Posted on 02/14/2019 6:01:19 PM PST by SJackson
A few key dishes to look out for…
Consommé d’Elephant → Elephant soup.
Goujons Frits – Le Chameau rôti à l’Anglaise → Fried Camel Nuggets
Le Civet de Kangourou → Kangaroo stew.
Côtes D’Ours roties sauce Poivrade → Bear Chops with Pepper Sauce
Cuissot de Loup, sauce chevreuil → Haunch of Wolf with Venison Sauce
Le Chat Flanqué de Rats → Cat flanked by rats.
La Terrine d’Antelope aux Truffes → Antelope terrine with truffles
Oh, and lest we forget the stuffed donkey’s head as the hors d’oeuvre. This menu was cooked and served by the great Parisian chef, Alexandre Étienne Choron at one of the fanciest restaurants in Paris once upon a time, Voisin, located on Rue Saint Honoré.
As a Parisian, I’ve learned a lot about the second time the German army occupied the French capital during the Nazi invasion of WWII. But what about the first time the Germans took hold of the city of Paris? One forgets they managed it twice. The winter of 1870-1871 was a traumatic time for Parisians, an ordeal that saw the city sustain more damage over just a few months than in any other conflict in history. And yet, it’s one that seems to have almost vanished from collective memory– perhaps for a few very good reasons… (anyone ever tried “elephant soup”?)
What you’re looking at is a restaurant’s Christmas day menu during the five month-long siege of Paris at the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The French capital was surrounded by the soon-to-be German Empire, its citizens bombarded into surrendering and starved into submission. A dire shortage of food supplies into the city saw the Parisian diet change quite drastically.
Oh, and lest we forget the stuffed donkey’s head as the hors d’oeuvre. This menu was cooked and served by the great Parisian chef, Alexandre Étienne Choron at one of the fanciest restaurants in Paris once upon a time, Voisin, located on Rue Saint Honoré.
By now in its fourth month, the siege of Paris had brought the population to near starvation. Napoleon III, a man of astoundingly terrible judgement, had infamously declared war on Prussia over some he-said-she-said, alleging the Prussian emperor had insulted him. (It actually makes modern politicians seem like saints).
Prussia’s prime minister Otto von Bismarck with a strong and obedient army at the ready, was all too happy to go to war and suggested shelling Paris to ensure the city’s quick surrender. The King of Prussia, said to be a chivalrous man, didn’t like that idea, so instead it was decided that the capital would have to be starved into surrender.
While the Prussians were set up comfortably at Versailles, in a strange repeat of history, Parisians were once again so famished that they began killing and eating dogs, cats, pigeons and rats. Butcher shops had crowds queuing outside to buy scraps of cat and dog meat. Around 65,000 horses were sacrificed for food between September 1870 and January 1871, including two of Napoleon III’s stallions.
In a letter from the French painter Manet to his wife during the siege, he wrote: “There are cat, dog and rat butchers in Paris now, we eat nothing but horse when we can get it at all.”
The animals at the Jardin des Plantes zoo were next. The only animals spared were the monkeys (presumably because it would feel too much like cannibalism), the lions, tiger and the hippos– allegedly because they were deemed too unsanitary to consume. Along with the zoo’s only two elephants who had once been hugely popular with the Parisian crowds, Castor and Pollux, the rest of the animals were shot, killed and sold to butchers, where the likes of Chef Choron would have his pick of the most exotic beasts.
His gastronomic menu so awful and grotesquely vulgar, historians suggest it might have been the legendary chef’s own way of showing what he really thought of the absurd and pointless war. In essence, it was a parody of war on a plate.
And Chef Choron wasn’t the only one defiantly producing menus of exquisite gastronomy amidst famine and conflict. Here are menu samples from Restaurant Peter’s near the Paris opera house. On New Year’s day, they offered fillet of elephant, donkey roast and Bear thigh.
There’s a story about a Parisian lady who dined at a restaurant during the siege and put off by the offerings of sautéed rat, wanted nothing but a salad. The waiter haughtily answered her “Madame, this is a restaurant, not a meadow!”
