7. Committing Suicide Because of Fish
Early the following morning, April 24th, 1671, one day before the banquet, Francois Vatel encountered a supplier bringing two loads of fish, and asked him if that was all. The supplier, unaware that Vatel was referring to all fish from all suppliers, not just himself, replied that it was. That was the final straw for a frazzled Vatel, who had hardly slept in the preceding fortnight. He broke down, crying “I won’t survive this insult. My honor and reputation are at stake“.
Unable to endure what he was sure would be a humiliation when the royal banquet turned into a flop, he took a sword and ran himself through. As it turned out, the fish misunderstanding soon resolved itself, as fish from other suppliers began arriving not long after Vatel had stabbed himself. A long train of wagonloads laden with fish trundled into the Chateau de-Chantilly, even as the master chef and majordomo lay dying of his wound.