French cuisine harvests occurred. Marie-Antoine Carême was born in 1784, five years before the Revolution. He spent his younger years working at a "pâtisserie" until he was discovered by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, who would later cook for Napoleon Bonaparte. Prior to his employment with Talleyrand, Carême had become known for his "pièces montées", which were extravagant constructions of pastry and sugar architecture. More important to Carême's career was his contribution to the refinement of French cuisine. The basis for his style of cooking was his sauces, which he named mother sauces. Often referred to as fonds, meaning "foundations", these base sauces,
French cuisine of 10:00 pm and 11:00 pm. Some restaurants close for dinner on Sundays. In French cuisine, beverages that precede a meal are called apéritifs (literally: "that opens the appetite"), and can be served with amuse-bouches (literally: "mouth amuser"). Those that end it are called digestifs. The apéritif varies from region to region: Pastis is popular in the south of France, Crémant d'Alsace in the eastern region. Champagne can also be served. Kir, also called "Blanc-cassis", is a common and popular apéritif-cocktail made with a measure of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) topped up with white wine. The phrase "Kir Royal"