In June 1786 the Provost of Paris issued a decree giving the new kind of eating establishment official status, authorizing "restaurateurs" to receive clients and to offer them meals until eleven in the evening in winter and midnight in summer. Ambitious cooks from noble households began to open more elaborate eating places. The first luxury restaurant in Paris, the Taverne Anglaise, was opened at the Palais-Royal at the beginning of 1786, shortly before the French Revolution, by Antoine Beauvilliers, the former chef of the Count of Provence, It had mahogany tables, linen tablecloths, chandeliers, well-dressed and trained waiters, a long wine list and an extensive menu of elaborately prepared and presented dishes.