"MADAME BEGu£n quuting from aD ~ ~ i 'Lten y No.. O~leans f chronicle):'
Hsroett Kane . "ttJas a lady 1 nown for he! ~reat l.e ..... tClur8n.t in the middle 1800 "
For yea:t's ~ $he operated a restaul1ant on old Levee Stl"~et (now Decatur) at
Madison o.pposi te the r~:'ench Market.. Ini·J-ial1y it, hel:' ~_ e:;:r~ aurant \\}CiS a butcher'l s
eating place... Daily the butchers 't"ith thei)~ helpr:-I'S and \~Jives stopped work and
trouped over to BEGUE'S for luncheon aho dinners.. tV<1.i\DM·1.t. BEGUe \'7Quld often
be een marching out into the d:tnin~ rOO;fi h Id j n·.; a pIt. tter of redfi" h in
Creole Sauce cooked in i,tJin , and v7i-th it potatoes in ' ·nuttel.. Nh2n it '-Jag all ·
ove!l one would realize why a meal at BE :1UE 1 S t'las 20 ~L"teat. Tt .
It \~as at the time f -the Cotton Exposition ~n lYB2 that DEGUE' S Wo.
discovered by the carriage triade.. Could they join _he butchers? They -'Jould
pay anythinq;! l,t fil"st lIGOn' tl1as made for CJ fe~t} theerl for more.. Eventually
all of the place was bein~ reserved fo weeKS in aevance.. MADI-Y.'1E BEGUE passed
away in 1906 and the restau:'lant continued to 0i!el"ste s._cces .. ,fully llnti.l its
demise about 1916 • .. • the saJne y ar that tht? old S int Lou.:L:i Hotel ceased to
exist where the ROYAL ORLEANS tands today.
tiTe h ·v€ chosen to resurzrec-· this, rest old name • .. .. EGUE' S.. ru:r.ther ~
we h£lve chosen to dl"'OP the expl"l€ssio n H~l~Df.J.tlEtr . M..l.\DMffi BEGUE $ no longeifl living;.."
could never make an appe ranee should any of ou~ clie .l~~le request her prEsence ~
MADP14E BEGUE f S has lonr.; since fallen into the cateq;ory of a legendary Net+]
o lean r~staurant. It is ur ihtent! n to r 9' ~l"'ect some of the mannel" and
atmosphere and certainly most of the food pl'epal:: tions that once existed during
t-1ADArJ1E BEGUE T S e-X!'i.t oj Inter!:stinq;ly! there are many eye t"litnesses livinr; in Net~
Orleans ''iho remember MADAME BEGUE f S • All epea <. rr.lo\\1in~;ly about their dining
expel" .enc ~; at her restaurant on Decatu S-tl'teet ~ Ahundc:.nt numbers of celeb:~l.ti.es
of that era made j.t a point: to dine at t1ADj\jJlE BEGUE t S .. There is in existence
an . old viaitol'J ~ s rer?;is·ter t~here one m· y /:V~\lJ the eviden~es of such vl.sitation "
Eugene Fiel.d-. wrote:
"I'm vei'y proud LO te~tify~
-the happie t of my days
is March 11, '95:)
dining at BEGUEtS .. Tf
Our modern day BEGUE'S is beii1~~ p: esented -to the .ublic u justifiably as :
We h~·~'\'e t~}{ n t1.7.emendou effolTt d r ng n nthCl r "1'-'e,-s and 'hcuX' to "*eB€,~;h. ~ h
ana thentic Creel. cui, in ~ ifi't:h pal"·~icuJ..ar empha~i n (,;~ ole :fo'- ] pt'eparatione
(
~iADAME BEGUE rs restaurant "~a$ ha ically a Creole Rest rant offerin~ Creole
food preparati.ons. Consequently, our BEGUE'S ia a ....
c mOLE SPECIALITY RESTAURANT ..
tve are ' in no sense of the tJlord .. co " a FI1ench Res·taurant" Nor are we a
Be~f Speciality Restaurant in the sense that we have operated the RIB ROOM
at the ROYAL ORrJEANS. Also~ we are essentially a SEAFOOD SPECIALITY RESTAUltANT
with poultryl:! beef and other i.-terns being offered •
. The most important elements we wish to project in OU1" service manner is\
PERSONABLENESS. and PRG."1PTITUDE. The elements of NEA'l'NESS t ATTENTIVENESS AND
Il\rrERES'l'EDNESS are important also.. However., by and large ll our clientele will
want to be assisted to purchase food at BEGUE'S . (as he \l;ould a good suit) by
a· FRIENDLY .... Q COURTEOUS ... " WELl, BRED 0 .... SEi:;f RESPECTING ..... HUMAN
BEING and to have his food and drink delivered to him \tilth promptitude ~ care
and good manners. Our guests will not want a fraudulent or poorly presented
sel"'Vice that imitates a cultural society wh:ich has long since 9;one by. It is
throu~h personableness, promptitude and friendliness ", that waiters .. guests
and mana~~rs will filD a common ground for under8t8ndin~ and satisfaction.
BEGUE;S should not be considered a lux.urious or. elegant restauran"t t~ith
a p~rticu..larly luxurious or elegant service style.. \ve must identify with an
indi~enous American food servi ~ • • 0 wh5.ch means informality to the extent
tha·t it: should completely eliminate any highly uncomfortable feeling (s~
common in restaurants) 0 •• OF THE SERVER AND THE BEING SERVEDo
BEGUE' S ~Jill be m rketing trad:i.tion • ' . the tradj.tion of Creole Food
Preparations to what has to be termed a Contemporary Audienceo Our task is
Omle of adapting such styles in both service and cuisine techniques to our
roodern day client needs 0 If the expression n<!legsnce t'I should be used at all ~
it should be used in the context of rustic or provincial eleganceo At bestt;<
the Creole Society 't113S a ploneel" Slciety thai: attempted to adapt Old World
graciousness and warrath to a beckwoode cultu!?e ..
Ftn:wth~x' ~ our respon.sibility is one of achievin~:
EXCELI~CE
Ex~ellence of Product
Excellence in Service
E~cel1ence in Atmoephe~e (!nteriors and Bnvirons)
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