La Confrérie De La Chaîne Des Rôtisseurs
Post-World War II France was rebuilding its physical and cultural infrastructure when La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs was resurrected during Easter 1950. Founded way back in 1248, the original incarnation of the La Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, or Brotherhood of the Rotisserie Chain, was the French royal Goose Roasters Guild created by Louis IX to improve the culinary arts for the benefit of the French royal table. The Guild was extended to various appreciated meats and operated within royally decreed bounds until the French Revolution’s political guillotine turned its blade to royal guilds. Some 160 years later, the five founding officers of the newly risen Chaîne — journalist Jean Valby, writer Maurice Edmond Sailland, Dr. Auguste Becart, spit-maker Louis Giraudon, and Chef Marcel Dorin — established an organization with the mission of building a culinary brotherhood in the wake of World War II’s hardship. That mission has since translated into community through dining, culinary education, and industry development through events worldwide.
Membership in the Chaîne has been focused historically on pairing food and wine industry professionals with serious food od and wine appreciators, to further an education in and appreciation of fine food and wine. The international body which helps organize the broader collection of city-based chapters, or Bailliages, estimates a current membership of at least 21,000 globally across 91 countries, with around 5,000 members and over 90 Bailliages in the United States alone. Oklahoma City’s Bailliage was formed in the 1950s (exact dates are a bit hazy due to a fire that damaged a Chaîne records room) and formally incorporated in 1973. Having celebrated a 50th anniversary and on the verge of a 75th, the Oklahoma City Bailliage finds itself entering a rebuilding year in the wake of COVID.
The local Bailliage, composed of almost four dozen members, recently elected Dr. William Dooley, a surgical oncologist at OU Health, as its Bailli — directly translated as bailiff but better thought of as president. In the recent past, the Bailliage has attracted primarily senior members of Oklahoma City’s food and wine dining community. COVID sidelined many opportunities to gather, and diminished the group’s membership, but provided space for the Bailliage to reassess its goals and a path for achieving them. Dooley, along with officers Mucki Wright and David Williamson, have the collective goal of building an intergenerational organization that forms community among diners of all ages and hospitality professionals, thereby returning the Oklahoma City Bailliage to first principles of the Chaîne. This will include ticketed dining events at local restaurants and members’ homes available at a range of prices, engagement with area educational institutions, and, eventually, exploring scholarships for young gourmands interested in culinary education.
As Oklahoma City’s culinary scene continues to attract national attention through annual “Best of” lists and awards, creating the institutions that connect diners with each other and directly with hospitality professionals and those who aspire to join their ranks can only strengthen the local industry’s resilience and reach. One of COVID’s primary lessons was that while complex webs of connections may have more points to fray, their ability to adapt and rebalance surpasses those who stand alone. Relationships matter. If you’re looking for long-lasting relationships built around a delicious meal, an 800-year-old tradition may be a good place to start.
> For further information on the Oklahoma City Bailliage membership, contact okcchaine@gmail.com. For press inquiries, contact ddwmson@gmail.com.
