Coco Chanel at the table

In the Limousin of Gabrielle Chanel's childhood, meals were not divided into starter-main-dessert: they revolved around THE soup, the daily staple, poured over bread and finished with a splash of wine in the broth ("chabrol"). The rest revolved around it: a fruit from the orchard, an herbal tea, a pot of jam put up for winter, and, on feast days, a peasant dessert. Having become Mademoiselle, Chanel retained from this austerity a taste for the simple, measured table — little, but just right — even when she dined at the Ritz.

Emblem of Chanel's native Limousin: in the traditional clafoutis, the pits are left in the cherries. During baking, they release a delicate bitter almond perfume that defines the dessert. It is the peasant touch that no palace kitchen has ever wanted to correct.