Napoleon's chicken marengo
Subtitle: creating the myth of the Emperor's favourite dish
By: Andrew Uffindell
Publisher: Frontline Books
Published: 2011
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 276
ISBN-13: 9781848325784
Subjects: Gastronomy; Cooking (Chicken); Gericht; Schlacht; History; Marengo, Battle of, Marengo, Italy, 1800
Description: Tells the story of Chicken Marengo, and cuts through the tangle of myths that has sprung up around it. Supposedly created on the evening of Napoleon's victory at Marengo, the dish rapidly conquered Paris, and became a renowned symbol of French haute cuisine. The author sets the dish in its context explaining the nail-biting drama of Napoleon's Marengo campaign and the remarkable frenzy of rejoicing unleashed in Paris by the news of his victory. The author argues that the dish is part of a wider myth that Napoleon spun around the battle itself. Uncomfortably aware of just how close he had come to disaster, he rewrote the official account of Marengo. Determined to exploit the political impact of the victory to the full, he portrayed it as a masterly maneuver, rather than a near-defeat salvaged largely by luck. Uffindel sheds startling light on Napoleon's extraordinary and yet elusive character, and reveals just how effectively he spun a myth around the amount of food he ate in order to project a positive image of himself.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [241]-268) and index.
Table of contents: title: The myth; title: The campaign; title: Marengo-mania; title: Creating a legend; title: Disputing a legend; title: Commemorating a legend; title: "It smells of revolution"; title: Pinnacle of fame; title: Napoleon and his meals; title: The belly of an Emperor; title: Saint Helena; title: Rebranding a legend; title: Washing up; title: The recipe.