Madame Elisabeth Brassart
Encyclopedia
Madame Elisabeth Brassart (1897 – 1992) was the proprietress of the Le Cordon Bleu
school in Paris
from 1945 to 1984. The present owner, André J. Cointreau
, purchased it from Brassart, who was an old family friend.
Brassart managed to attract many notable chefs to teach at the Le Cordon Bleu under her tenure. She was a dedicated, smart, astute businesswoman who gave the school its impeccable international reputation.
Madame Brassart had an extraordinary vision of the future of cooking. She understood before anybody that people around the world would enjoy not only their meals but also would enjoy cooking. The school was a very international school under her leadership. Students came from the USA, from Japan and around the world. She had at the school some of the best chefs at this time, among them the famous Pellaprat. She had an extraordinary sense of humor (That she used to manage her Chefs). She had renowned friends all around the world.
Madame Brassart managed the school until 1984, at the age of 87 she decided it was time to retire. She sold it to the present owner, André J. Cointreau. However, she has been painted unfavorably in several printed accounts, notably biographies of Julia Child
, who studied at the school under Brassart. Child was a below average student at the Cordon Bleu. Child frequently described Madame Brassart as a "nasty" woman.
In the 2009 film, Julie & Julia
, Brassart was portrayed by Joan Juliet Buck
in accordance to how Child described her. The movie has a caricatured version of her to dramatize a famous historical incident that Julia Child wrote about and others have repeated which certainly does not properly represent most people's memory of her. Shortly after the film's release, Nina Zagat, who also spent time at Le Cordon Bleu under Brassart, and her husband responded to the film's portrayal with an article comparing Brassart and Child, whom they both knew personally and stating that Brassart was more sympathetic in real life. "Having known both women, we can safely say that it's hard to imagine two less compatible people. Julia was tall and assertive with a loud, braying voice in English—one can only imagine what she sounded like in French. Madame Brassart, in contrast, was petite, elegant, and aristocratic, and spoke impeccable French and English, as well as several other languages. She also was an important figure in culinary education, having successfully led Le Cordon Bleu from the late '40s through 1985. As her niece, the distinguished ceramicist Martine Vermeulen, of Feu-Follet Pottery, reminded us just last night, she had the clearest skin and the most piercing blue eyes--"You could never put anything over on her, not with those eyes."From our point of view, Madame Brassart was much more sympathetic than portrayed in the film--she had a great sense of humor and could be very funny in an understated way ("Laughter was de rigueur with her," her niece said)--and her achievements as a culinary educator, much like Julia's, are indisputable.
Le Cordon Bleu
Le Cordon Bleu is the world's largest hospitality education institution, with 35 schools on five continents serving 20,000 students annually. Its primary education focus is on hospitality management and the culinary arts...
school in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
from 1945 to 1984. The present owner, André J. Cointreau
André J. Cointreau
André J. Cointreau is the president and CEO of l’Ecole de Cuisine et de Pâtisserie Le Cordon Bleu, better known as Le Cordon Bleu. During his tenure, he has shifted the Le Cordon Bleu business from one school in Paris to a multinational concern with nearly 30 schools in 15 countries.Cointreau is a...
, purchased it from Brassart, who was an old family friend.
Brassart managed to attract many notable chefs to teach at the Le Cordon Bleu under her tenure. She was a dedicated, smart, astute businesswoman who gave the school its impeccable international reputation.
Madame Brassart had an extraordinary vision of the future of cooking. She understood before anybody that people around the world would enjoy not only their meals but also would enjoy cooking. The school was a very international school under her leadership. Students came from the USA, from Japan and around the world. She had at the school some of the best chefs at this time, among them the famous Pellaprat. She had an extraordinary sense of humor (That she used to manage her Chefs). She had renowned friends all around the world.
Madame Brassart managed the school until 1984, at the age of 87 she decided it was time to retire. She sold it to the present owner, André J. Cointreau. However, she has been painted unfavorably in several printed accounts, notably biographies of Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
, who studied at the school under Brassart. Child was a below average student at the Cordon Bleu. Child frequently described Madame Brassart as a "nasty" woman.
"The truth is that Mme. Brassart and I got on each other's nerves. She seemed to think that awarding a student a diploma was like inducting them into some kind of secret society; as a result the school's hallways were filled with an air of petty jealousy and distrust. From my perspective, Mme. Brassart lacked professional experience, was a terrible administrator and tangled herself up in picayune details and politics..."- from My Life In FranceMy Life in FranceMy Life in France is an autobiography by Julia Child, published in 2006. It was compiled by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme, her husband's grandnephew, during the last eight months of her life, and completed and published by Prud'homme following her death in August 2004.In her own words, it is a...
, excerpted in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Feb. 19, 2006
In the 2009 film, Julie & Julia
Julie & Julia
Julie & Julia is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron starring Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Amy Adams, and Chris Messina...
, Brassart was portrayed by Joan Juliet Buck
Joan Juliet Buck
Joan Juliet Buck is an American writer, social critic, and actress. She was the editor in chief of French Vogue from 1994 to 2001.-Background:...
in accordance to how Child described her. The movie has a caricatured version of her to dramatize a famous historical incident that Julia Child wrote about and others have repeated which certainly does not properly represent most people's memory of her. Shortly after the film's release, Nina Zagat, who also spent time at Le Cordon Bleu under Brassart, and her husband responded to the film's portrayal with an article comparing Brassart and Child, whom they both knew personally and stating that Brassart was more sympathetic in real life. "Having known both women, we can safely say that it's hard to imagine two less compatible people. Julia was tall and assertive with a loud, braying voice in English—one can only imagine what she sounded like in French. Madame Brassart, in contrast, was petite, elegant, and aristocratic, and spoke impeccable French and English, as well as several other languages. She also was an important figure in culinary education, having successfully led Le Cordon Bleu from the late '40s through 1985. As her niece, the distinguished ceramicist Martine Vermeulen, of Feu-Follet Pottery, reminded us just last night, she had the clearest skin and the most piercing blue eyes--"You could never put anything over on her, not with those eyes."From our point of view, Madame Brassart was much more sympathetic than portrayed in the film--she had a great sense of humor and could be very funny in an understated way ("Laughter was de rigueur with her," her niece said)--and her achievements as a culinary educator, much like Julia's, are indisputable.