Louis XVI at the table

At the table of Louis XVI, dishes were not served one after another as they are today, but in large simultaneous waves called 'services.' Each service covered the table with dozens of dishes arranged symmetrically: soups and hors d'oeuvres, then roasts and entrées, followed by the spit-roast accompanied by salads, and finally the entremets and dessert (fruits, preserves, sweets). Guests helped themselves to whatever was within reach. The king ate heartily, often in public during the 'Grand Couvert' at Versailles, a spectacle the court came to admire.

The black diamond of 18th-century royal kitchens, the truffle perfumed poultry, pâtés, and sauces of grand tables. Slipped under the skin of a poularde or chopped into a jus, it marked the discreet luxury of court cuisine, that of the king's 'officiers de bouche.'