French Gastronomy At Its Best
by Hany J
Title
French Gastronomy At Its Best
Artist
Hany J
Medium
Photograph - Original Photo
Description
The Tour d'Argent Petit Musee de la Table is a gastronomic museum that is housed in the famous Tour d'Argent restaurant. It is situated in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, with great views of Notre Dame Cathedral and the River Seine. It was founded back in the year 1953 by Claude Terrail who had taken over ownership from his Father, Andre Terrail, a few years earlier.
The history of the Tour d'Argent is absolutely fascinating. Being probably the most well known of all the restaurants in Paris, you can get a taste of luxury, the refinement of eating out and prestige that accompanies this famous place. The museum is situated on the ground floor of the old building that was built in the 16th century as an inn to accommodate the aristocrats of the time and even the restaurant is classed as a museum in its own right, having been around for well over 400 years. At the museum you will see displays that portray the history of French Gastronomy, tableware and cutlery, plus the tools we all now take for granted, and it is in fact the room you go into to have apéritifs served prior to ascending to the main dining room via the lift. The exhibits include memorabilia, photographs and letters from some of the famous people that have dined at this haute cuisine restaurant, but the main exhibit is a table laid out as it was for the prestigious event held in 1867 for the Universal Exhibition in Paris at the Café Anglais. This royal assembly, which has become known as the Dinner of the three Emperors comprised of Alexander II, Czar of All the Russias, his son and namesake the Tsarevitch, the King of Prussia, Wilhelm I, and the Prince of Bismarck, yet it is very rare for any restaurant to have such prestigious guests dining for their pleasure, rather than an official function. Other items on display at the Tour d'Argent Petit Musee de la Table include the first class dining room menu from the maiden voyage of the Normandie and an old silver duck press that is the same as is still used today to prepare the canard au sang, which is the famous duck dish for which every duck is given a number.
Also, there are ancient bottles of wine on display from the wine cellars, cabinets filled with memorabilia, the letters and notes from famous people such as Bill Clinton, Mickhail Gorbatchev, etc and photographs of people like Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip taken in 1948.
Being on the ground floor this museum come lobby and bar is a very comfortable setting and a great place to enter prior to going up to the dining room and really gets you into the spirit of the place. Unfortunately, you cannot see the display unless you have reserved a table for a lunch or dinner at this truly remarkable and traditional French restaurant.
All images are taken with a Canon 5D III (full frame) and a Canon 7D II (crop frame) using a variety of Canon L-Series lenses, and Tamron and Sigma pro-line lenses; processed in RAW with ACR, PSC, Photomatix, and a variety of other imaging software.
All images are Copyright © 2016 Hany G. Jadaa; C.Chem. M.Sc. Eng.; and Copyright © 2016 Prince John Photography (the Artist). The material contained herein may not be reproduced, copied, edited, published, transmitted or downloaded in any way, shape or form. All rights are reserved. Copying, altering, displaying or redistribution of any of these images without written permission from the Artist is strictly prohibited and will be prosecuted under US, Canadian, European, and Australian Copyright laws.
Image is available for purchase at higher resolution and no copyright stamps upon request. Please contact the artist directly at pjphotography@uniserve.com
Uploaded
June 27th, 2017
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