In the end, Bismarck got his way, and the Germans fired some 12,000 shells into the city over 23 nights in an attempt to break Parisian morale. About 400 perished or were wounded by the bombardment. It was a decision that paved the way for a looming darkness in Europe.
The consequent capture of the French capital ended of the Franco-Prussian War and gave birth to modern Germany. But as terrible events have demonstrated again recently, even in crisis, Parisians stubbornly never gave up their spirit of resistance, their joie de vivre– and especially not their haute cuisine.
In the words of comedian John Oliver following the November attacks on Paris: “If you’re in a war of culture and lifestyle with France, good f*cking luck!” Indeed, the French were so pissed off with the Germans after the Franco-Prussian War, that from that moment on, France began preparing and planning for the next showdown, entering into a series of alliances with other nations to help them in a future war with Germany. That future war would be the First World War, which would of course later snowball into a Second World War that would once again see Paris occupied by Germans.
Food for thought, albeit worryingly difficult to swallow.
Did you ever think when you eat Chinese,He's purrin here on my fork...
There's a cat in the kettle at the Peking Moon, The place that I eat everyday at noon, They can feed you cat and you'll never know, Once they wrap it up in dough, boys, They fry it real crisp in dough.
Chou Lin asked if I wanted more, As he was dialin up his buddy at the old pet store, I said not today, I lost my apettite, There's two cats in my belly and they want to fight, I was suckin on a Rolaid and a Tums or two, When I swear I heard it mew, boy, And that is when I knew...
There's a cat in the kettle at the Peking Moon, I think I gotta stop eating there at noon, They say that it's beef or fish or pork, But it's purrin there on my fork, There's a hairball on my fork.
A little off topic, still if we're eliminating ruminants from the menu, and the country, we're going to have to eat something that doesn't chew it's cud. Lot's of fish out there to be caught from canoes, and we won't be able to import anything. Perhaps a few sailboats of shrimp, but the rest of the world won't participate in our insanity. Our zoos are an asset, we should start breeding programs of non ruminants now. In a decade, we'll have an industry that can provide protein to Congress, and maybe officials of some large urban areas.
I remember reading a diary from the siege. One of the fancy dinner parties featured as a main course a large rat surrounded by mice on the platter.
Napoleon III missed the siege - he had taken the army east to Sedan, and was defeated and captured by the Prussians there. The Germans were led militarily by von Moltke and Wilhelm.
Check out the available fare for ceremonial dinners for the high rollers in China (mainland).
Nom nom not...
Fascinating little bit of history that nobody tells you about anymore (except here)
Rabbits and quail are easy to breed, and don’t take much space.
I’ll be in Montmarte next month. Where would that wall be, I’d like to see it.
That's true. Should the watermelon (green on the outside, red inside) crowd get their way, that may be necessary. I know rabbits aren't ruminants, but do they expel methane as ruminants do? If so, they'll be a no no.
It’s called the Communard’s wall. Here’s the Wikipedia entry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communards%27_Wall
It’s outside of the P’ere Lechaise cemetary. The rail line has a stop right outside it. I have to warn you, when you go there most of the visitors to the wall are going there to mourn. They might think you strange when you show up to celebrate victory over communism.
A few other things, if you are going to Montmartre you have to visit the Sacre Coeur church. It’s one of the most beautiful churches in France (possibly St. Michel is more beautiful) and at the foot of it is the most gorgeous view of Paris. You can see this Church from almost everywhere in Paris as it is the highest point of the city. Another thing to do is to visit Van Gogh’s house. He lived on Montmartre and his studio was there as well. The last very famous thing in Montmartre is of course the Moulin Rouge cabaret. The Le Chat Noir (Black Cat) was there as well.
Thanks. Depending where the vest people I may revisit Sacre Coeur. Never been to St Michel.
Every animal expels methane. It’s just a matter of degree :)
Unless AOC can prove she’s never farted.
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