Have You seen "Vatel"?

'François Vatel (1631 – April 24, 1671) was a "Maître d'hôtel", famous for "inventing" Chantilly cream, a sweet, vanilla-flavoured whipped cream, for an extravagant banquet for 2,000 people hosted in honour of Louis XIV by Louis, the great Condé in April 1671 at the Château de Chantilly; hence the name crème Chantilly.

At this same banquet, Vatel, the consummate perfectionist, was supposedly so distraught about the lateness of the fish—the banquet was to be held on a Friday—and about other mishaps that he committed suicide by running himself through with a sword. According to some versions of the story, his body was discovered by an aide who came to tell him of the arrival of the fish. His death was treated as a national tragedy.'  (Wikipedia)

At the beginning the Prince prepares his castle for the arrival of King Louis XVI. Your eyes will pop when you see the inside of his castle, servants polishing, carrying chandelier after chandelier up the gorgeous staircase to be put back in rooms after cleaning.

What caught my eye in this movie was his creativity with his menu, extravagant entertainment, and

outdoor decor.

Chantilly Castle

Vatel was known for his extravagant menu of French cuisine and entertainment.

My daughter and I watched it this evening.

Here is a little taste of what Vatel prepared for a couple of his menus:

The party arrived on April 23, 1671 and a hunting party was organised for the King in the early evening. Because of this Chef Vatel organised a light supper menu to be served, hardly light by today’s standard as the menu was :

Turtle Soup

Creamed Chicken

Fried Trout

Roast Pheasant

The next night a great feast was planned, the main dishes are listed below. But of course add to this any vegetables or other side dishes, plus a fish (sole?) dish had also been planned to be served by Vatel:

Anchovies Sevigne

Melon with Parma Ham

Lobster Quenelles and Shrimp Sauce

Vatel Duck with Madeira Wine

Leg of Lamb

Strawberry Bombe

All the trimmings, entertainment, singers, actors, must have been a huge expense.

The ending is sad though. If you would like the movie Netflix has it, as well as purchasing

from Amazon.com, they have new and used DVD's. To read a little ofVatel's bio go HERE 

Enjoy...