepared cereals. He established the philanthropic W. K. Kellogg Foundation in 1930 and gave it a total of $47 million
1860's
In the U.S.A. the railroads developed refrigerator cars.
Margarine, or oleomargarine, is a butter like product made primarily from vegetable oils, fats, and milk. (The name oleomargarine was once used for margarines that contained animal fats, principally lard and oleostearin from beef.) The original margarine, developed in the late 1860s in France, used beef fat as the principal ingredient. Later margarines used animal fats and vegetable oils. Most of the margarines available today contain only vegetable oils, usually derived from SOYBEANS, CORN, and cottonseed.
Chewing gum, a uniquely U.S. product, discovered during the search for rubber materials in the 1860s. It is a mixture of natural or synthetic gums and resins, sweetened with sugar and corn syrup, with added colour and flavour.
1862
French engineer Ferdinand Carré, exhibited at the Universal London Exhibition, a machine to produce ice that had an output of 200 kg per hour.
1864
The Bofinger, one of Paris' top bar/restaurants established on the Rue de la Bastille. It is still open today (1997).
1865
Escoffier starts his Military service and here he learns the art of wax flower making
1866
Baron Brisse on the 6th June wrote a column in a French publication, which seems suggest the creation of the dessert; baked Alaska, was introduced into France by the chef of a visiting Chinese delegation at the Grand Hotel in Paris.
The shape and size of the bottles for Bordeaux, Burgundy and Macon are legally defined.
1867
On June 7th, the Cafe Anglaise in Paris serves what has become known as the 'Three Emperors Dinner', served for the King of Prussia; William I, the Tsar Alexander II of Russia and his son
1868
McIlhenny introduces his Tabasco sauce to the world
1869
The first manufacturing patent is issued for chewing gum.
1870
Escoffier was made the Chef de Cuisine for the French Army Officers when war broke out During the siege of 1870, the French Chef Choron, whom created the sauce named after him, was serving dishes at the Voisin Restaurant based on elephant meat
1872
The haricot bean variety; flageolets first grown in Europe
1874
Margarine was introduced into the United States in 1874 and immediately aroused the opposition of the dairy industry. Taxes were imposed on the substance; in some states yellow-colored margarine could not be sold; and federal laws required, among other stringencies, that restaurants serving margarine post a conspicuous notice of that fact.
1876
A Swiss firm added condensed milk to chocolate, producing the world's first milk chocolate
Henry John Heinz formed a company to manufacture pickles, condiments, and other prepared foods.
1880's
Machines vending postage stamps and chewing gum won public acceptance in the United States in the late 1880s, and machines offering candy bars and cigarettes were later marketed.
1881
Anna Pavlova, born January 31, 1881, d. Jan. 23, 1931, was one of the world's best-known ballerinas and after whom the dessert is named after.
1882
Chinese artichokes (which actually originated in Japan) are cultivated in France by the agronomist Pailleux at Crosne.
1884
The word Bistro enters into the French language
Evaporated milk is patented by John Mayenberg, of St Louis, USA on November 25th
1886
Clarence Birdseye born in New York, died 1956. An American businessman and inventor, who during a trip to Labrador in 1920 noticed that fish caught by the eskimos and left exposed to the air froze rapidly and was told they would remain edible for months. On his return to the USA he perfected a method of ultra rapid freeze, in 1924 he formed a company to distribute the products. Economic crisis later forced him to sell the company and his name.
1887
Conrad Hilton, b. San Antonio, N.Mex., Dec. 25, 1887, d. Jan. 4; founder of the Hilton Hotel Chain
1889
The French nightclub, Moulin Rouge, opened its doors for the first time on October 6th. Escoffier was later to cook there
1890
In the early 1890s, the health-foods innovator, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, developed processes for producing a number of new foods--among them wheat flakes, various coffee substitutes, and several vegetable products that bore some resemblance to meats. As a protein base, Kellogg used fresh wheat gluten with added meat like flavourings
1895
Cordon bleu (cooking) - {kohr-dohn' blu} The Cordon Bleu is a famous school of cooking in Paris, founded in 1895 by Marthe Distell to teach the principles of French cuisine to the daughters of upper-class families. Today it attracts amateur and professional cooks from throughout the world. The term cordon bleu is probably derived from the blue ribbons worn by knights of the Order of the Holy Ghost, a chivalric order renowned for the excellence of its table. The ribbon was first used as a gastronomic order of merit by King Louis XV, who bestowed it on Mme du Barry's chef, a woman; and for many years, the decoration was given only to top-ranked female cooks
March 12
Coca cola first sold in bottles
1897
The famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel was completed on Fifth Avenue in New York, USA. (see 1929 also)
1898
Cesar Ritz and Escoffier opened the Hotel Ritz in Paris: the Ritz was inaugurated on June 1, 1898, on the historic Place Vendôme, constructed by Hardouin-Mansart, the architect of Versailles
20th Century
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1900
Escoffier and Cesar opened the Carlton in London which served 500 covers at service with a kitchen brigade of 60.
The standard can for processed food was first used in the early 1900s
1901
The famous team of Cesar Ritz and Escoffier broke up when Cesar had a nervous breakdown.
1903
The first Goncourt Prize was awarded at the Champeaux Restaurant, on the Place de la Bourse, Paris.
1904
The teabag was invented in America
Iced tea was created at the World's Fair in St. Louis.
Ice cream cone reportedly invented by Charles E Menches during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St Louis, Missouri. The story goes that he was selling waffles when the stall next to him selling ice cream, ran out of containers. A fresh waffle was wrapped into a cone and the ice cream placed inside??
1906
Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle leads to the U.S. Pure Foods and Drugs Act.
1907
Until the early 1900s most city hotels in the United States were either luxurious and expensive, or inexpensive and uncomfortable. Ellsworth STATLER, however, established a chain of middle-class hotels that set new standards for comfort and cleanliness at moderate prices. His first important hotel, the Buffalo Statler (1907), offered "a room and a bath at a dollar and a half." Convinced that private rooms with baths would give him a vital competitive edge, Statler designed a plumbing shaft that permitted bathrooms to be built back to back, providing two baths for little more than the price of one and allowing him to offer many private rooms with adjoining private baths. Statler was the first to put telephones and radios in every guest room, as well as full-length mirrors, built-in closets, and a special faucet for ice water. Restaurant recipes were standardised, and identical silver, china, and linens were purchased in quantity for use in all the system's hotels. Eventually, Statler hotels were opened in many major cities in the United States, and Statler's success inspired the formation of other hotel chains. The Statler chain was bought by the late hotel mogul Conrad HILTON in 1954. Hilton's chain is now among the world's largest. The world's largest lodging systems are the Memphis-based Holiday Inns, Inc., and Best Western, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.
Gastronomie pratique published by Henri Babinsky (born Paris 1855, died
1912
Clarence Birdseye; an American physicist, introduced a new commercial process for freezing foods.
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