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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
[[File:Café Procope 2.jpg|thumb|left|Founded [[Café Procope]] in Paris 1686]]
[[File:Café Procope 2.jpg|thumb|left|Founded [[Café Procope]] in Paris 1686]]
Procopio, of nobility, was born near [[Mount Etna]] in Sicily.<ref> THE CAFE PROCOPE by Addison May Rothrock; Lippincott's Monthly Magazine (1886-1915); Jun 1906; 77, 462; American Periodicals Series Online, pg. 702</ref> He received his name of ''dei Coltelli'' from the French, who misunderstood his Sicilian family name of Cutò, which is homonymous with ''couteaux'', " knives" in French. Hence, translating back into Italian gives ''Procopio dei Coltelli'' the other name he is known by.<ref name ="portinari"/>
Procopio of nobility was born near [[Mount Etna]] in Sicily.<ref name ="portinari"/><ref name = "rothrock"> THE CAFE PROCOPE by Addison May Rothrock; Lippincott's Monthly Magazine (1886-1915); Jun 1906; 77, 462; American Periodicals Series Online, pg. 702</ref> He received his name of ''dei Coltelli'' from the French, who misunderstood his Sicilian family name of Cutò, which is homonymous with ''couteaux'', " knives" in French. Hence, translating back into Italian gives ''Procopio dei Coltelli'' the other name he is known by.<ref name ="portinari"/>


Procopio married Marguerite Crouin around 1675 in the church of Saint Sulpice Crouin. The marriage record shows the witnesses as his parents, Onofrio and Semarqua Sunday. Together they had eight children during their long marriage before Procopio became a widower.<ref name ="scirocco"> Marcello Messina, "The café Le Procope" in Scirocco, Year 3, Nov. / Dec. 2003, pp. 19-21</ref>
Procopio married Marguerite Crouin around 1675 in the church of Saint Sulpice Crouin. The marriage record shows the witnesses as his parents, Onofrio and Semarqua Sunday. Together they had eight children during their long marriage before Procopio became a widower.<ref name ="scirocco"> Marcello Messina, "The café Le Procope" in Scirocco, Year 3, Nov. / Dec. 2003, pp. 19-21</ref>
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Procopio opened his cafe about the same time that the [[Comédie Française]] opened their doors. Conveniently their business was located across the street from his. Procopio's cafe and "ice cream" establishment was the first in France to serve coffee which attracted many actors, writers, musicians, poets, philosophers, revolutionaries, statesmen, scientists, dramatists, stage artists, playwrites, literary critics and Americans to frequent his establishment. To fans of French history Procopio's business is considered ''the holy grail of Parisian cafes.''<ref> [http://carolyncholland.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/procope-cafe-paris-part-2/ PROCOPE CAFÉ, PARIS Part 2] </ref>
Procopio opened his cafe about the same time that the [[Comédie Française]] opened their doors. Conveniently their business was located across the street from his. Procopio's cafe and "ice cream" establishment was the first in France to serve coffee which attracted many actors, writers, musicians, poets, philosophers, revolutionaries, statesmen, scientists, dramatists, stage artists, playwrites, literary critics and Americans to frequent his establishment. To fans of French history Procopio's business is considered ''the holy grail of Parisian cafes.''<ref> [http://carolyncholland.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/procope-cafe-paris-part-2/ PROCOPE CAFÉ, PARIS Part 2] </ref>


Procopio's café became a very popular cultural and political gathering place. Certain notable people that frequented the cafe throughout history have been [[Voltaire]], [[Maximilien Robespierre]], [[Victor Hugo]], [[Paul Verlaine]], [[Honoré de Balzac]] [[Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais]], [[François-Marie Arouet]], [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], [[Alain-René Lesage]], [[Georges Danton]], [[Jean-Paul Marat]], [[Honoré de Balzac]] and [[Denis Diderot ]].<ref name ="portinari"/> Even [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[John Paul Jones]] visited Procopio's cafe not only for coffee and intellectual conversations, but for gelato.<ref name ="gelatohistory"/><ref name ="coffee94/>
Procopio's café became a very popular cultural and political gathering place. Certain notable people that frequented the cafe throughout history have been [[Voltaire]], [[Maximilien Robespierre]], [[Victor Hugo]], [[Paul Verlaine]], [[Honoré de Balzac]] [[Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais]], [[François-Marie Arouet]], [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], [[Alain-René Lesage]], [[Georges Danton]], [[Jean-Paul Marat]], [[Honoré de Balzac]] and [[Denis Diderot ]].<ref name ="portinari"/> Even [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[Thomas Jefferson]] and [[John Paul Jones]] visited Procopio's cafe not only for coffee and intellectual conversations, but for gelato.<ref name ="gelatohistory"/><ref name ="coffee94/> There are words above the door at the establishment that read: ''Cafe a la Voltaire''.<ref name = "rothrock"/>


=== Later life ===
=== Later life ===

Revision as of 21:43, 19 May 2009

Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli
BornFebruary 9th, 1651
Palermo or Aci Trezza, France
DiedFebruary 10, 1727
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
OccupationFrench entrepreneur

Procopio Cutò, or Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli was the Sicilian chef who had learned the culinary business as his career trade,[1] and, billing himself as a modern Procopius founded in 1686 what has become the oldest extant cafe in Paris, Cafe Procope.[2] It became the first literary coffeehouse. The cafe-restaurant for over 200 years attracted notables in the world of arts, politics and literature.[3]

Biography

Founded Café Procope in Paris 1686

Procopio of nobility was born near Mount Etna in Sicily.[1][4] He received his name of dei Coltelli from the French, who misunderstood his Sicilian family name of Cutò, which is homonymous with couteaux, " knives" in French. Hence, translating back into Italian gives Procopio dei Coltelli the other name he is known by.[1]

