A brilliant military leader and diplomat with a phenomenal capacity for action and a unique intellect, Napoleon gained unlimited power over France, conquering country after country on the European continent, until within just two years he lost all his former political clout, ending up on the island of Saint Helena, hidden by the vast Atlantic Ocean.
Undertaking numerous political reforms, the echoes of which can still be seen today in the institutions of France and parts of Western Europe, Napoleon became a real legend, which even historians of the day are eager to explore.
So what was the legendary Napoleon like in everyday life? Or to be more precise, what was he like in eating food and drinking alcohol?
- Food
The art of enjoying food was foreign to Napoleon, at least in the usual sense of the tradition of leisurely eating. A typical meal of Napoleon lasted no more than 10 minutes, and family feasts rarely went beyond 20 minutes. All because the Emperor of France ate quickly and hastily, chewing large portions poorly and not worrying about dirty tablecloths.
He did not have a meal schedule as such. Because of his military lifestyle, the First Consul and later the Emperor Napoleon could eat standing up, on the move or even on horseback. This rhythm of life undoubtedly influenced the working rhythm of Napoleon’s cooks as well. They had to keep food on hand at all times, often making more than a few portions of chicken morongue or champagne chicken fricassee in an evening in order to serve up a fresh portion of the Emperor’s favorite dish.
The military lifestyle also influences his taste. That delicacy of gastronomy inherent in the cultural image of the French was alien to the emperor. He preferred the dishes he was familiar with to gourmet new meals. It is also possible that chronic stomach pains also detracted from the emperor’s desire to try new extravagant dishes.
As a man of habit, Napoleon returned to the same dishes, whose recipes have survived to this day thanks to the writings of historians. He liked simple dishes: lamb chops, beans, lentils, pasta but the preferred food was chicken meat in a variety of sauces into which Napoleon could dip his fingers without hesitation.
The emperor loved bread and was very demanding when it came to baking. According to “Memoirs of Constant on the Private Life of Napoleon” written by Louis Constant Wairy (Napoleon’s valet from 1800 to 1814): “The simplest dishes were those he preferred; but he was not easy to please in the quality of his bread”.
Over the course of his Egyptian company, Napoleon developed a great love of dates and also enjoyed fresh almonds, grapes and cherries. He was also enjoying coffee and chocolate, which kept his energy levels up during his frequent late nights at work. Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourienne recalled in his Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte: “After breakfast, as well as after dinner, he [Napoleon] drank a cup of strong coffee. […] When he worked late at night, he never ordered coffee, only chocolate, a cup of which he made me take with me. But that only happened when our business went on until two or three o’clock in the morning.”
The great politician’s best-known and best-loved dish is chicken Marengo. According to legend, one of Napoleon’s cooks on the field of mourning prepared a dish for the great politician using foods that were easiest to find in the local area.
The recipe is as follows: sprinkle the sliced chicken breast with salt and pepper and fry in a heavy-bottomed pan for 2-3 minutes in olive oil with a little butter. Then set the lightly browned chicken breast aside in a plate, releasing the pan into which you now add the chopped onion. Fry the onions until translucent, 2-3 minutes. Next add the chopped tomatoes to the onions and sprinkle with the aromatic herbs, then return the chicken breast to the pan to the vegetable mix. Stir the white wine with a little water and a tablespoon of flour, add the sauce into the pan and simmer until the chicken is tender and fully cooked. Then add mushrooms cut into thin strips to the pan and cook for another 10 minutes. Done! Favorites Napoleon dish is on your table.
- Alcohol
Napoleon’s preferences for alcohol were also not much different from his simple food requirements. Louis Étienne Saint-Denis, in his work “Napoleon from the Tuileries to St. Helena”, noted the following: “He rarely drank half a bottle, always with as much water added as there was wine. Fine wines were almost never present. Sometimes, in the afternoon, he would have a glass of champagne, but never without the addition of water”.
Napoleon preferred Burgundy Bordeaux, diluted with iced water. During his rule in France, Napoleon’s favorite wine was Chambertin. On St Helena island, during last weeks of his life Napoleon enjoyed Grand Constantia wine. One of the bottles of this wine, made especially for Napoleon, survives to this day and was sold at auction in 2016.
It cannot be said that Napoleon was an eager drinker; nevertheless, he considered this drink an important part of his own diet, as well as that of his soldiers. In the beliefs of the time, alcoholic beverages blunted fear, gave courage, lessened physical pain and warmed soldiers during colder periods. For this reason, many letters written by Napoleon to a number of commanders have been found regarding the obligation to distribute alcohol to soldiers. The statutory ration by Decree of 25 Fructidor IX (12 September 1801) stipulated that a quarter of a liter of wine per person per day would be distributed.
Thus, Napoleon was neither an exceptional gourmand nor a connoisseur of wine. However, he was a man of habit and was devoted to what he considered to be the best food and drink. In conclusion, it must be noted that, although the emperor disliked banquets and lingering at the table in general, he understood the importance of this aspect in matters of politics and diplomacy. That is why he delegated the organization of political feasts to two of his cronies who were adept at gastronomy – Chancellor Jean-Jacques Régis de Cambaceres and Foreign Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand. As for receptions at home, Napoleon’s first wife Josephine de Beauharnais, well versed in fine food and the best wines, which she chose herself and stored in the vast cellars of Malmaison, made the best banquets.
Bibliography
- Castelot André, Napoléon, Librairie Académique Perrin, Paris, 1968
- Louis Constant Wairy, Memoirs of Constant on the Private Life of Napoleon, His Family and his Court, translated by Elizabeth Gilbert Martin, Vol. I, New York, 1907.
- Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourienne, Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, edited by R.W. Phipps, Vol. I, New York, 1890.
- Gallo Max, Napoléon, Magellan (éd.), 8 vol., Paris, 1998.
- Jean Tulard, Louis Garros, Napoléon au jour le jour – Tallandier – 2002
- Louis Étienne Saint-Denis, Napoleon from the Tuileries to St. Helena, 1922.
- Paul Ganière. Napoléon à Saint-Hélène. Docteur Paul Ganière de l’Académie Française. Ed: Tempus.
- Marielle Brie. Que buvait-on à la table de Napoléon? 2021 [online]. Access from the Internet: https://blog.napoleon-cologne.fr/que-buvait-on-a-la-table-de-napoleon/
- Marielle Brie. Napoléon et la table: un paradoxe gastronomique. 2020 [online]. Access from the Internet: https://blog.napoleon-cologne.fr/napoleon-et-la-table-un-paradoxe-gastronomique/
- LA GASTRONOMIE SOUS L’EMPIRE. Conférence donnée en avant-goût du Diner Premier Empire par Jean Vitaux le 12 juin 2015 à la Bibliothèque des Riches Claires [online].
