Grun was mainly famous and known for his posters that he designed, but nowadays everyone knows him for this impressionist painting from 1911: The Dinner Party. According to etiquette rules, the napkin is placed on your lap. The silver coffee and tea pots are full of coffee and hot water. The friandises are on trays. The damask is very beautifully detailed. Since ancient Rome, dinner has been the most important meal. Since the early 20th century, dinner times became later in the evening due to the discovery of electric lamps. The outfits recall the fashion of the end of the 19th century with lots of embroidery on the dresses and the presence of gloves that the women wore all day. Men usually wore skirts at such dinners. The silverware on the table and the white table linen emphasize purity, clarity and richness.

Recepy to make friandises yourself

Making strawberry & vanilla candies

When you can squeeze the fruit, squeeze out the juice. Otherwise, cut it into pieces and puree it (without peel, seeds and the like). Provide 100 ml of strawberry juice/puree. Add a small 1 tsp. vanilla, mint, cinnamon… or whatever for an extra flavor. Puree this with the juice or puree. Add 50 ml honey or agave syrup and stir well. Soak the gelatin leaves in cold water. Heat the mixture in a saucepan (it doesn't have to get hot, just warm enough that the gelatin melts). Stir in the gelatin leaves in turn. Pour everything into silicone ice cube molds. Place the molds in the freezer for an hour. It lasts 3 hours in the refrigerator. Remove the candies from the molds very slowly and carefully. Dip in superfine sugar and your friandises are ready.

Bake your own butter cake

Mix together 375 g flour, 340 g butter, at room temperature and 270 g white caster sugar. Mix ¼ tsp salt, marrow of ½ vanilla pod, zest and juice of ½ lemon until a (wet) dough is formed.
Place the dough in the greased tin and press it flat, this is best done with wet hands or the rounded side of a wet spoon. Try to get the top smooth. Brush the dough with beaten egg and score a checkered pattern into it with a fork. Bake the butter cake for 30 to 40 minutes until the top is nicely browned. The butter cake continues to stiffen while cooling. Cut into small square cubes.

Making chocolate truffles

Break 200 grams of the best chocolate into pieces and let melt. Bring 150 whipped cream to the boil in a heavy-bottomed pan and add 50 grams of butter. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly and pour over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and is well mixed with the whipped cream. Let it set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Divide the chocolate mixture into small portions and roll them into balls. Roll one half in the cocoa powder and the other half in the coconut.

Making nougat

Put the 75 grams of egg white with 30 grams of the fine granulated sugar in the food processor and turn it on at low speed. Place the honey in a pan with a thick bottom and heat it to 125 degrees. Then carefully pour the honey into the egg white and let the machine beat. Put 100 grams of glucose syrup with the water and 320 grams of sugar in another pan and heat it to a temperature of 140 degrees. Pour the sugar syrup into the egg white and let the machine run until a chewy meringue is formed. Quickly fold in 550 grams of roasted almonds by hand. The egg white foam is very firm; this takes some force. It is best to use a wooden spoon for this. Cover the bottom of the baking tin with a piece of wafer paper and pour the nougat into the baking tin. The nougat is very sticky. Grease your hands with a cooking spray or a little oil. This way you can more easily press the nougat into the baking tin. Cover with baking paper and leave overnight to harden. The next day you can slice or cube it. Pack it airtight, so that the nougat remains nice and soft.

J. Grun Fin du Souper (1913), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Tourcoing