The Camondo cuisine

Paris is full of hidden treasures. I, for instance, had walked by the Musee Nissim de Camondo--just on the other side of Parc Monceau from my house--probably at least ten times without ever noticing it was there. Fortunately, my companion Denis spotted a blurb in the newspaper Le Figaro that the superb kitchen of this former private home--now preserved as a museum of decorative arts--was going to be open to the public for two short days. A small photo showing a superb stove and lots of gleaming copper cookware sent me into slavers of anticipation.

So that very afternoon, we walked through the park and turned east about half a block to this beautiful former hotel particulier, as fabulous private homes are called in Paris. A palatial residence, the former Camondo home has spacious gardens that open onto the park itself--definitely prime Paris real estate. The home is preserved as it was furnished and lived in during the first couple of decades of the twentieth century. And while all that beautiful furniture, tapestries, rugs, and objets d'art are certainly a feast for the eyes, I was really interested in just one thing: the kitchen.


What a cuisine! Approximately 30 by 40 feet in dimension, this spacious room has a floor tiled in immaculate black and white. It is dominated by the extraordinary stove and ovens, which are two entirely separate entities. The stove (pictured) is at least half as long as the entire kitchen, and has eight burners of various sizes spaced amply apart, to allow enormous pots to heat on them side by side without interfering with each other. The "burners" aren't really that, but are removable plaques of iron that resemble the burners on a modern Aga stove. The heat was supplied by charcoal.

The stove and ovens are absolutely beautiful, black with burnished steel trim and cooking surfaces. The oven entity, an entirely separate appliance located against one long wall, comprises four ovens and two steam cabinets. It too is charcoal fired. To the right of the ovens is what I would call a pate and terrine station: a meat grinder affixed to a massive chopping block.

Along one short wall is the rotisserie, a mammoth affair large enough to accommodate entire lambs or sides of beef. Originally the brochette of the rotisserie was turned by a sort of Rube Goldberg device powered by the smoke turning a helical sort of turnscrew. Now the entire affair has been converted to gas.

The length of the opposite long wall is occupied by a continuous work counter with cabinets beneath and numerous long shelves above. All of these are groaning under the precious weight of an example of every piece of copper cookware probably ever made. Accompanying them is an assortment of earthenware bowls, cocottes, and terrines. Above the counter is a small window--the passe-platswhich communicates with the family dining room adjacent and allows dishes to be passed back and forth directly. At one end of this room are the "lockers" of the fifteen or so domestic employees who were required to run the household. Here they would store their own eating utensils, medicines, and so forth.

Also adjacent to the kitchen are the chef's office and the laverie, or washing room, furnished with a gargantuan deep double sink made of copper, large blocks of savon de Marseilles, the olive-oil-based all purpose soap that all French revere, and every sort of dish-cleaning tool imaginable.

The formal dining room is located directly above the kitchen, which is heavily isolated and ventilated to prevent any cooking odors from entering that formal space. The walls and ceiling of the kitchen are white ceramic tile, to make for a well-lighted workspace and easy and frequent cleaning. Two large windows open into the gardens beyond.

If you're into kitchens--and who isn't in 21st century America--this one is well worth a visit. The Musee de Camondo is located at 63, rue de Monceau, 75008 Paris. Call 01. 53.89.06.50 for more information. For a virtual tour of this magnificent kitchen, go to http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/fr/04museecamondo/03visite/02hotel/pano1.html.
"Move" through the kitchen by keeping your left mouse button depressed and moving your mouse in the direction you wish to move through the kitchen.

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