An invitation to the Age of Enlightenment
The Historical Gastronomy Centre welcomed its guests to the Institut Cooremans for an immersion in the atmosphere of fashionable eighteenth-century salons. Venetian masks, offered with the support of the Ferrer Artistic Department, floral arrangements, coloured-sand drawings and ice chests created the setting for a banquet à la française.
Mozart and Airs au champagne
Following an introductory talk, the Mozartissimo ensemble led the guests through some of Mozart’s finest pages. The musical entertainment accompanied a historical meal worthy of the lively bourgeois tables visited by the young virtuoso during his travels through the region.
At Massialot’s table
The refined dishes of the French court were drawn chiefly from François Massialot’s Nouveau cuisinier royal et bourgeois, published in Paris in 1715 by Claude Prud’homme. Historical research continued at the table through educational material and a setting attentive to the customs of the period.
« A culinary and musical invitation bringing together the art of hospitality, the memory of taste and the spirit of Mozart. »
An evening to its final notes
When the Salzburger Mozarttorte was served, the musicians returned to perform as Mozart himself once did. The evening closed with blind man’s buff, a period entertainment led by the troupe, while Champagne Deutz presented its brut cuvée.