Procopio married Marguerite Crouin around 1675 in the church of Saint Sulpice Crouin. The marriage record shows the witnesses as his parents, Onofrio and Semarqua Sunday. Together they had eight children during their long marriage before Procopio became a widower.[5]

Early life

Growing up so close to the mountain he played in the snow when he was a boy, typical of children worldwide that are in the northern or mountainous regions where there is snowfall. At that time period the snow was mixed with fruit juices and honey to make a type of sorbet. This type of "ice cream" was eaten by both rich aristocrats and by peasants.[1] This is where Procopio got the idea to develop out gelato. The history of gelato shows Procopio as a most influential person to promote this new food.[6] He was one of the first to sell this new product of Europe to the public.[7]

Procopio was a pioneer in the Italian gelato business.[8]

Procopio worked first as a fisherman like his father Onofrio. His grandfather Francesco, becoming part of his name, was also a fisherman from Acitrezza. It turned out that his grandfather built sorbet machines part time, when he was not fishing. Francesco eventually left his invention to Procopio as an inheritance. Procopio tinkered with his grandfather's "ice cream" machine making various improvements. Procopio eventually felt that he had developed a machine that would produce gelato on a large scale and decided to promote the new product. He left Sicily and went to France by way of Italy.[9]

Mid life

Procopio took up the skills to become a cook, possibly in Florence or Palermo on his trek to France.[10] He apprenticed under the leadership of Armenian immigrants Pascal and Maliban.[11] Procopio eventually moved to Paris in 1685 and obtained French citizenship.[10] There in 1686 he opened up a kiosk in the heart of Paris and called it "Le Procope", his nickname in French.[1] At first he was a lemonade vender (limonadier).[10] Procopio had learned in about 1680 how to make a beverage of ice made of lemonade using salt to lower its temperature.[12] Procopio had a special royal license from the king to sell spices, ice drinks, barley water and his improved version of the Italian "ice cream" gelato.[13] This gave him exclusive rights to these products.[13] He soon added coffee to his refreshments' list and the kiosk became a coffee house cafe.[10] It was the first cafe in Paris and still exists today, over 300 years later.[14]

Procopio introduced gelato at his cafe.[15] He is one of the first to sell this new European product directly to the public.[16] He is sometimes referred to as "The Father of Italian gelato".[17]

Procopio opened his cafe about the same time that the Comédie Française opened their doors. Conveniently their business was located across the street from his. Procopio's cafe and "ice cream" establishment was the first in France to serve coffee which attracted many actors, writers, musicians, poets, philosophers, revolutionaries, statesmen, scientists, dramatists, stage artists, playwrites, literary critics and Americans to frequent his establishment. To fans of French history Procopio's business is considered the holy grail of Parisian cafes.[18]

Procopio's café became a very popular cultural and political gathering place. Certain notable people that frequented the cafe throughout history have been Voltaire, Maximilien Robespierre, Victor Hugo, Paul Verlaine, Honoré de Balzac Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, François-Marie Arouet, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Alain-René Lesage, Georges Danton, Jean-Paul Marat, Honoré de Balzac and Denis Diderot .[1] Even Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Paul Jones visited Procopio's cafe not only for coffee and intellectual conversations, but for gelato.[9][10] There are words above the door at the establishment that read: Cafe a la Voltaire.[4]

Later life

Procopio married a second time in 1696 as an elderly man and fathered five more children with Anne Françoise Garnier. He was married a third time in 1717 to Julie Parmentier and had another son.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Portinari
  2. ^ Restaurant Le Procope founded in 1686
  3. ^ Paris - Café Procope
  4. ^ a b THE CAFE PROCOPE by Addison May Rothrock; Lippincott's Monthly Magazine (1886-1915); Jun 1906; 77, 462; American Periodicals Series Online, pg. 702
  5. ^ a b Marcello Messina, "The café Le Procope" in Scirocco, Year 3, Nov. / Dec. 2003, pp. 19-21
  6. ^ Pease Pudding
  7. ^ Histor of gelato
  8. ^ My Guide to Italy (Ice Cream) by Felix Petrelli
  9. ^ a b Gelato history by Gianpaolo Grazioli
  10. ^ a b c d e Ukers, p. 94
  11. ^ Fitch, p. 43
  12. ^ "A history of inventions and discoveries. By John Beckmann, ... Translated from German by William Johnston. ..." Vol.3. London, 1797. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale. Library of Congress. 19 May 2009
  13. ^ a b Kopfer, p. 12
  14. ^ Portinari, It was the first café in Paris and is still open and active today.
  15. ^ Galeto found commercial success in France in 1686, where it was created by Sicilian Francesco Procopio dei Cotelli at Cafe Procope in Paris. Gelato! By Pamela Sheldon Johns
  16. ^ Angelati Italia Gelato in Al Dente
  17. ^ Moramarco, p. 208 The father of Italian gelato is Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, a Sicilian aristocrat who established a chain of coffee houses throughout Europe in the late seventeenth century.
  18. ^ PROCOPE CAFÉ, PARIS Part 2

Sources

  • Fitch, Noël Riley et al, The Grand Literary Cafes of Europe, New Holland Publishers, 2006, ISBN 1-8453711-4-3
  • Moramarco, Stephen, Italian Pride: 101 Reasons to Be Proud You're Italian, Citadel Press, 2000, ISBN 1-5597251-2-5
  • Portinari, Folco, Voglia di gelato, Milano, Idea Libri, 1987, ISBN 8-8708211-3-7.
  • Ukers, William H., All About Coffee - The Project Gutenberg EBook
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