The cellars of Voisin’s were flooded
during the great rise of the Seine in the early months
of 1910, and the bins of the wonderful vintages of
Bordeaux and Burgundies were threatened with a bath
of icy water ; but the precious bottles were carried as
carefully as if they were children to a place of safety
above flood level, and were restored to their snug saw-
dust beds again when the danger had passed.
The diplomats have always had an affection for
Voisin’s, perhaps because of its nearness to the street
of the Embassies ; and in the “ eighties ” the attaches
of the British Embassy used to breakfast there every
day. Nowadays, the clientele seems to me to be a mix-
ture of the best type of the English and Americans
passing through Paris, and the more elderly amongst
the statesmen, who were no doubt the dashing young
attaches of thirty years ago. M. Braquesac, grey-haired,
and with an aquiline nose, is always, when he is in the
restaurant, the most distinguished-looking man there.
12 T^he Gourmet's Guide to Europe
M. Braquesac has a racing stable, as his amusement,
and his talk to his cronies amongst the clientele of the
restaurant is generally of Longchamps and Auteuil and
Maisons Lafitte. Young M. Braquesac, almost as
distinguished in appearance as his father, is always in
evidence as the manager of the restaurant. There is
always a feeling of calm in Voisin’s. Paul, the maitre
d'hote /, is quite episcopal in appearance, and the head
sommelier, whose face is round and whose hair is
curly, is equally well favoured. From the street a
glass door leads straight into the restaurant. Two
dames de comptoir , who sit at a little desk by the
door, look as though their lives had been entirely
free from trouble. Close to them, in one iof the
small windows, the fruit for dessert is placed. Voisin’s
has two rooms downstairs, an outer one and an inner.
The white of its walls and the gleam of its mirrors
are subdued by the deep red of the mahogany of
its door and window frames. A little staircase leads
to the rooms above.
The great glory of Voisin’s is its cellar of red
wines, its Burgundies and Bordeaux. The Bordeaux
are arranged in their proper precedence, the wines
from the great vineyards first, and the rest in their
correct order down to mere bourgeois tipple. Against
each brand is the price of the vintage of all the years
within a drinkable period, and the man who knew
the wine-list of Voisin’s thoroughly would be the
greatest authority in the world on claret.
Mr. Rowland Strong, in his book on Paris, tells
how, one Christmas Eve, he took an Englishman to
dine at Voisin’s, and how that Englishman demanded
plum-pudding. The maitre d'hdtel was equal to the
occasion. He was polite but firm, and his assertion
that “the House of Voisin does not serve, has never
served, and will never serve, plum-pudding ” settled
the matter.
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Page 8
Presented as published in 1903. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The cellars of Voisin’s were flooded during the great rise of the Seine in the early months of 1910, and the bins of the wonderful vintages of Bordeaux and Burgundies were threatened with a bath of icy water ; but the precious bottles were carried as carefully as if they were children to a place of safety above flood level, and were restored to their snug sawdust beds again when the danger had passed.
The diplomats have always had an affection for Voisin’s, perhaps because of its nearness to the street of the Embassies ; and in the “ eighties ” the attaches of the British Embassy used to breakfast there every day. Nowadays, the clientele seems to me to be a mixture of the best type of the English and Americans passing through Paris, and the more elderly amongst the statesmen, who were no doubt the dashing young attaches of thirty years ago. M. Braquesac, grey-haired, and with an aquiline nose, is always, when he is in the restaurant, the most distinguished-looking man there.
12 The Gourmet's Guide to Europe
M. Braquesac has a racing stable, as his amusement, and his talk to his cronies amongst the clientele of the restaurant is generally of Longchamps and Auteuil and Maisons Lafitte. Young M. Braquesac, almost as distinguished in appearance as his father, is always in evidence as the manager of the restaurant. There is always a feeling of calm in Voisin’s. Paul, the maître d'hôtel, is quite episcopal in appearance, and the head sommelier, whose face is round and whose hair is curly, is equally well favoured. From the street a glass door leads straight into the restaurant. Two dames de comptoir , who sit at a little desk by the door, look as though their lives had been entirely free from trouble. Close to them, in one of the small windows, the fruit for dessert is placed. Voisin’s has two rooms downstairs, an outer one and an inner. The white of its walls and the gleam of its mirrors are subdued by the deep red of the mahogany of its door and window frames. A little staircase leads to the rooms above.
The great glory of Voisin’s is its cellar of red wines, its Burgundies and Bordeaux. The Bordeaux are arranged in their proper precedence, the wines from the great vineyards first, and the rest in their correct order down to mere bourgeois tipple. Against each brand is the price of the vintage of all the years within a drinkable period, and the man who knew the wine-list of Voisin’s thoroughly would be the greatest authority in the world on claret.
Mr. Rowland Strong, in his book on Paris, tells how, one Christmas Eve, he took an Englishman to dine at Voisin’s, and how that Englishman demanded plum-pudding. The maitre d'hdtel was equal to the occasion. He was polite but firm, and his assertion that “the House of Voisin does not serve, has never served, and will never serve, plum-pudding ” settled the matter.
Varis 1 3