Jean Anouilh at the table

The rhythm of a dinner at the zinc counter and in the dining room of theatrical Paris in the 1930s-1950s: start with a charcuterie or herring from the cold buffet, then the plat du jour brought by the waiter, cheese, and finally dessert and a strong coffee. It is a meal taken late, after the performance, when actors and directors gather around the tables of the Atelier or Montparnasse.

The common thread of this bourgeois and brasserie cuisine: it coats the sole 'à la meunière', spreads on the backstage ham, binds the sauce, and caramelizes the apples of the Tatin. Good butter, yellow and fresh, marked the Parisian table of Anouilh.