Gaston-Pierre-Charles de Lévis-Lomagne, duc de Mirepoix (1699–1757),
maréchal de France
Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) and for a period ...
(1757) and
Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
of
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
, was a French aristocrat. His family was established in
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately .
History
...
as
Seigneur
A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...
s of
Mirepoix
A mirepoix ( , ) is a mixture of diced vegetables cooked with fat (usually butter) for a long time on low heat without coloring or browning. The ingredients are not sautéed or otherwise hard-cooked, because the intention is to sweeten rather t ...
,
Ariège since the 11th century.
His ''chef de cuisine'' established the sautéed three vegetables that served as a basis for his culinary art, as a ''
mirepoix
A mirepoix ( , ) is a mixture of diced vegetables cooked with fat (usually butter) for a long time on low heat without coloring or browning. The ingredients are not sautéed or otherwise hard-cooked, because the intention is to sweeten rather t ...
'' in honor of his patron.
According to
Pierre Larousse
Pierre Athanase Larousse (; 23 October 18173 January 1875) was a French grammarian, lexicographer and encyclopaedist. He published many of the outstanding educational and reference works of 19th-century France, including the 15-volume .
Early ...
(quoted in the ''Oxford Companion to Food''), the unfortunate Duke of Mirepoix was "an incompetent and mediocre individual... who owed his vast fortune to the affection
Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
felt toward his wife and who had but one claim to fame: he gave his name to a sauce made of all kinds of meat and a variety of seasonings".
See also
*
House of Lévis
*
French Ambassadors to Great Britain
External links
* ''Annuaire de la Pairie et de la noblesse de France et des maisons souveraines de l'Europe'' (1843–54)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levis-Mirepoix, Gaston Pierre De Levis, Duc De
1699 births
1757 deaths
Marshals of France
Gaston Pierre
18th-century French diplomats
Knights of Malta