“A Triumph in Culinary Art”: Epicurean Displays at the Copley Plaza Available to Purchase

From the early twentieth century through the 1960s, three generations of the Tolini family participated in culinary expositions organized by the Epicurean Society of Boston and Les Amis d'Escoffier. The French gastronomic traditions of Auguste Escoffier and Antonin Carême informed the creation of the elaborate and highly decorative tallow sculptures that were the centerpieces of these displays. Drawing upon an extensive family archive of photographs, menus, and ephemera, the author delves into the history of these extraordinaires, or pièces montées. The article explores the fabrication techniques and aesthetics of the centerpieces through oral history and seminal nineteenth- and twentieth-century culinary books such as The Escoffier Cook Book: A Guide to the Fine Art of Cookery and more obscure works such as Escoffier's Les Fleurs en Cire. The investigation uncovers the original sources of inspiration for the annual competitions, as well as a unique tradition of craftsmanship that was handed down from father to son to grandson.