NAM.2003-09-24-1

Alexis Soyer (1810-1858), 1840 (c). Bronze bust, by Louis Gardie (b.1796, active 1850-1871), 1860 (c). Bronze head and shoulders portrait bust of the celebrated chef and inventor of the Soyer stove. The bust is after a portrait of Soyer by [Elizabeth] Emma Soyer, the sitter's wife (1813-1842). Associated with the Crimean War (1854-1856). Appointed Chef to the Reform Club in 1837, Alexis Soyer (1810-1858) was one of the most famous French cooks of the nineteenth century. However, it is for his remarkable efforts to feed the poor during the Irish potato famine of 1847 and as the inventor of the Soyer Stove that he is chiefly remembered today. In 1855, at his own expense, and equipped with letters of introduction from Lord Panmure, Soyer travelled to the Seat of the War in the East with the object of instructing the Army on how to cook their rations properly. Working with Florence Nightingale, Soyer reorganised the diets of the British Army hospitals in Scutari, Constantinople and Balaklava; he was also responsible for improving conditions for the soldiers in the field by means of his revolutionary stove, which enabled them to cook their rations in any weather conditions, using only a small amount of fuel.

Crimean War (1854-1856)