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César Ritz
César Ritz (23 February 1850 – 24 October 1918) was a Swiss hotelier and founder of several hotels, most famously the Hôtel Ritz in Paris and the Ritz and Carlton Hotels in London (the forerunners of the modern Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company). He was an early hotel chain founder known as "King of Hoteliers, and Hotelier to Kings," and it is from his name and that of his hotels that the term ''ritzy'' derives. Early life Ritz was born in the Swiss village of Niederwald, the youngest of 13 children in a poor peasant family. At the age of twelve he was sent as a boarder to the Jesuit college at Sion, and at fifteen, having shown only vaguely artistic leanings, was apprenticed as a sommelier at a hotel in Brig. While working there as an apprentice wine waiter he was dismissed by the patron of the hotel from his position, saying, "You'll never make anything of yourself in the hotel business. It takes a special knack, a special flair, and it's only right that I tell you the truth†... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niederwald, Switzerland
Niederwald is a former municipality in the district of Goms in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. On 1 January 2017 the former municipalities of Niederwald, Blitzingen, Grafschaft, Münster-Geschinen and Reckingen-Gluringen merged into the new municipality of Goms. History Niederwald is first mentioned in 1526 as ''Zniderwaldt''. Geography Niederwald has an area, , of . Of this area, 34.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 43.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 3.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 18.4% is unproductive land. The municipality is located above the Fiesch valley and along the old highway which ran from Ernen over the Rhone bridge to the right side of the valley. It consists of the ''haufendorf'' village (an irregular, unplanned and quite closely packed village, built around a central square) of Niederwald and the former hamlet of Rottenbrigge. Coat of arms The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is ''Or, on Coupeaux Vert three Pin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, fashion, gastronomy, and science. For its leading role in the arts and sciences, as well as its very early system of street lighting, in the 19th century it became known as "the City of Light". Like London, prior to the Second World War, it was also sometimes called the capital of the world. The City of Paris is the centre of the Île-de-France region, or Paris Region, with an estimated population of 12,262,544 in 2019, or about 19% of the population of France, making the region France's primate city. The Paris Region had a GDP of €739 billion ($743 billion) in 2019, which is the highest in Europe. According to the Economist Intelli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chasseur (sauce)
''Sauce chasseur'', sometimes called "hunter's sauce", is a simple or compound brown sauce used in French cuisine. It is typically made using demi-glace or espagnole sauce (among the five mother sauces) as a base, and often includes mushrooms and shallots. It may also include tomatoes and a finishing of ''fines herbes''.''Larousse Gastronomique'' (1961), Crown Publishers. Original French edition: Librairie Larousse, Paris (1938) History The name is derived from the French word for "hunter", alluding to the traditional pairings with venison, rabbit, wild fowl, and other game meats. Traditionally, while returning from the hunt, the hunters would pick the mushrooms that they would subsequently use for their preparation. ''Chasseur'' is thought to have been invented by Philippe de Mornay, who is also credited with inventing Mornay sauce, Béchamel, sauce Lyonnaise, and sauce Porto. See also * Brown sauce * Cacciatore * Coq au vin * Hunter's chicken Chicken chasseur (; french: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. The order was formerly much more diverse during the Pleistocene, but most species became extinct during the Late Pleistocene epoch. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive skin. The trunk is used for breathing, bringing food and water to the mouth, and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears, and convex or level backs. Elephants ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the most widely read French authors. Many of his historical novels of adventure were originally published as serials, including '' The Count of Monte Cristo'', ''The Three Musketeers'', ''Twenty Years After'' and '' The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later''. His novels have been adapted since the early twentieth century into nearly 200 films. Prolific in several genres, Dumas began his career by writing plays, which were successfully produced from the first. He also wrote numerous magazine articles and travel books; his published works totalled 100,000 pages. In the 1840s, Dumas founded the Théâtre Historique in Paris. His father, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Théophile Gautier
Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and remains a point of reference for many subsequent literary traditions such as Parnassianism, Symbolism, Decadence and Modernism. He was widely esteemed by writers as disparate as Balzac, Baudelaire, the Goncourt brothers, Flaubert, Pound, Eliot, James, Proust and Wilde. Life and times Gautier was born on 30 August 1811 in Tarbes, capital of Hautes-Pyrénées département (southwestern France). His father was Jean-Pierre Gautier,See "Cimetières de France et d'ailleurs – La descendance de Théophile Gautier", landrucimetieres.fr/ref> a fairly cultured minor government official, and his mother was Antoinette-Adelaïde Cocard. The family moved to Paris in 1814, taking up residence in the ancient Marais district. Gautier's education comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmond De Goncourt
Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt (; 26 May 182216 July 1896) was a French writer, literary critic, art critic, book publisher and the founder of the Académie Goncourt. Biography Goncourt was born in Nancy. His parents, Marc-Pierre Huot de Goncourt and Annette-Cécile de Goncourt (née Guérin) were minor aristocrats who died when he and his brother Jules de Goncourt were young adults. His father was a former cavalry officer and squadron commander in the Grande Armée of Napoleon I, and his grandfather Jean-Antoine Huot de Goncourt had been a deputy in the National Assembly of 1789. Edmond attended the pension Goubaux, the Lycée Henri IV, and the Lycée Condorcet. At the Lycée Condorcet, he studied rhetoric and philosophy from 1840 to 1842, followed by the study of law between 1842 and 1844. After their mother's death in 1848, the brothers inherited an income which enabled them to live independently and pursue their artistic interests. Edmond was able to leave a treasur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, being more renowned than both Victor Hugo and Honoré de Balzac in England in the 1830s and 1840s, Sand is recognised as one of the most notable writers of the European Romantic era, with more than 70 novels to her credit and 50 volumes of various works including novels, tales, plays and political texts. Like her great-grandmother, Louise Dupin, whom she admired, George Sand stood up for women, advocated passion, castigated marriage and fought against the prejudices of a conservative society. Personal life Childhood Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin, the future George Sand, was born on 1 July 1804 in Paris on Meslay Street to Maurice Dupin de Francueil and Sophie-Victoire Delaborde. She was the paternal great-granddaughter of the Marshal of Fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camelias'' by Alexandre Dumas ''fils''; ''Ruy Blas'' by Victor Hugo, ''Fédora'' and ''La Tosca'' by Victorien Sardou, and '' L'Aiglon'' by Edmond Rostand. She also played male roles, including Shakespeare's Hamlet. Rostand called her "the queen of the pose and the princess of the gesture", while Hugo praised her "golden voice". She made several theatrical tours around the world, and was one of the first prominent actresses to make sound recordings and to act in motion pictures. She is also linked with the success of artist Alphonse Mucha, whose work she helped to publicize. Mucha would become one of the most sought-after artists of this period for his Art Nouveau style. Biography Early life Henriette-Rosine Bernard was born at 5 rue de L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rue Saint-Honore
''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of ''Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for its bluish leaves, and sometimes for its tolerance of hot and dry soil conditions. It is also cultivated as a culinary herb, and to a lesser extent as an insect repellent and incense. Etymology The specific epithet ''graveolens'' refers to the strong-smelling leaves.J. D. Douglas and Merrill C. Tenney Description Rue is a woody, perennial shrub. Its leaves are oblong, blue green and arranged pinnate; they release a strong aroma when they are bruised. The flowers are small with 4 to 5 dull yellow petals in clusters. They bear brown seed capsules when pollinated. Uses Traditional use In the ancient Roman world, the naturalists Pedanius Dioscorides and Pliny the Elder recommended that rue be combined with the poisonous shrub oleander to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rue Royale
Rue Royale (French for "Royal Street") may refer to several streets: *Rue Royale, Brussels, Belgium * Rue Royale, Lyon, France *Rue Royale, Paris, France See also *Royal Street, New Orleans Royal Street (french: Rue Royale; es, Calle Real) is a street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. It is one of the original streets of the city, dating from the early 18th century, and is known today for its antique shops, art ..., United States * Royal Road (other) {{road index ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maître D'hôtel
The ''maître d'hôtel'' (; ), head waiter, host, waiter captain, or ''maître d ( , ) manages the public part, or "front of the house", of a formal restaurant. The responsibilities of a ''maître d'hôtel'' generally include supervising the waiting staff, welcoming guests and assigning tables to them, taking reservations, and ensuring that guests are satisfied. In large organizations, such as certain hotels, or cruise ships with multiple restaurants, the ''maître d'hôtel'' is often responsible for the overall dining experience, including room service and buffet services, while head waiters or supervisors are responsible for the specific restaurant or dining room they work in. Food writer Leah Zeldes writes that the role of ''maître d’hôtel'' originated as a kind of combined "host, headwaiter and dining-room manager" and, in the past, persons with this role were sometimes responsible for such operations as tableside boning of fish and mixing of salads. Traditionally, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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