Christmas Feast - Paris 1870

[delladanza]

During the Siege of Paris in 1870, when Crown Prince Albert of Saxony was laying waste to the city then ruled by Napoléon III, French zookeepers at the Jardin de Plantes zoo were forced by necessity to sell off many of the animals that they could no longer feed. Many resteraunteurs siezed the opportunity to eat something other than rats or alleycats, and the Christmas menu created by Msr. Bellanger and prepared by Chef Coron at the Voisin Restaurant was as follows:

Beurre, radis, sardines ........................ butter, radishes, sardines
Tête d'âne farcie ...................................... stuffed ass's head
Purée de haricots rouges aux croutons .... puree of red beans with croutons
Consommé d'éléphant ......................................... elephant soup
Goujons frits .................................................. fried fish
Le chameau rôti à l'Anglaise ................... roast camel, English style
Le civet de kangourou ....................................... kangaroo stew
Côtes d'ours rôties sauce poivrade ....... roast bear chops in pepper sauce
Cuissot de loup, sauce chevreuil ........ haunch of wolf with venison sauce
Le chat flanqué de rats ........................... cat garnished with rats
Salade de cresson ........................................ watercress salad
La terrine d'antelope aux truffes ............ antelope and truffle terrine
Cèpes à la Bordelaise ...................... cèpe mushrooms, Bordeaux style
Petis pois au beurre ........................................ buttered peas
Gâteau de riz aux confiture ......................... rice pudding with jam
Fromage de Gruyère ......................................... Gruyère cheese

WINES - Xérès * Latour Blanch 1861 * Château Palmer 1864 * Mouton Rothschild 1846 * Romanée Conti 1858 * Bollinger frappé * Grand Porto 1827 * Café et Liqueurs