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Les Amis D'Escofier

Les
Amis D'Escofier: Offspring
of American Culinary Federation

Dr. Joel
Fisher, Wine Columnist, Escoffier Dinner
Sommelier Chef Whitney Werner, Escoffier
President (left to right) More photos and
menu below.

Hi everyone, that’s me, Chef Whitney and
Dr. Joel Fischer at the 2002 Escoffier dinner.
Here’s some background on how the Escoffier
Society came about!

At the American Culinary Federation's 1972
National Convention, President Jack Sullivan,
asked if there was any connection between Les
Amis d'Escoffier and the American Culinary
Federation.

Although begun 35 years earlier, the details
of Les Amis d'Escoffier's origins were obscure
by the time President Sullivan questioned the
delegates.

In 1936, approximately a year after the death
of Georges Auguste Escoffier, members of the
American Culinary Federation in New York City
invited hoteliers and leading citizens to join
with the chefs to preserve the culinary
traditions of the master.

Then-ACF President Charles Scotto, well-known
as Escoffier's "most beloved
apprentice," and General Secretary
Joseph Donon hosted the premier 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.

Because members of Les Amis d'Escoffier met
as equals who were joined together by the call
of gastronomy, there was no dais or guest of
honor at the meals. During its first 15 years,
the New York City chapter arranged its tables in
the shape of an "E." To further
enhance their sense of equality, all diners
tucked their napkins into their collars. This
obscured the differences in dress between diners
of different income levels.

The bib also functioned like a uniform,
signaling to diners that they were members of an
exclusive organization. This custom so
powerfully reflected the ideals of Les Amis
d'Escoffier that it became a copyrighted motto: "La
Serviette au cou."

There was a single restriction on the menu -
one dish had to come directly from Escoffier's
repertoire, and one had to come from the chef's
own.

Interestingly, ladies were not invited to Les
Amis diners until the 1950s, though Scotto had
proposed that at least one such dinner per year
be opened to them because, as he rightly
observed, women were as interested in fine
cookery as men.

Fifty members attended the first dinner in
the Waldorf. ACF chefs, upper management of the
Waldorf-Astoria, Inc., local hoteliers, and
high-profile journalists attended. Within a
year, there was a waiting list for membership.

Donon was the power behind Les Amis. When
Scotto died suddenly in October 1937, Donon held
a powerful sway over the ACF itself.

Les Amis continued its traditional dinners
until 1943 then, in the face of wartime food
rationing, suspended its activities "for
the duration." Revived in 1946, the society
continued growing at a steady pace.

After the war, the two organizations operated
independently, though held together in a
personal union through Donon. The ACF struggled
to become a true nationwide organization and
focused on its chapters and the new Academy of
Chefs.

Donon remained as ACF General Secretary but
chose to concentrate on Les Amis. In 1958, he
broke Les Amis d'Escoffier away from the ACF and
converted it into the Friends of Escoffier
Foundation. Donon left to pursue his dual dreams
of promoting culinary education in America and
erecting a museum to Escoffier in France.

Thus, the 22-year bond between the ACF and
Les Amis d'Escoffier was broken. During the
1960s the two groups grew further apart, though
many ACF members were also active in Les Amis.

Consequently, Jack Sullivan's question to the
delegates at the 1972 ACF National Convention
was not ill-informed. Time had created a void
where the memory of the relationship between the
ACF and Les Amis was lost.

Les Amis d'Escoffier was born from the
fruitful mind of Joseph Donon in 1936, and the
organization symbolizes the integrity of the
professional chef and the true gourmet to this
day. As the parent of Les Amis d'Escoffier, the
ACF can be proud of its offspring.

About the author: Martin T. Oliff is an
assistant university archivist and doctoral
candidate in U. S. History at Auburn University,
Alabama.

- reprinted by permission
from the author. May be reprinted by active ACF
chapters for use within normal chapter
operations.

http://www.acfchefs.org

Here is the

Daniel Drumlake, CEC, AAC,
Chairman of the Board CCAC, Chef of the Year
1999 Chef Whitney, CEC, Vice President CCAC,
Chef of the Year 2001 Richard Morgan, CEC, AAC
Chair Local Chapter, Chef of the Year