Signed photograph.
A group of nine chefs with George Auguste Escoffier, one of whom is also Escoffier's famed pupil - Charles Scotto.
Vintage sepia mounted photograph framed beautifully in a dark brown matte cardboard border and enclosed in a brown and gold frame, measuring 12”x13”. The photograph itself measures 6 ½” x 4 ½”.
- This is a very rare signed photograph. It is a small brigade of chefs outside the legendary ‘Casino Dieppe’ France, circa - 1927. The uniqueness comes about by the inclusion within the group of the famous Chef, Auguste Escoffier seated in a dark suit, and also his famous pupil, apprentice and friend: Charles Scotto -- seated to Escoffier’s left. The signatures of Escoffier and Scotto are respectively on the bottom left and right of the picture. Charles Scotto was born 1887 in Monte Calro and in his youth became a close friend of Escoffier. At the turn of the century Scotto had been a commis chef in the brigade at the Savoy Hotel London where Escoffier was Maitre Chef de Cuisine. Scotto helped Escoffier all thro’ his professional life with planning and opening many new kitchens and restaurants such as the new Carlton Hotel in London’s Pall Mall and the extremely popular, new and innovative al'a Carte 'Ritz restaurants' on board the Hamburg-Amerika line, especially in the kitchens of S.S.Imperator (see item # 11213 on this site) where he was Escoffier's partner in this undertaking. He represented and helped Escoffier in the setting up and the opening of many of his other ventures over the years, including the famous 'Casino Dieppe, Normandy. In 1928, at the Sorbonne in Paris, The World Chefs' Association was formed and it is still in existence today. Scotto was the first president. He also opened other hotels including the famous Pierre Hotel in New York. For the opening Scotto invited Auguste Escoffier (described by Andre L. Simon in his obituary to Escoffier in the 'Wine & Food Society' Magazine as his last official act). In 1935 Escoffier passed away in Monte Carlo. In America ‘Les Amis d' Escoffier’ held their first memorial dinner at the Jensen Suite of the Waldorf with 53 friends of the famous chef attending a memorable feast. In 1936, approximately a year after the death of Georges Auguste Escoffier, members of the American Culinary Federation [ACF] in New York City invited hoteliers and leading citizens to join with the chefs to preserve the culinary traditions of the master. The then - ACF President Charles Scotto, well known as Escoffier's "beloved apprentice," and General Secretary Joseph Donon, hosted the premiere meeting of their new society for gourmets in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on March 30, 1936. Rules were established that forbade drunkenness. Only wine or aperitifs were served. Les Amis prohibited smoking at table, claiming that anyone who smoked between courses did not deserve the title of gourmet. Speech making was not allowed either. Ultimately, dining rules required silence during dinner so guests could focus on the dish at hand without distraction. Charles Scotto passed away in 1937 aged only 51, following kidney surgery. More than 1,000 of his admirers and colleagues attended the funeral. A solemn high mass was celebrated at the Church of Our Lady of Refuge, on Ocean and Foster Avenues in Brooklyn, His widow traveled with his remains to Monte Carlo where he was buried. While photographs of Escoffier are quite common, those of Scotto are scarce and signed images of both chefs together are rare in the extreme.
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Ephemera category
ref number:
11187