Marie-Antoine Carême (1784-1833), one of the most famous French chefs and true founding father of XIXth-century cooking, was also the chef of Talleyrand, Prince de Bénévant, the top chef of Emperor Napoleon the 1st, and then of the Russian and Austrian Emperors. He remained in close relation with Auguste Gallais throughout his brief life. Because Napoleon was a true chocolate fan and Debauve & Gallais the imperial house's sole provider of chocolate, Carême, Debauve, and Gallais often worked together. It seemed that the idea of Croquamandes—delicious, delicately caramelised almonds coated with dark chocolate—sprouted
from a discussion between the emperor
and Carême regarding the celebrations
after the Friedland victory in June of
1807. A few days later, Debauve made
this new idea a reality and delivered the first Croquamandes to the Emperor. He was so glad that some days later, he offered some Croquamandes with a cup of hot chocolate to the Maréchal Lefebvre in celebration of his enthroning as the Duke of Gdansk.