A room that served as a kitchen at the château de Chambord from 1782 has been opened to the public. It was only used as a kitchen for a few years, because the French Revolution of 1789 plunged the country and Chambord into chaos. King Louis XVI, who had the kitchen set up, met his demise in Paris, along with queen Marie-Antoinette.
According to the sign posted in the kitchen, the fireplace dates back to the 16th century, when the château was built. The kitchen was re-configured in the 19th century, when a mezzanine-level floor was removed and the beams were used in the restoration of other parts of the château.
The kitchen was restored starting in 2015, with the main purpose of preserving the room itself, the old fireplace, and 18th-century tables and other pieces of furniture that remained.
The 18th-century copperware was recently acquired by the château de Chambord from various sources, including collections in Paris, and other objects are on loan from a museum in Bordeaux.
Excavations at Chambord, mostly in the old latrines, turned up sandstone and earthenware plates, bowls, and platters, as well as broken bottles and glasses that had been discarded in the 1700s.
It is interesting to note that even broken dinnerware has its place in a famous chateau. I have some complete broken 18th century dinnerware I could give them!
ReplyDeleteHi Ken. As agreed a couple of weeks ago, I am contacting you again about meeting up while Dave and I are in Saint-Aignan as we would like to thank you for your helpfulness during the floods last year. We would still love to meet you both but know things have changed so much recently as you are now grieving the loss of your wonderful Callie.
ReplyDeleteIf you still feel able to pop down here to the campsite, then any time this week would suit us up until Saturday providing we know when. After Saturday our daughter will be joining us so life gets much more complicated. We have a prime riverside pitch with gorgeous views if you wish to bring your camera and Tasha would be welcome too. We will, however, quite understand if you prefer not at this time.
We have got a little book for you both which we would very much like you to have now. It is all about Shelties: the history of the breed their characteristics and practical information concerning their appearance, health and behaviour. There is a chapter on puppies too. It was written some years ago by one of the most respected Sheltie breeders and we have found it a useful guide over the years. So I sourced you a copy through Amazon when we knew you were having Natasha. We hope you will find your copy as useful and interesting as we have ours.
So, while still hoping to arrange a time to meet-up later this week, we are wondering, if you aren’t able to come down how to get the book to you?
Would you prefer to meet up somewhere else, nearer to you?
Or perhaps we could drop it in to yours with a little guidance to the right house?
Or we could leave it at the Reception Office at Les Cochards for you to collect?
What will suit you best? I will check the blog comments for your reply or you can email to suecee2015@gmail.com if you prefer. Looking forward to hearing back.
Hi Sue, Natasha is not yet leash trained and not car trained either. We did take her out for a car ride this morning but she threw up after a few minutes of riding. And we don't leave the puppy alone at this point.
DeleteSo what if I just come over one day this week by myself, around 11 a.m., to meet you? Would Wednesday work? Thanks for bringing the book — it will be interesting and helpful. Walt will wait to meet you another time. If Weds. doesn't work, let's find another time.
I hope you two didn't suffer too much during the heat wave last week. We are pretty exhausted — hot weather, company including house guests, and right in the middle of it all Callie having to be put down. What a month this has been... Ken
Oh, we loved the kitchens in both Chambord and Chenonceau -- all of that copper!
ReplyDeleteJust you coming down sounds fine with us and Wednesday is good around 11am.. Thanks for making the time to meet us.
ReplyDeleteWe are at the side of the Cher on pitch 26 in a medium sized English caravan, cream in colour and with a satellite dish on a tripod in front of it. We will not be hard to find as there are still very few campers here during the week at the moment - the French families all turn up en masse at the weekends full of excitement and children! Then the site goes to sleep again on Sunday evening. Come regardless of the weather as there is room to sit in the van if the rumoured rain arrives.
We managed ok in the heatwave although couldn't really go anywhere. Our pitch had a slight breeze off the river throughout the days, which helped. No air-con in the van but we have an electric fan and a barbecue so we live to tell the tale.
The R. Cher, as I expect you know, is under a new management policy and must be allowed to go wild again - back to nature. So sandbanks have formed and are growing by the day and we are teasing Ludovic that he will soon be able to advertise that he has a "beach". It must however be a catastrophe for the Base Nautuque next door as there is now very little depth of water.
See you Wednesday, Sue
I still can't believe I had the honor of being there... I went to culinary school in the Loire Valley and Chef Bond took us to the castle on a trip ... We had the chance to see the kitchens before the restorations... And where Marie Antoine Careme actually cooked... I absolutely loved my time there... I hope to return one day soon!❤️
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