On 14 July, as they do every year, some 55 million French men and women will celebrate the fall of the Bastille in 1789. The passing years have shown, however, that the guillotine might have better served as a better symbol of the momentous events now recalled as the French Revolution. The truth is that life in the Bastille was simply not all that difficult. In fact, for many of those residing there, the Bastille may have been one of the best pre-revolutionary restaurants of Paris. During his own stay there, the Marquis de Sade passed his time washing down truffled sausages with fine Bordeaux wines. On the day the Bastille was actually liberated, there were only six "prisoners" in attendance. One, imprisoned for failure to pay his debts, insisted on staying in his three room suite long enough to finish his roast pheasant dinner. Another demanded that the crowd help him carry away the more than 50 bottles of wine that he had set aside for his use.

In fact, when the crowd tore down the Bastille, they were unknowingly carrying out a plan for which Louis XVI had already set aside funds. In what may be another interesting footnote to history, of the six liberated prisoners, three were eventually executed by the same people who freed them, two emigrated to America and one, Andre Dubois, harmless but quite insane, went on to become a member of the French senate.

French gastronomes of all classes were concerned with the influence of the revolution on their dining habits. Grimod de la Reyniere, a well known banker and gastronome of the ancien regime considered the Revolution little more than "an unpleasant interlude when austerity had to be simulated and chefs given their notice. If it had lasted", he wrote, "France might have actually lost the recipe for fricasseed chicken." One of his chefs, Antoine Broissard took it a bit more seriously. When Broissard discovered that he could not locate any Nantes ducklings to serve for dinner one evening, he hung himself in his kitchen. One of the problems that Reyniere did not dwell upon was that many of France's most devoted gourmets ended both their revolutionary zeal and their gastronomic endeavors by a meeting with the falling blade of the guillotine.

It may be of some historic interest to know just what many of these people ate just before keeping their appointment with the Widow, as the guillotine was known. Danton, surely the most charming of the revolutionaries and a great gourmet dined on stuffed squab, fresh asparagus and raspberry sorbet before his execution. Robespierre, Danton's rival but not a man who specially appreciated good food, supped on a thick lentil soup just before his own moment of truth. The Duke of Burgundy dined elegantly on salmon mousse and apple pie and Armond, the Prince of Conde had a light snack of salmon in mousseline sauce. As to the women, the only form of equality between the sexes that the legislators of the revolution believed in was the guillotine which decapitated members of either sex with equal dispatch. Marie Antoinette, Madame Roland and Charlotte Corday, the three most eminent women of the revolution were among its victims.

Marie Antoinette, executed as much for her rudeness to her jailers as for her royal position, sipped Champagne and ate truffled pate de foie gras before she was taken off for her final humiliation. The twenty five year old Charlotte Corday,who had slain the revolutionary leader Marat, declined a final dinner but nibbled on a chocolate eclair while standing on the platform of the guillotine, annoying the executioner somewhat because of what he considered an unnecessary delay in carrying out his duty. Madame Roland, the feminist of the group, dined simply on poached eggs, a small wedge of Brie cheese and an apple. Madame du Barry, the last great courtesan of the royal days, and a woman of elevated taste in food as well as in lovers, is said to have dined on raspberries with fresh cream before being carted off to the guillotine. Du Barry's final words were: "I have lived all my life in the name of good taste. Now I am to die by the hands of people with bad taste."


Cotes de Veau Georges-Jacques Danton


12 thin veal cutlets
2 Tbsp. sweet paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup butter
450 gr. mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups sweet cream

Sprinkle the cutlets with paprika, salt and pepper. In a skillet large enough to hold all the cutlets, melt half of the butter and in this fry the cutlets. Add more butter only if the skillet becomes dry. Fry until nearly done, turning several times. When the cutlets are nearly done add the sliced mushrooms and continue cooking on a low flame, adding butter if necessary, until the cutlets are done.

Transfer the cutlets to a preheated serving platter. To the skillet add the remaining butter and the cream. Heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is simmering and pour over the meat. Serve immediately. (Serves 6).

Filets of Sole Murat

3 large or 5 small artichoke hearts (ideally fresh but can use frozen)
1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in dice
about 3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
8 thick tomato slices
salt and pepper
8 fillets of sole, cut in thin strips
2 eggs beaten lightly with 1 Tbsp. water
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
flour as required

If using fresh artichoke hearts, rub them with the lemon and place in about 2 1/2 cm. of boiling water to which the lemon juice has been added. Reduce the flame and simmer until the artichokes are about half cooked (about 8 - 10 minutes). Drain the artichoke hearts and cut into dice. (If using frozen hearts, cook for half the directed time before dicing).

In a small pot with lightly salted boiling water cook the potatoes until nearly tender and then drain well. In a heavy skillet melt 1/4 cup of the butter and in this saute the potatoes and diced artichokes until tender.

In a clean skillet heat the oil. Season the tomato slices with salt and pepper and saute in the oil. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well.

Dip the sole fillets first in the eggs and then in the flour, coating well. in a heavy skillet melt 1/4 cup more of the butter and in this saute the fillets until golden brown on both sides. Transfer the fillets to a low flameproof casserole dish and mix in the potatoes and artichoke hearts. Saute gently for 2 - 3 minutes and over all lay the tomato slices.

In a small saucepan melt the remaining butter. Raise the flame and, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook until the butter is browned. Immediately before serving, sprinkle the fish with the parsley and then spoon over the hot browned butter. Serve immediately. (Serves 4).

Sorbet Du Barry

1 1/2 kilos bananas, cut in chunks
2 small pineapples, cut in chunks or 2
tins of pineapple chunks, drained
2 oranges, peeled and cut in sections
2 lemons, peeled and cut in sections
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 egg white

Puree the fruits, juice and sugar in a blender or food processor, adding sugar to taste if necessary. Transfer the puree to a large flat metal dish and freeze until nearly solid. Remove from the freezer and beat the mixture until fluffy. Add the egg white and beat for 1 minute longer. Return to the freezer. Once again, remove from the freezer before the mixture is solid and beat well. Transfer to an ice cream mold or individual dessert glasses, return to the freezer and freeze solid. Transfer the sorbet in the regular refrigeration compartment about 15 minutes before serving. (Serves 6 - 8).

© Daniel Rogov