Antonin was born in 1784 to extremely poor parents who had twenty-five children and couldn't afford to raise him. When he was seven, his father gave him a big meal at a tavern near the gates of Paris and then turned him out in the street to survive.
Fortunately, the first door that little Antonin knocked on was the home of a cook who took the boy in and gave him room and board. Antoine was eventually given a few cooking lessons and began his cooking apprenticeship which culminated in his being the most sought-after chef in Europe.