Moïse de Camondo was a lover of good food who devoted particular attention to his Kitchen, which is particularly spectacular. Today’s visitors can enter it straight from the hall, but staff and tradesmen used the service entrance, which opened onto a private passageway leading to the Boulevard Malesherbes.
Moïse de Camondo was a lover of good food who devoted particular attention to his Kitchen, which is particularly spectacular. The Kitchen is actually a series of basement rooms, organized for maximum efficiency. Today’s visitors can enter it straight from the hall, but staff and tradesmen used the service entrance, which opened onto a private passageway leading to the Boulevard Malesherbes.
The Kitchen itself – the focal point of the basement area – was fitted with the most sophisticated equipment of the time. It contains the impressive rotisserie and the large cooking range – two remarkable coal-fired appliances made of cast iron and polished steel that stayed warm all day. Manufactured by a firm called Cubain, they give the Kitchen a particular splendor.
The Kitchen walls and ceiling were tiled to make cleaning easier. With their modern design of cast iron, blue sheet metal and polished steel, the rotisserie and range stand out against the white tiles; the latter were were chosen to make the Kitchen as light as possible, with black lines to define the structure of the room. Two large windows in the service façade could be opened for ventilation; the tall windows on the garden side were designed not to open.
The Kitchen is located under the Dining Room, and is well insulated in a sort of concrete caisson (chamber) to prevent smells, heat and noise escaping.