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Procopio Cutò: Difference between revisions

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→Mid life: The birthplace of the Encyclopédie was at Procopio's café
→Mid life: His cafe turned France into a coffee-drinking society.
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=== Mid life ===
Procopio took up the skills to become a cook, possibly in [[Florence]] or [[Palermo]] on his [[trek]] to France.<ref name ="coffee94> Ukers, p. 94</ref> He [[apprentice]]d under the leadership of [[Armenian]] immigrants Pascal and Maliban.<ref name ="fitch43"> Fitch, p. 43 </ref> Procopio eventually moved to Paris around 1674.<ref name ="coffee94/> There he was a ''distillateur-limonaider'' and opened up a [[kiosk]], referred to as ''la loge de la limonade'', on Rue de Tournon between then and 1675.<ref name = "literary1"> Literary - Cafes of Paris by Noel Riley Fitch, Starrhill Press, Washington & Philadelphia </ref><ref name ="kiefer"> Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, August 2002, ''Economics and the Origin of the Restaurant'' by Nicholas M. Kiefer</ref>
 
Prior to Procopio arriving in France there were other "[[cafe|cafes/coffee houses]]" there, however they were not called "cafes" at the time.<ref name ="kiefer"/> Some were referred to as "the site of a lemonade", meaning they sold various cold drinks including [[lemonade]]. It seems that the Armenian immigrant Pascal was the first to call his [[boutique]] a "cafe" or coffee house where one drinks coffee.<ref name ="kiefer"/> His attempt at such a business on St. Germain Fair in Paris was not successful.<ref name ="kiefer"/> There was also one in [[Marseille]] in 1644 before Pascal and Procope that became defunct.<ref name ="kiefer"/> There was an unsuccessful attempt to open a "[[Levantine cuisine|Levatine]]" coffee house cafe "well" in Paris in 1643, however it failed (''En 1643 déjà un Levantin en avait bien ouvert un a Paris,… mais céla n’avait pas réussi'').<ref name ="kiefer"/> When Procopio opened his extant ''cafe'' in 1686 it was named "[[Le Procope]]", his nickname in French.<ref name ="portinari"/> It was referred to as an "antre" (cavern or cave) because it was dark inside and because of the strange poets that frequented the cafe.<ref name ="coffee94/>
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Procopio opened his cafe about the same time that the [[Comédie Française]] opened their doors.<ref name = "rothrock"/> Conveniently their theater business is located across the street from his cafe.<ref name = "rothrock"/> Procopio's cafe is considered the first true modern coffee house. <ref name ="restaurant"> ''Cafe Le Procope (still trading) is acknowledged as the first true coffee house and the oldest restaurant in Paris. [http://knol.google.com/k/peter-baskerville/the-historic-coffee-house/14j3i4hyjvi88/9 The Historic Coffee House] </ref> The cafe that Procopio started with serving drinks and food is the oldest Parisian restaurant.<ref name ="restaurant"/><ref> [http://www.paris-restaurants.net/procope-restaurant-paris.htm Guide to Paris restaurants] </ref><ref> [http://www.francetourisme.fr/uk/restaurant-le-procope.html LE PROCOPE RESTAURANT + PARIS BY NIGHT TOUR] </ref><ref> [http://www.paris-insider.com/attractions/le-procope-oldest-cafe-paris LE PROCOPE : THE OLDEST CAFE IN PARIS] </ref><ref> ''Restaurant Name: "Le Procope." Established in 1686, this is the oldest restaurant in Paris and the first coffee house of the world.'' [http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/2ce34/18308/2/ Le Procope: The oldest restaurant in Paris] </ref>
 
Procopio's cafe and "ice cream" establishment was one of the first in France to serve coffee which attracted many actors, writers, musicians, poets, philosophers, revolutionaries, statesmen, scientists, dramatists, stage artists, playwrites, literary critics and Americans to frequent his establishment.<ref name = "rothrock"/> It is considered the most famous and successful cafe in Paris.<ref name ="gelatohistory1"/><ref name ="gelatocream"/><ref> ''And over the last three centuries, Le Procope has been the meeting place for anyone who was anyone in the arts or the letters or the politics of Paris.'' [http://www.noworriesmate.com/Books/TWP_W01.htm First Walkabout] </ref> To fans of French history Procopio's business is considered ''the holy grail of Parisian cafes.''<ref> [http://carolyncholland.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/procope-cafe-paris-part-2/ PROCOPE CAFÉ, PARIS Part 2] </ref>
 
Procopio's café became a very popular cultural and political gathering place.<ref name ="mistergel"/> Certain notable people that frequented the cafe throughout history have been [[Voltaire]], [[Maximilien Robespierre]], [[Victor Hugo]], [[Paul Verlaine]], [[Honoré de Balzac]] [[Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais]], [[François-Marie Arouet]], [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], [[Alain-René Lesage]], [[Georges Danton]], [[Jean-Paul Marat]], [[Honoré de Balzac]] and [[Denis Diderot]].<ref name ="portinari"/> Even [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[Thomas Jefferson]], [[John Paul Jones]], [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] and [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] visited Procopio's cafe not only for coffee and intellectual conversations, but for gelato.<ref name ="gelatohistory"/><ref name ="coffee94/><ref name = "literary1"/> There are words above the door at Procopio's establishment that read: ''Cafe a la Voltaire''.<ref name = "rothrock"/> The birthplace of the [[Encyclopédie]], conceived by [[Denis Diderot]] and [[Jean le Rond d'Alembert]], is said to be at Procopio's café.<ref name = "literary1"/>
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