Do you know the king of cooks or cook of kings? Auguste Escoffier, the emblematic chef of French cuisine, is less well known outside France than a Paul Bocuse for instance. And yet this man left behind him a legacy that endures more than 100 years after his death.
With the arrival in our culinary landscape of the Luxembourg delegation of the “Disciples Escoffier”, an association created in France in 1954 in his honour, his work, but above all his legacy, will shine out in Luxembourg.
A life in the service of cuisine
Throughout his life, Auguste Escoffier had one mission: to promote gastronomy by maintaining the great traditions of French cuisine, while developing a new, more progressive vision of what is gastronomy.
Auguste Escoffier was a visionary chef. He was one of the first chefs to put the product back at the centre of the plate, and in particular its seasonality. He also introduced the first rules of hygiene and dietetics, and fought against waste and for the recycling of waste.
70 years of the Disciples Escoffier association
In figures, the Disciples Escoffier are: 70 years of existence, 48 delegations throughout the world (Europe, Africa, Asia), 10,000 active members worldwide, 18th edition of their Young Talents competition.
“I vow to pass on, serve and honour Cuisine, its culture and its constant evolution”. These are the words spoken by each future disciples of Escoffier as they are inducted and swear in to join the association.
The members of the association have a duty to honour the memory of Auguste Escoffier, to promote the profession of chef and the culinary professions, and to bring together the kitchen and the restaurant trades. Indeed, within the association, all the professions linked to gastronomy have their place. Chefs, sommeliers, waiters, butchers, but also simply gastronomes who work for gastronomy. Each of them can claim their “scarf”, of different colour depending on the profession.
Each year, a gala dinner is organised in each delegation country. Profits from these major gastronomic events are donated to a charity chosen by the delegation.
Disciples Escoffier in Luxembourg
Following an application to the association’s Magistral Council, Luxembourg has now its own delegation. “Until now, we’ve been part of the Benelux delegation, but we wanted to have a stronger presence in Luxembourg,” explains treasurer M. Kaddour.
Italian-born chef Alessio Zappala has been appointed President. Sébastien Périé, of the Atelier Windsor, is Vice-Chairman. Lali Kaddour is Treasurer and Head of Communications. Aurélie Vessia is the secretary.
The official induction will take place on 21 July, at an official ceremony in Luxembourg, in the presence of the French delegation. This will also be an opportunity to induct the Luxembourg members who are currently on the waiting list to join the Disciples Escoffier. An Epicure dinner will also be held on 22 July.
Transmission is the key to this association and Luxembourg will not default on this role. “We will be training two young students (a cook and a waiter) from a culinary school (Diekirch or Bonnevoie editor’s note) and will accompany them to the Jeunes Talents competition, to take part with delegations from all over the world.”
Several events will be held in Luxembourg in the upcoming months. “Our big event of the year will be the 70th anniversary of the association, in October, during which a charity gala dinner will be held” explains M. Kaddour. ” Our role is really to promote gastronomy in a wide sense, throughout events, diners, meet up with producers in the country. All of this to be communicated with the public.”
As Auguste Escoffier said, “good cooking is the basis of true happiness”. We can only agree with this philosophy of life.
We, at KACHEN, will closely follow the Disciples Escoffier future news and events.
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