Call Number:

Ms. Codex 2215

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

1 volumes

Language:

German and French

Date:

1909-1917, 1927-1940, 1950, 1952 (inclusive)

Form:

Menus, Notebooks, and Codices (bound manuscripts)

Abstract:

This notebook contains 73 menus written by Fran Schmid-Renner between 1909 and 1952, likely in Switzerland.

Nothing is known about this volume's creator, Fran Schmid-Renner, other than that they were likely from Switzerland and may have been a caterer, chef, or frequent host of family and professional events.

This volume contains a menu for a dinner given in honor of "General Willi" in 1915 (p. 38). This likely refers to General Ulrich Wille (1848-1925), a Swiss military leader and commander in chief of the Swiss army during World War I.

Due to the presence of guests like Willi, it seems as if these events might have been for guests of a higher class and relativly significant means.

Charlotte Russe is listed as the dessert on several of the menus in this volume. It is a French dessert made in a mold with ladyfingers and Bavarian cream. It is said to have been invented in the 18th century by Marie Antoine Careme (1784-1833). The dessert's name possibly refers to Careme's employer, Russian Czar Alexander I, and Alexander's sister-in-law, Queen Charlotte, Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

Sources:

Stradley, Linda. "Charlotte Russe Cake History." What's Cooking America, 8 Nov. 2016, https://whatscookingamerica.net/history/cakes/charlotterusse.htm#:~:text=18th%20Century%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Charlotte%20Russe,russe%E2%80%9D%20means%20Russian%20in%20French.

"Ulrich Wille." Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 1998, www.britannica.com/biography/Ulrich-Wille.

This composition-style notebook contains 73 menus written in German by Fran Schmid-Renner between 1909 and 1952, likely in Switzerland.

Each menu is dated and includes information about the event the menu is for and the number of people who will be or were present at the event. Almost all the menus include hors d'oeuvres, soups and other appetizers, entrees, desserts, and a fruit and cheese course. Many of the entrée options include both a chicken and beef option with rice, risotto, or salad. Several menus also feature a fish entrée. While the volume is written primarily in German, several of the menu items are written in French.

Examples of the events include generalversammlung (general meetings), hochzeitsessen (wedding breakfasts), and verlobungsessen (engagement dinners).

Schmid-Renner identified the majority of the couples and their event dates in the wedding and engagement menus. Examples of these couples include the 1908 wedding between Helene Adam and Alois Huber; the 1909 weddings between Marie Siegward and Josepf Schmid and Josephine Gisler and Rudolf Huber; and the 1912 wedding between Kathe Schmid and Hauptmann Schmidt.

There are also menus for numerous dinner events and meetings for Electricitatswerke Rathasmen Altdorf (Rathasmen Electricity Works in Altdorf), Jakobiner Bruduschafts (Jacobin Brotherhood), and schitzenmeister (shooting master).

The volume is written in German but was likely created in Switzerland due to references to Altdorf and Basel throughout the volume.