Louis de Béchameil, marquis de Nointel (1630–1703) was a French ''financier'' and patron of the arts.

Life

Son of Jean-Baptiste Béchameil, Louis was a rich

tax farm A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

er and superintendent to the house of the Duke of Orléans; he was '' intendant'' of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

and of the ''généralité'' of Tours. In 1697, Béchameil bought the ''marquisat'' of Nointel and later became

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

's head steward. Following a reorganisation of the Brittany kingdom's Chamber of Accounts of 1669, a commission (1680) was set up and led by Béchameil de Nointel, as an intendant where he wrote a report to attest what he saw. This document, which mentions the frauds of the Chamber's deposits, shows the favors given to the crown and tries to end such abuses, led to a new law proposed by Charles Colbert to the Brittany Chamber in 1681. In 1698, Béchameil published another document focusing on the fiscal system. Béchameil was an art lover who was directed by the King to found the academy at

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...

, for which he delivered the opening address and served as director. He was a patron of

Watteau Jean-Antoine Watteau (, , ; baptised October 10, 1684died July 18, 1721) Alsavailablevia Oxford Art Online (subscription needed). was a French painter and draughtsman whose brief career spurred the revival of interest in colour and movement, as ...

, who painted a series of

arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

panels with figures for the hôtel de Nointel, Paris, doubtless, from the nature of the allegories, for a small dining chamber. Béchameil and his wife, Marie Colbert (d. April 3, 1686) had two children, Marie Louise Béchameil de Nointel (1661 – April 2, 1740) and Louis Béchameil de Nointel (1649 – December 31, 1718).

Béchamel sauce

The

white sauce White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

called

béchamel sauce Bechamel sauce ( ) is a sauce traditionally made from a white roux (butter and flour in a 1:1 mixture by weight) and milk. Bechamel may also be referred to as besciamella (Italy), besamel (Greece), or white sauce (U.S.). French, Italian and Gree ...

(Fr. ''sauce béchamel'') acquired its name from him for he perfected an older

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

made from

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

originally made by François Pierre de la Varenne (1615–1678), the cook of the marquis d'Uxelles. The sauce was dedicated to Béchameil to flatter him, at which the Duke of Escars commented:Montagne, Prosper. (2003) ''The Concise Larousse Gastronomique'', Octopus Publishing Group -Hamlyn. p. 93. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechameil, Louis De Businesspeople from Rouen 1630 births 1703 deaths French cuisine Fermiers généraux French financiers