Antonin Careme, the first celebrity chef, came from a family with 24 children. That's right - 24 kids. His parents sure were frisky and fertile back in pre-revolutionary France. That poor woman!

I became obsessed with this fact while reading a great book, Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antonin Careme, the First Celebrity Chef by Ian Kelly. I am impressed with Careme's skills and recipes but I have reread the page discussing the number of children in the family several times. I know people had lots of children back then but I just can't quite wrap my mind around this.