The Useful Bicentennial

Being a gastronome means knowing how to reason the fork, how to think the table. However, it is difficult to philosophize about your bite, or even to discuss the art of good eating, without knowing Brillat-Savarin and his indispensable alter ego, Grimod de la Reynière. Understanding gastronomy through these two authors also means understanding who we are in order to better define where we want to go. Numerous events are organized throughout the year to discover the two pillars of gastronomic thought.

Almost exactly two hundred years ago, The Physiology of Taste was officially published, and with this work, gastronomy was established as an art form in its own right. This date is not insignificant, as this cultural field might not have taken the form it has today if this cheerful lawyer had not put pen to paper.

On this bicentennial of gastronomy, marked by this timeless work subtitled Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy, we must therefore ask ourselves the question: can one be a gastronome without knowing the author of this immense work?

To which the author of these more modest lines would respond unequivocally: can one be a lawyer without knowing Roman law? Can one be a philosopher without knowing the Greeks? Can one be a historian without knowing history?

Knowing that three thousand years of history contemplate us from the heights of an excellent meal, how can we think that we could express all its flavors without knowing its origins? Can we really imagine that a work as accomplished as a five-course meal is a spontaneous manifestation, an excrescence of nothingness, a lineage of traditions lost in the darkness of an ill-lit history? It would be like not knowing the origin of an egg or confusing a cucumber with a zucchini.

Gastronomy is an exigence, that of the customer towards the cuisine, but not only. This requirement stems from knowledge. Inherited in particular from Grimod de la Reynière, this enlightened knowledge of all things related to the fork has contributed greatly over the last two centuries to the constant and widespread progress of the art of dining and fine lunching. In a way, in parallel with political changes, a system of sharing gastronomic powers has been established, where the spirit has counterbalanced the material to elevate the art as a whole.

Knowledge and in-depth culture on the part of the customer, not to mention that of the amphitryon, are therefore essential. Indeed, how could this empire of good taste survive without protagonists capable of elevating the debate, arguing in an informed manner, and being proactive in ways of constant improvement and new ideas?

Survey conducted by Biztronomy. Brillat-Savarin's honor is saved, but gastronomic culture is severely tarnished with Voltaire overtaking Grimod!

A decade ago, this responsibility still fell to critics. They commented on culinary news and guided opinion; like priests officiating for the masses, they interpreted culinary events in the light of sacred texts.

But today, when everyone with a smartphone is an apostle, or everyone with a digital pulpit preaches their vision of good food based on their feelings, the counterbalances to the power of cuisine are advancing in a scattered manner. The result is chaotic, to say the least, sometimes poor, and very often lacking in historical depth. The forces of cuisine are growing, while those of the dining room are waning. The balance has been broken.

For the art of the table to rise, the temporal realm of cuisine must be able to engage in intelligent dialogue with the timeless realm of the spirit (1). This will only happen if budding gourmets seriously study the revered gastronomic writings so that, through their efforts, they can prove themselves worthy of the culinary exploits presented to them.

It was Joseph Berchoux who popularized the word “gastronomy,” as a poet and not as a gourmand. It was the pen, not the fork, that consecrated the word.

In a way, money is no longer enough. Any self-respecting gourmet must equip themselves with solid gastronomical knowledge before praising or criticizing the meal presented, through study, gastronomic meditation, and training of their palate. The kitchen must also be demanding of the dining room and its customers, who cannot use their prosperity as an excuse to avoid the effort of reflecting on their plate.

He who organizes the kitchen is its master, she who plans the table is its mistress.

Thus, delving into the depths or interstices of history, we could simultaneously answer a second, no less important question: what is its significance in these tumultuous times? How is gastronomy useful when these turbulent times call for severe composure?

Your humble author would respond without hesitation that what applies to gastronomy applies equally to politics: to determine where we want to go, we need to know where we come from. And anyone today who wants to understand the world can look to gastronomy to discern its complexity. For this noble discipline is nothing less than a reflection of our social journey over the past two hundred years. Do we want to move towards greater or lesser standards?

Although copies were in circulation as early as December 1825, it is the date inscribed on the book that we are using to celebrate its bicentennial.

Thus, intrigued by such an original proposal, our avid readers, poring over the writings of Grimod de la Reynière and Brillat-Savarin, would discover that gastronomy is, in fact, a child of the Revolution. While 1789 marks its beginning, 1826 is a notable milestone with the work of Brillat-Savarin: the democratization of the table progresses, with merit and effort forming the basis of its reign.

For gastronomy is the fruit of the Age of Enlightenment. Taste is offered above all to the enlightened individual; knowing how to appreciate is a matter of education rather than rank or fortune; the poor woman preparing a pot-au-feu perceives salvation long before the wealthy.

Thus, understanding the sharing of power between the chef and the gastronome is to discover the sharing of power within a state. To establish that the duty of every host is to ensure the well-being of their guests is to think of society through the prism of solidarity and to overcome the temptation of image. To be indebted to the demands of product quality or social skills is to guard against vain ostentation or easy renunciation.

Gastronomy thus embodies the full force of democracy, which, through the rules that govern the table, provides the framework for a joyful conversational chaos, a guarantee of attentive listening and respected expression. Anyone who would leave the table, angry at hearing a recipe to world challenges that differs from their own, would risk depriving themselves of a hearty guinea fowl or a languorous Brie. Thus, the palate, the stomach, and reason summon the impatient to sit back down and chew seven times before taking their leave.

The bicentennial of The Physiology of Taste, which we are officially celebrating in this tumultuous month of January 2026, therefore offers an enticing opportunity to reflect on this civilization that thinks about its food and the ceremonial that surrounds it. For everywhere, the art of the table is being challenged by a rebalancing of geopolitical forces, with each side seeking to promote its own vision of gastronomic conviviality.

Gastronomy is too serious a matter to be left in the hands of chefs.

The bicentennial of The Physiology of Taste will be an eminently gastronomic year, for this art is nothing less than a reflection of a changing world. Discovering Brillat-Savarin and his illustrious contemporary, Grimod de la Reynière, is a tribute not only to the magnificent meal you will share this Sunday at noon, or during the week, but also to the countless curious minds who, over the centuries, have laid the foundations for divine conviviality. It is also a way of relieving the severity of everyday life in order to draw out its succulence and joy.

To address this very serious question with more objectivity than your devoted editor-in-chief, Biztronomy is organizing an international conference in October, bringing together some fifteen leading figures in the field to explore in depth the links between Grimod de la Reynière and Brillat-Savarin.

Until we meet again in Lyon in October 2026, Biztronomy wishes you a wonderful year full of gastronomic delights!

Your devoted editor-in-chief,

Philippe Cartau

Other events are worth noting for the bicentennial celebration. Here are three of them:

• At the BnF

• Exhibition at the Château du Clos de Vougeot

• Paris 11th April 16

And for those who wish to compare the two great founders:

Grimod, Brillat et Nous, October 2 & 3, 2026 in Lyon