Antoine Beauvilliers

Antoine B. Beauvilliers was a French restaurateur who opened the first grand restaurant in Paris and wrote the cookbook L'Art du Cuisinier. Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin considers him the most important of the early restaurateurs, as "he was the first to have an elegant dining room, handsome well-trained waiters, a fine cellar and a superior kitchen." Beauvilliers is described as a "portly figure, his triple chin, his broad, joyous face, and the light that sparkles in his large grey eye." He dressed fashionably and carried a sword. His success was enhanced by his ability to "cater to and flatter rich patrons", attending to them personally and helping them with items on the menu; he had a prodigious memory and could recall a patron he had not seen in 20 years. He is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery.