Italiano
When there was no Masterchef or any other reality show concerning food, a high-educated author and sophisticated philosopher had a very similar idea.
All this was thanks to a man: Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière (people were not into short names back then).
We are in the very first years of the 19th century, when in France Napoleon made people forget every revolutionary ambition by appointing himself emperor.
For about ten years, every Tuesday, a jury made up of marquises, lawyers, doctors, businessmen gathered in the Hotel in Place de la Concorde. Here the restaurateurs of Paris, after asking for an appointment, as per the strict rules, submitted their dishes to the judges (free of charge, ça va sans dire!).
The judgments were often delivered in high-sounding words and philosophical squiggles, but considering the queue behind the Hotel door, these must have been pretty appreciated.
However, who did not seem to have many friends among the catering professionals was de La Reynière.
They considered him nothing but a philosopher, one who earned a living with frills and vanity, who could not, and should not, influence the work of chefs.
2 centuries later, it seems like Alexandre is the winner!
