This dish of cubed lobster mixed with cream, seasoned with mustard, and served in the halves of its shell acquired its name in 1894 when it was invented by a Parisian chef to honour the opening of a play by Victorien Sardou called Thermidor. In turn, the play borrowed its title from the name of the eleventh month in the calendar system implemented between 1793 and 1805 by proponents of the French Revolution. Thermidor was a summer month, and thus its Greek name literally means gift of heat. Other months in this calendar system also took their names from their seasonal attributes: Fructidor meaning gift of fruit; Vendemiaire meaning vintage; Brumaire meaning fog; Frimaire meaning frost; Nivose meaning snow; Pluviose meaning rain; Ventose meaning wind; Germinal meaning sprout; flared meaning flower; Prairial meaning meadow; and Messidor meaning gift of harvest. The individual who actually invented the names of these months was the French poet Fabre d’figlantine.
A unique cooking method, initially popularized for lobster, but now extended to other varieties of seafood as well, is commonly referred to as lobster thermidor. This preparation entails boiling the meat, while still in the shell, and then extracting it and combining it with a rich and creamy sauce. The meat is then placed back into the shell, generously sprinkled with cheese, and baked until it acquires a golden-brown hue. This recipe originated in Paris, and was first created by Tony Girod, a prominent chef at the Café de Paris.