L’Académie Brillat-Savarin was established
to honor one of the world’s first gastronomes. Born in France,
Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was an attorney, an author and a
foremost authority in the seventeenth century on “the physiology
of taste”, which was, not surprisingly, the title of his most
well known book. Our acknowledgement of this gastronomic
historian began in 1999 with the reincarnation of L’Académie de
Brillat-Savarin.
The focus
of this Chaîne sub-society continues its evolution as the
stellar honor society for outstanding students in culinary arts
and hospitality management programs in the Unites States. Many
young students have no familiarity with the Chaîne des
Rôtisseurs. Ask any one of them about Brillat-Savarin and you
will find that they all are cognizant of his impact in the
culinary world. The Brillat Savarin program recognizes the
students who will become our future professionals and hopefully
our Chaîne members. Young Professional inductees of
Brillat-Savarin receive a stipend of $250 and a medal designated
for this honor. The 2004-05 year expanded the program to 39
additional qualified schools. Brillat-Savarin inducted 41 Young
Professionals – commanding 203 awards since inception.
During the
June 2000 Grand Chapître, 100 members deemed Fondateurs
committed $1,000 each to the Chaîne Foundation in startup funds
for Brillat-Savarin. To date, the Brillat-Savarin membership is
583. The National Council approved an additional level of Pilier
with contributions of $1,000 to Brillat-Savarin. These funds are
designated by the Foundation for Brillat-Savarin.
The
programs of L’Académie offer opportunities for Brillat–Savarin
members to experience regional cuisine, culture, art and music.
The relationships we form with chefs, proprietors and sommeliers
who work with us during regional adventures reinforce the Chaîne
goodwill through Brillat-Savarin. A 2001 inaugural event in
Lafayette kicked off the reward to Brillat members followed by
excursions to South Beach, Charlotte, Santa Fe, New Orleans,
Bermuda, Key West and Québec, Canada. Adventures planned for
2006 include Vail and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Future events will
offer a return to Santa Fe, an Oregon journey and a return visit
to the rejuvenated New Orleans. |
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The
Académie also awards a Médaille de Mérite to active
professionals in the culinary and hotel industries who
have rendered outstanding service to the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs,
education, or to gastronomy in general. Three types of
honorary titles are offered: Fondateur, to a maximum of
100 Chaîne members who make a $1000 donation to provide
start-up funds for the student awards program (such
memberships are now fully subscribed); Académicien,
to outstanding educators in the culinary and hotel
fields and active professionals who have been deeply
involved in supporting education; and Conseiller, to the
person in each school who is responsible for the
Brillat-Savarin program. |
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Click
on image
to view list of Fondateurs |
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L'Académie is now offering general membership to all Chaîne members in good standing. Various activities are being planned, with regional cuisine the focus of two trips for Brillat-Savarin
members in 2002-3. At $35 a year (plus $60 for induction), you can't beat it! The best part is that you get one more medal to wear on your Chaîne ribbon.
Please contact your local
Bailliage (Chapter) or the National Administrative Office:
Confrérie de la Chaîne des
Rôtisseurs
National Administrative Office
Chaîne House at Fairleigh Dickinson University
285 Madison Avenue
Madison, New Jersey 07940-1099
Telephone: (973) 360-9200
Fax: (973) 360-9330
Application Forms (password protected) |
| History of L'Académie |
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In France, l'Académie came into being in 1955, the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of the world-renowned author of The Physiology of Taste (Meditations of Transcendental Gastronomy). The first meeting of l'Académie was held in the Great Amphitheater of the Sorbonne University in Paris. Jean
Valby, who had founded the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs just five years earlier, organized it. The purpose of the new organization was to uphold and popularize regional cuisines, encourage gastronomic literature, and support young culinarians through contests and awards. The French Chaîne publication Bonne Table et Tourisme carried articles on such subjects as cassoulet and bouillabaisse, describing their origins and local variations.
