Clémence Lefeuvre (née Praud) (born 1860 in

Saint-Julien-de-Concelles Saint-Julien-de-Concelles (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Saint-Julien-de-Concelles is the home of the popular ''beurre blanc'' sauce. The sauce was first prepared in a small restaurant on the banks of t ...

- 1932) was a French chef and restaurateur best known for being the inventor of the

beurre blanc ''Beurre blanc'' (; ) or ''Beurre Nantais'' () is a warm emulsified butter sauce made with a reduction of vinegar and/or white wine (normally Muscadet) and shallots into which softened whole butter is whisked in off the heat to prevent separat ...

or white butter sauce.

Early life

Clemence Praud was born in a house on the south bank of the

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

, along the in the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

of La Chebuette.Histoire Clémence Lefeuvre à Saint Julien de Concelles La Chebuette (2017) Restaurant Traiteur Clemence. Accessed 24 March 2019 She took the name of Clemence Lefeuvre after her marriage with Leon Lefeuvre, a local

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...

Invention of beurre blanc

According to records, three customers came to her establishment "La Buvette De La Marine" for lunch and she wanted to serve the

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

that they ordered with some

béarnaise sauce Béarnaise sauce (; ) is a sauce made of clarified butter, egg yolk, white wine vinegar, and herbs. It is regarded as a "child" of hollandaise sauce. The difference is in the flavoring: béarnaise uses shallot, black pepper, and tarragon, while ...

. However, she forgot to add the

tarragon Tarragon (''Artemisia dracunculus''), also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herbaceous plant, herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medic ...

and egg yolks when preparing the sauce, thus accidentally inventing the beurre blanc sauce. Some sources also claim that this invention occurred while she worked as a cook for the Marquis de Goulaine at

Château de Goulaine The Château de Goulaine is a historic château located in the Loire Valley wine region near Nantes, France. The property has been home to the family of the marquis de Goulaine for over a thousand years.F. Prial"A New Wine and Other Tricks From a ...

Legacy

Apart from inventing a sauce used by many restaurants worldwide, she was also honoured with an

oenology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

prize called the "Clémence-Lefeuvre Grand Prix du Muscadet" in the Muscadet, France region being named after her.

Aristide Briand Aristide Pierre Henri Briand (; 28 March 18627 March 1932) was a French statesman who served eleven terms as Prime Minister of France during the French Third Republic. He is mainly remembered for his focus on international issues and reconciliat ...

, long-time

prime minister of France The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers. The prime ...

and

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

laureate, said at her death in 1932 that it "was a bit like national mourning" The Clémence-Lefeuvre road in her hometown,

was also named after her. In

Vertou Vertou (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is located on the river Sèvre Nantaise, and was a historical town of Brittany. Today, Vertou is a component of the Nantes Métropole and is the fifth-largest ...

, an alley called the Clémence-Lefeuvre alley was also named in her honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lefeuvre, Clémence 1860 births 1932 deaths French chefs French restaurateurs People from Loire-Atlantique French women chefs 19th-century French women 20th-century French women