Marie Antoinette, notably one of the most iconic royal figures in history, had a sweet tooth. Shocking, right? The queen is often reduced to a cake-loving figure, but her taste palette is much more diverse, so much so that her lavish spending on desserts earned her the title “Madame Deficit.” But what made her such a fan of sweets?
The Diet of a Queen
Contrary to the famous “Let them eat cake.” quote, Marie Antoinette never actually said it according to many historians. For one, Marie Antoinette would have most likely said “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”, which translates to “Let them eat brioche.” Not exactly cake, but brioche was still a high-end food item, something most French people at the time could not afford. Her famous quote is thought to be in response to being told that her starving peasant subjects had no bread. But, there’s no real evidence that suggests she ever said that.
So what was her diet like? For breakfast, she liked to indulge in hot chocolate and warm pastries. She was also particularly fond of croissants. Historians will say it’s one or the other. For lunch, she would eat a meal of meat or fish with vegetables each day. She preferred a simpler meal as opposed to the lavish food that was served in the castle. She often ate broth with vegetables as well as boiled or roasted white meat. Simple soups also became a regular meal for the queen. Additionally, the queen snacked throughout the day on foods that would be considered meals because of their portion size like cheese, macaroni, and vegetables cooked in cream.
Many believe her secret to keeping her slim figure despite her affinity for sweets was because of her light dinner. She would eat bone broth from leftover bones with vegetables and boiled chicken or guinea fowl. As for drinks, the queen was not fond of alcohol and much preferred to sip on lemonade or special water imported from Ville d’Avray. She liked orange blossom water as well which supposedly helped calm her nerves. The oranges that were used for the queen still grow in an orange grove in Versailles which you can still visit today!
Life of Sugar
To no surprise, her love for sweets extended beyond breakfast. She was obsessed with treats like petit fours, crystallized fruits, and wafers. The queen also loved chocolate, so much that she had her very own chocolatier in Versailles. Her favorite was liquid chocolate which she drank with whipped cream. She loved dipping her biscuits in lemonade and orange blossom water. If she wasn’t snacking on sweet treats alone, she shared the pastries with her circle of friends and companions.
Contrary to the beautiful cakes seen in the 2006 Marie Antoinette film directed by Sophia Coppola, the layered, intricately decorated cakes did not exist back then. Cakes in her time were often less decorated and extravagant. There was more of an emphasis on small desserts and pastries which the queen much preferred.