In the United States, l'Académie did not become active until many years later. Since 1995, the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Foundation has been providing scholarships for culinary and hotel management students. The schools themselves suggested that there was a need for awards recognizing outstanding student accomplishment without reference to financial need.
L'Académie de Gastronomie Brillat-Savarin des Etats-Unis was born in1999. Its purpose went beyond simply upholding and popularizing regional cuisines. L'Académie was a natural extension of our commitment to education. The first Brillat-Savarin Medal of Excellence was presented to Maire O'Keefe at the Culinary Institute of America during the graduation ceremony in August, 1999. |
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| Who was
Brillat-Savarin? |
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Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was among the first to write seriously about eating and the art of the table. In recognition of his accomplishments, a cheese, an omelet, a salmon dish, a garnish, and a consommé all bear his name. |
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“The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a new star.”
Brillat-Savarin |
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Brillat-Savarin was born in 1755 in Belley in the region of
Bresse, an area rich with food and wine. From an early age, the young Anthelme loved to visit the kitchen to sniff the odors coming from the stoves. He learned to play the violin. He studied law and was elected first magistrate, then mayor, of his town. During the Terror that followed the French Revolution, he was forced to flee the country, eventually making his way to New York. |
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“I was in the drawing room, enjoying my dinner," said
Brillat-Savarin, beginning an anecdote. "What!" interrupted his friend. "Eating dinner in a drawing room?" "I must beg you to observe, monsieur," explained the great gastronome, "that I did not say I was eating my dinner, but enjoying it. I had dined an hour
before.”
Brillat-Savarin |
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To support himself he gave French lessons and played violin in the John Street Theater orchestra. One biographer reports that to flee a plague of yellow fever he left for Connecticut, walking most of the way and visiting Yale and Harvard. (He was more respected for his knowledge of gastronomy than geography, as his forty-five mile walk from Manhattan to New Haven took him 340 miles out of the way to Cambridge.) He later stopped for some time at a farm, which he described as
“a rustic and generous
Eden.” He then spent three months in Boston before moving on to Philadelphia. While there, he accompanied a friend to a meeting with Thomas Jefferson, at which he asked Jefferson how to prepare a wild turkey.
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“Let
the progress of the meal be slow, for
dinner is the last business of the day;
and let the guests conduct themselves like
travelers due to reach their destination
together.”
Brillat-Savarin |
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Finally
receiving permission to return to France, he
sailed from Philadelphia in June of 1796. There he
was appointed to various posts, eventually
becoming a judge on the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The rest of his life was spent peacefully,
entertaining his friends lavishly and, in return,
being invited to the best tables in Paris. Over
the years he worked on his gastronomic memoirs,
filling many pages with recipes, anecdotes, and
observations on life. |
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“Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you
are.”
Brillat-Savarin |
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Inaugural Brillat-Savarin trip to Lafayette, Louisiana, in 2001. |
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L’Académie Brillat-Savarin was established
to honor one of the world’s first gastronomes. Born in France,
Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was an attorney, an author and a
foremost authority in the seventeenth century on “the physiology
of taste”, which was, not surprisingly, the title of his most
well known book. Our acknowledgement of this gastronomic
historian began in 1999 with the reincarnation of L’Académie de
Brillat-Savarin.
The focus
of this Chaîne sub-society continues its evolution as the
stellar honor society for outstanding students in culinary arts
and hospitality management programs in the Unites States. Many
young students have no familiarity with the Chaîne des
Rôtisseurs. Ask any one of them about Brillat-Savarin and you
will find that they all are cognizant of his impact in the
culinary world. The Brillat Savarin program recognizes the
students who will become our future professionals and hopefully
our Chaîne members. Young Professional inductees of
Brillat-Savarin receive a stipend of $250 and a medal designated
for this honor. The 2004-05 year expanded the program to 39
additional qualified schools. Brillat-Savarin inducted 41 Young
Professionals – commanding 203 awards since inception.
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