François Vatel (1631 – April 24, 1671) was a French chef, 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...
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François Vatel (1631 – April 24, 1671) was a French chef, 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.
This often-repeated story was described in a letter by the marquise de Sévigné.
Vatel was already renowned for having served Nicolas Fouquet in the splendid inauguration fête at the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte that took place on 17 August 1661, the occasion of...
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