Édouard Nignon (; 9 November 1865,

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

- 30 October 1934, Bréal-sous-Montfort) was a French

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

and writer of

cookbooks A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cours ...

Life

One of eight children of a day laborer and a seamstress, Nignon became an apprentice at Cambronne Restaurant at the age of 9. A year later, he joined Monier Restaurant, where he learned to read and write. After more work in Angers and Cholet, he arrived to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he assisted famous chefs and eventually became a chef himself. He lived in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, where he served the highest dignitaries, including the emperors

Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until Abdication of Nicholas II, hi ...

and

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

. He worked as the chef of

Claridge's Claridge's is a 5-star hotels, 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street, London, Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. The hotel is owned and managed by the Maybourne Hotel Group. History Founding Claridge's traces its origins to ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

from 1894 to 1901. In 1908, he bought Larue Restaurant in Paris. He retired in 1928. When his restaurant was going through a crisis in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he started writing cookbooks. His most famous cookbook, ''Éloges de la cuisine française'' ("Praise of French Cuisine"), was published in 1933. It promoted deglazing with water, clear broths, and parsimonious seasoning. Nignon is credited with inventing the ''beuchelle tourangelle'', a veal kidney and rice stew inspired by the Austrian '' beuschel'' stew. Interested in unusual taste combinations, he created

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

s with

camembert Camembert ( , , ) is a moist, soft, creamy, surface-ripened cow's milk cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Camembert, Normandy, in northwest France. It is sometimes compared in look, taste and texture to brie cheese, albe ...

and ''homard a la dinardaise'', a lobster salad with the "insane trio" of truffles, mustard and pickles.

Legacy

Ignored by the general public, Nignon has been recognized by chefs as one of the fathers of modern cuisine. His legacy has been revived after a long period of being eclipsed by his more famous contemporary,

Auguste Escoffier Georges Auguste Escoffier (; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur, and culinary writer who popularised and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-A ...

Michel Guérard Michel Robert-Guérard (; 27 March 1933 – 19 August 2024), known as Michel Guérard, was a French chef, author, one of the founders of '' nouvelle cuisine'' and the inventor of '' cuisine minceur''. Early life and education Michel Guérard w ...

, one of the founders of '' nouvelle cuisine'', described Nignon as a visionary chef who had a huge influence on French cooks such as himself and Joël Robuchon. A recent article on contemporary cookbooks called Nignon "the Flaubert of the ovens," who created "gourmet epics". His ''Eulogies'' were called a "seminal book" of "bourgeois cuisine." An original copy of Nignon's ''Heptameron'' was sold for 16 thousand euros in the 2010s. Chef Yvon Garnier founded Culinary Institute Edouard Nignon in Nantes.

Works

* 1919 : ''L'Heptaméron des gourmets ou les Délices de la cuisine française'' (The Seven Days of Gourmets or the Delights of French Cuisine) * 1926 : ''Les Plaisirs de la table, où sous une forme nouvelle, l'auteur a dévoilé maints délicieux secrets et recettes de bonne cuisine, transcrits les précieux avis de gourmets fameux et de fins gastronomes, conseillers aimables et sûrs en l'art de bien manger'' (The pleasures of the table, where the author uses a new form to reveal many delicious secrets and recipes of fine cuisine, transcribing precious advice of famous gourmets and fine gastronomes, kind and confident counsellors of the art of fine dining) * 1933 : ''Éloges de la cuisine française'' (Praise of French cuisine), with a preface by

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre (aesthetic), boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French ac ...

References

External links

Institut Édouard Nignon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nignon, Édouard French chefs French male chefs French cookbook writers Writers from Nantes 1865 births 1934 deaths Businesspeople from Nantes