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.