As the Gastronome Turns OR What's a Mother to do?

This is my fictional account of the origins of the mother sauces. I like to think of all the mother sauces as quintuplet sisters just starting out of a pristine French Convent school and going out into the world to spread their wings. As they travel through Europe and into the Americas they have adventures, they have relationships, they marry and have daughters or sons. Their children continue in the spirit of their mother's to have their own adventures...

Velouté:
Velouté left France and her sisters and headed right for America. She landed in Charleston (or so the rumor goes) and after a lot of introductions fell in love and married a wealthy plantation owner, a rice farmer, rancher and businessman. Velouté happily took her married name and duties seriously. Here in the south we more commonly know her as GRAVY. Veloute loved to cook! She found herself with many workers on the farm and ranch. She got up early just like at the convent, to make a hearty breakfast for all of the laborers and her husband before the day's work began. Sometimes packing little pies in satchels for her husband and the day laborers to enjoy for lunch. She was and still is loved by many for this.

Velouté also loved entertaining and dinner parties; evenings at the house were spent entertaining friends and family. She would take in roasting large cuts of meats and mashed potatoes she’d dress them with her signature self.

In the early 60’s Velouté had left her husband for a while and went to New York and Vegas due to an unfortunate obsession with the Rat Pack. Calling herself, "Vel," she found herself on many menus in the late 50’s and 60’s dressing up chicken breast cut into chunks and sold to many as Chicken Fricassee. She returned to her husband soon after and went right back to her married name.


Béchamel:

Béchamel loved life and hated the convent school. She left France and headed straight to Italy. Outside of the Alps and leaving Sienna, she had a brief tryst in the Italian Piedmont district with a young man named “Reggi” on a dairy farm. This dalliance left her with fond memories and a swollen belly. She and Reggiano had a son whom she named Alfredo. Alfredo remained in Italy with his father, but some of his romances with various shapes of pasta have travelled extensively.

Despite a child out of wedlock, and lots of talk and photos in the Paris Match, Béchamel continued her travels. While in England she met an English Lord, also on a dairy farm. Deeply in love and to the dismay of the French populis, she married Lord Cheddar and had a daughter named Mornay.

Mornay grew up, married Lord Worcestershire and they in turn moved to Louisiana. Shortly there after, Mornay left Lord Worcestershire for a man named Kraft whom she met at a party in Boston, she was with child at the time and gave birth to a son named Cheese.

Cheese grew up visiting his biological father in Louisiana, but was primarily raised in New York City and Chicago with his mother and step father. On a visit to Key West with his mother he met a young man of Italian American decent named Mac. Discovering a deep love of musical theatre the two became inseparable. Mac & Cheese became one of the most successful pairings since Chocolate & Peanut butter. They plan to marry in California later this year. Loved by ultra conservatives to small children, they easily adapt to any region or area they find themselves in.


Hollandaise:

Hollandaise left the convent school and headed to Provence. She had fallen in love with the region on a school trip and felt immediately at ease and at home there. Though planning to live in Citron, she met her first love in Aix. He was the son of a farmer and his name was Tarragon. They married quickly and had a daughter Béarnaise.

Béarnaise hated Provence, farms, fish and old people; she wanted to be in Monaco but after getting into too much trouble there, Hollandaise sent her to live with her Aunt Béchamel in New York. Living with Béchamel and Cheese, Béarnaise appeared to settle down. She and Cheese got along famously. They took a road trip to New Orleans to visit his father in Louisiana and partake in Mardi Gras. Once in New Orleans she promptly ditched Cheese and headed out on the town. After a long night of partying in the French Quarter, Béarnaise slept with a Chef named Tom Atopaste. This resulted in a daughter, she named Choron.

Hollandaise left France for Louisiana when her grand daughter, Choron was born. Hollandaise took Choron with her everywhere and easily befriended most everyone she met in New Orleans. Much to Béarnaise’s chagrin her mother had a buttery voice and the figure to match that never failed to lure in admirers. As a direct result, Eggs Benedict became incredibly popular with the brunch crowd.

