In Europe, the time around the turn of the 20th century was a period of splendor and innovation. The global catastrophe of the First World War was not even anticipated.
Culinary innovation was enormous and impacted the upper class in all of Europe’s capitals. It was the time when French chef Auguste Escoffier created spectacular recipes and truly put a new accent on cooking. His culinary canvas was the celebrated Ritz Hotel in London, which he opened in 1906 along with Swiss hotelier César Ritz. The Ritz hotel was the first where the kitchen was organized in line with the now almost standard brigade de cuisine, or brigade system, that brought order to kitchens and sped up service.
