Charles Elme Francatelli

1805–1867

Francatelli; Charles Elmé Francatelli was born in London in 1805. His father was Italian and he was educated in France, where he learnt the art of cookery, gaining a diploma from the Parisian College of Cooking. Whilst in France he had the opportunity to study under the legendary Chef Marie Antoine Carême, who is often termed 'The architect of French Haute Cuisine'. On his return to England her worked at various places such as Rossie Priory (for Lord Kinnaird) and, most notably, Chesterfield House where he was chef de cuisine for the Earl of Chesterfield. He also worked Chislehurst in Kent for Sir Herbert Jenner-Fust, at the Coventry House Club; Francatelli also cooked for the Earl of Errol.

By February the 4^th 1839 he was working as a chef at Crockford's Club in London, taking over from its previous chef, Ude who quit over a salary dispute. Crockford's was a succesful private club and gaming house on the west side of St James's street and though his tenure was short (he left in 1840 or 1841) it proved to be a good career move, as his next employment was as mâitre d'hôtel and 'chief cook in ordinary' for Queen Victoria at Windsor (according to legend he was spotted by a steward of the royal household). He remained in this post for only one year and this royal appointment was undoubtedly the highlight of his career. The reasons for his leaving are not clear, though it is suggested that this may have been due to Queen Victoria's lack of enthusiasm for French cuisine or maybe Prince Albert's tendency toward less extravagant culinary preparations.

On leaving his royal post, Francatelli was appointed the culinary manager of the Coventry House Club, 106 Piccadilly (this became the St James's club in 1869).

His tenure at the Coventry House Club saw the maturing of Francatelli's culinary style. He developed and Anglo-French style of cookery, becoming the interpreter of French culinary art to the English, and giving the country a new set of polished culinary terms to take the place of the old homely nomenclature of the kitchen, which had prevailed up to that time. This led to Francatelli's first book, The Modern Cook, published in 1845. This volume proved so popular that it went through 29 editions. However, Francatelli was not extravagant in his cookery, indeed, he once remarked that 'he could feed every day a thousand families on the food that was wasted in London' and this principle was espoused in his 1852 volume, A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes, which he persuaded the food company, Brown and Polson to sponsor. In 1861 he published The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant (it is from this volume that the recipes on this site are derived). Known for his sweet tooth, Francatelli's fourth and final book was his 1862 volume, Royal English and Foreign Confectionery Book.

In 1854 Francatelli was appointed chef de cuisine at the prestigious Reform Club, whose kitchens, designed by Alexis Soyer, were reputed to be the greatest in London (indeed, he took over from Sawyer who had resigned in May of that year). Francatelli remained at this post for seven years.

Between 1863 and 1870 he managed the St.James' Hotel in Berkeley Street, and then joined the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, a post he held until just before his death in 1876.

Francatelli died on the 10^th of August, 1867 at Eastbourne.

Francatelli's The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant

Francatelli's 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant was an instant hit and became a standard reference book for any well-managed household. At the time it was described as 'a practical treatise on English and foreign cookery'. As well as recipes (over 1000 in all) the book contains instructions for the service of wines, directions for the preparation of diets for invalids, epicurean salads, medicinal drinks, and American drinks and beverages.

The book comprises of 524 pages in total with over 1000 recipes detailed. Like many other books of the time, this volume essentially gives its recipes in the format that is, in essence, still used to this day. The book was intended as a guide of reliable information for the aspirant middle classes.

One accusation levelled at Francatelli over the years is that his recipes are overly wordy and not succinct enough. However, he was a chef writing for the 'common man' and wished everyone to have the quality of food that he could prepare in his restaurants. His recipes are step-by step instructions on how to prepare the dishes he describes to a very high standard.

It's this site's aim to provide the original text of all the Francatelli recipes and to provide the modern cook with a current redaction of the recipe. You can also find more recipes from the Victorian period in this site's Victorian recipes page.

With the following link you can go directly to the The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant table of contents