? In 1783 or 1784, Karem was born in a poor family in Paris, the 16th child in the family. At the height of the French Revolution, young Karem was suddenly abandoned. When he was 8 years old, he helped cook in the kitchen of a Paris restaurant in exchange for room and board. At the age of 15, he became Bai's apprentice. Bailly is a well-known pastry chef in Paris, with a thriving bakery in one of the city's most fashionable neighborhoods.
? Kareem is a quick learner in the kitchen, and Bai encourages his young apprentice to learn more. Karem often spent his free afternoons at the nearby National Library, reading books on art and architecture. In the back room of that small bakery, Karem combines his love for design and talent for baking to create delicious masterpieces out of flour, butter and sugar.
? Karem's works soon attracted the critical eye of French diplomat Talleyrand. Around 1804, Talleyrand asked Carem to create a complete menu for his private castle, instructing the young baker to use local seasonal fruits and vegetables, and that the main dishes could not be repeated throughout the year. The experiment was a huge success.
? The French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was known to be unimpressed by the declining taste of cuisine in the early 18th century, but under pressure to entertain Parisian high society, he also summoned Karem to the Tuileries Palace kitchen. In 1810, Karem designed a unique cake for the wedding of Napoleon and his second bride, Marie Louise of Austria.
In 1816, Carem embarked on a culinary journey that would forever mark his status as history's first top chef. He sailed to England and cooked in the great modern kitchen of Prince Regent George IV. He traveled across the continent to prepare grand banquets for Russian Tsar Alexander I, and wealthy families with social ambitions invited Karem into their kitchens.
? Karem’s gastronomic displays have become a symbol of French gastronomy, they are rich, exquisite and impressive. When the servants bring Kareem's carefully prepared delicacies into the dining room, the guests fall silent in surprise.
? In the process of traveling among the aristocratic families of the early 19th century, Carem created the new art of French gastronomy and introduced the standard chef uniform - the same double-breasted white coat and high white top The hat is still worn by many chefs today. Kareem believes that white clothing conveys a clean image - in his field, appearance is everything. I wonder if today’s chefs still remember the original intention of this design.
? However, in the end, the kitchen cost Kareem his life. Decades of working over coal fires in cramped, airless spaces (to ensure his dishes didn't get cold) left him with fatal lung damage. On January 12, 1833, just before his 50th birthday, Karem died. But throughout Kareem's lifetime, he remained confident. He sees far beyond what he sees in the kitchen. This top chef raised eating to the level of art, set standards of beauty for both classical and modern cooking, and proved to the distant future that the 19th-century French chef was the most famous chef in the world.
? Fate dealt Kareem a bad hand, but he fought back and lived a wonderful life. Every time I read this story, I have a new understanding. I hope that none of us will feel sorry for ourselves. As long as we don’t give up on ourselves, there will always be a day when all the hardships will be over.