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Let Them Eat Cake: Paris, Patisserie and French Society with Michael Krondl

Let Them Eat Cake: Paris, Patisserie and French Society with Michael Krondl


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Can't make this time? A video recording will be sent to all participants after the seminar.

In the country that invented "le dessert" sweet endings are never an afterthought. Pull apart a millefeuille and you'll reveal French attitudes to class, artistry, and--naturellement!--cuisine. This seminar offers a glimpse into French history and society, through the lens of desserts.

France is noted for a long, rich history of dessert-making. It was France that gave us both the term and concept of dessert. The French take the topic so seriously that they award the country’s highest honor, the Legion d’Honneur, to pastry chefs. But that barely cracks the crust of the complexities of the subject. Desserts have long been used as a literal version of conspicuous consumption, from the sugar figures gracing Catherine de Medici’s banquets, to Antonin Carème’s fantastical constructions featured on the Rothchild’s sideboards, to today’s elite chocolatiers. Sweet nothings graced the salons of the Enlightenment and the elite salons-de-thé of fashionable Parisiennes. (But no, Marie Antoinette did not tell the peasants to eat cake.)

In a series of virtual visits to famed Parisian dessert spots, this seminar will delve into the social role of pastry and dessert in France, from early cafés to trendy contemporary patisseries. As the great French food philosopher Brillat-Savarin wrote, “tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.” This is as true of societies as of individuals.

Led by dessert expert, Michael Krondl, this seminar will explore how foods can be a window into history and society. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with an increased understanding of the interrelationship of food, history, and place.

Author Michael Krondl writes about food and history. He has penned several books, including The Taste of Conquest: The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spices and Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert among others. He has edited and contributed to several Oxford University Press volumes on food and culture, including The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets. He teaches at the New School and the City University of New York and has lectured at multiple venues including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian, and San Francisco's Exploratorium.

This conversation is suitable for all ages.

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.

Customer Reviews

Based on 12 reviews
75%
(9)
17%
(2)
8%
(1)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
G
Gay Lutton (Jersey City, US)
Absolutely delightful

It was a wonderful conversation about Parisian French Society and its devotion to its breads and sweets with Monsieur Krondl. He demonstrated with many astute examples how this affected and informed Parisian life. The lecturer connected so many seemingly insignificant facts to produce a deeper and broader understanding of how the bread and sweets of Paris were and are so intimately connected to the Parisian way of life. It was interesting and great fun!

J
Joe Reichman (Voorhees Township, US)
Paris, Patisserie & French Society

This course was a little "gem". Great historical information mixed with some "modern"

K
K.S.
Great talk!

One of the most enjoyable talks I've attended - truly delicious! A wealth of material engagingly presented.

T
Tina (Seattle, US)

Guest did not leave comment

A
Anonymous (Shirokanedai, JP)

Guest did not leave comment

Customer Reviews

Based on 12 reviews
75%
(9)
17%
(2)
8%
(1)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
G
Gay Lutton (Jersey City, US)
Absolutely delightful

It was a wonderful conversation about Parisian French Society and its devotion to its breads and sweets with Monsieur Krondl. He demonstrated with many astute examples how this affected and informed Parisian life. The lecturer connected so many seemingly insignificant facts to produce a deeper and broader understanding of how the bread and sweets of Paris were and are so intimately connected to the Parisian way of life. It was interesting and great fun!

J
Joe Reichman (Voorhees Township, US)
Paris, Patisserie & French Society

This course was a little "gem". Great historical information mixed with some "modern"

K
K.S.
Great talk!

One of the most enjoyable talks I've attended - truly delicious! A wealth of material engagingly presented.

T
Tina (Seattle, US)

Guest did not leave comment

A
Anonymous (Shirokanedai, JP)

Guest did not leave comment