Why Europe’s First Celebrity Chef Named His Dishes After the Rich and Famous

(via Atlas Obscura) Without Georges Auguste Escoffier, there could be no Gordon Ramsay. Escoffier has some claim to being not just the first celebrity chef, but the person to invent the concept, through a career that spanned decades, countries, and seven cookbooks. In the late 19th century, Escoffier set a precedent in which the chef came out of the kitchen and into the limelight.