Natural history knows three great stomachs: the shark, the duck and Victor Hugo.
“Natural history knows three great stomachs: the shark, the duck and Victor Hugo. »
Charles-Augustin SAINTE-BEUVE (1804-1869), quoted in Les Contemplations gourmandes, Florian V. Hugo, great-great-great-grandson in direct line.
Author and famous critic with a hard tooth, Sainte-Beuve claimed to have seen with his own eyes his illustrious colleague making on his plate fabulous mixtures of chops, beans in oil, beef with tomato sauce, omelette with ham, coffee with milk seasoned with a little vinegar, mustard and Brie cheese, all swallowed indiscriminately very quickly and for a very long time.
He had a very personal recipe to aid in the digestion of his gargantuan meals: at the end of lunch, he had a piece of charcoal brought to him on a plate, which he chewed whole to destroy the "corruptions, miasmas and pestilences". of his stomach. »
We can better identify Hugo, a lover of good food (and flesh): "He ate as he embraced life: passionately and not always with finesse", describes his descendant.
In the morning, he swallowed eggs for breakfast. He often devoured chops or beef in sauce after asparagus as a starter. Not to mention the soups.
“My ancestor was a big eater. A man more greedy than gourmet. He wanted to see a lot of dishes on the table to scribble on, as he said: he dipped into all the dishes and ate a bit of everything. »
He loved lobster devoured in its shell, or oranges crunched on the skin. “He didn't like fuss, as we say back home in Marseille. This is where Florian V. Hugo grew up, beginning his law studies… before branching off into the kitchen.