Espagnole:

Espagnole was the eldest sister. Where as her other sisters were voluptious and smooth, Espagnole took many of her Fathers traits with her. She was strong, well balanced, a great personality and was clearly the most intelligent of the brood. When school ended she felt at home and sought to stay in the convent, much to the dismay of her sisters. At their urging to travel, not just read about places, she reluctantly agreed. Closing her eyes she waved her finger in the air and landed on the map for her first stop. Buenas Aires, Argentina!

Travelling through Argentina she met a Gaucho with traits like her father, the idea of the convent was history and she said I do. They bought their own ranch near a vineyard and settled down. Shortly thereafter, their son Demi-Glace was born.

Demi was the best of each of them, ruggedly handsome like his father, full bodied, intelligent and a great personality, a bit roguish in a charming way. In fact while Espagnole and her gaucho husband were happy to stay on the cattle ranch in Argentina, Demi joined his cousins in exploring the world.

In fact it’s safe to say that Demi got around. No matter where or when he was definitely the life of the party, it wasn’t hard to see how he made his way through all of Europe in what seemed like the blink of an eye. He came to America visiting New York, New Orleans and Chicago. He even tried his hand at acting in Hollywood. Demi almost settled down with young woman in Provence named Mustarde Dijon while visiting his Aunt Hollandaise. Though the relationship did not last, it ended amiably and gave his parents a grandson, Robert.


Tomato:

Tomato is the sweetest, sexiest and most robust of her sisters. Tomato left convent school and followed Béchamel to Italy. Because Béchamel did not want her “little sister” tagging along, she ditched her in Tuscany. Tomato found herself lost and alone. In the Piedmont she heard Béchamel was seeing a young man on a dairy farm. Reggi was no help and all hands. So, Tomato found herself exploring Italy on her own. She formed a band with friends she made, Basil and Oregano, and they toured around calling themselves Marinara. They were extremely well known for their “Extra Virgin” tour. They are in fact the number one group of one hit wonders of all time with Garlic Minced Me Up! Since disbanding, various forms of pasta from Fusilli to Tagliatelle have used Garlic… as covers.

Tomato travelled to Sicily and hung out with a guy named Caper for awhile. It was a dark time for her and while pregnant she hung out with some “savory” Italians and lived in a dingy apartment in a bad neighborhood near the docks. She had a daughter named Puttanesca which she left on Caper’s doorstep in the middle of the night. She met a guy on the docks in Sicily headed east on a spice boat and landed in India. She left India for China and snuck her way over rugged terrain back into Western Europe. At a bar one night in Prague she was abducted by a crazed fan and woke up in a creamery somewhere in Russia.

Having lost touch with many of her sisters, and needing to get her life back together she sold her rights to Marinara’s music and got on a plane for New York. When she got to America she heard that Hollandaise and Béchamel were visiting New Orleans, so off she went. While in the French Quarter with her sisters she was recognized by a young Cajun Chef recently returned from Europe as the lead singer of Marinara. Since he knew Hollandaise he asked her to introduce them. Though successful in wooing her, Tomato was not the settling down type. They did have a daughter named Creole whom stayed with her father in New Orleans.

Tomato found her way to Memphis following a blues and jazz guitarist, called himself Rib Bone. Rib bone took her to Chicago where she left him for a romp with an oil man and rancher named Briskett. Briskett took her to Kansas City and then he took her back home to Texas. And in Texas she almost got married…Tomato fled for Mexico as fear of commitment settled in. She began instead a personal odyssey searching for a long lost family lineage.
Outside of Mexico City she met an Aztec descendant named Xocolatl. She was immediately smitten, and their relationship was full of passion and spice. They’re daughter Mole was born. Later Tomato became involved with another man named Chipotle whom she hired to lead her expedition to trace her lineage; they had a child as well, a son called Adobo. On this expedition she at last found the relatives she had been looking for: an old sage woman named Salsa and her daughter Salsa Fresca. Tomato returned to Italy where she now sings with former band mates. Mole and Adobo travel extensively through Mexico, the American Southwest, and Chicago.