THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

Abandoned by destitute parents at the height of the French Revolution, Careme was apprenticed to a well-known patissier, and by his teenage years, he was fashioning edible replicas of the world’s most famous buildings – crumbled confectionary ruins of ancient Athens, and pies in the shape of ancient Chinese fortresses and temples.  He made Napoleon’s wedding cake, and is credited with inventing the Chocolate Eclair.  “The fine arts are five in number, namely: painting, sculpture, poetry, music and architecture,” he said. “The principal branch of the latter being pastry.”

see Jankowski/npr, 2017