Marmite de l'Escalade

Every year in December, Geneva celebrates the Escalade, commemorating the attack by the troops of the Duke of Savoy on the city in the early hours of December 12, 1602. The townspeople repelled the attempt to scale the walls, and the victory became a symbol of Geneva’s independence. The celebration includes historical processions, a run through the Old Town, a vegetable soup and a signature sweet: the marmite of chocolate.

The founding legend says that, in the midst of the fighting, a woman called Mère Royaume poured a cauldron of seasonal vegetable soup over the invading soldiers. No contemporary account mentions the act, and her fame as a heroine was established only in the 19th century, but the figure of Mère Royaume and her marmite came to represent the city’s resistance.

An 1881 advertisement already mentions nogato and chocolate marmite bonbonnières. The custom spread from the late 19th century. The marmite bears Geneva’s coat of arms, with the eagle and the key, and is filled with marzipan vegetables that recall the soup, plus candies and small poppers wrapped in colored paper.

The ritual is part of the celebration: the marmite is broken at the end of the meal by the youngest and the oldest person at the table, who together say the traditional phrase recalling the republic’s defense. The pieces of chocolate and the sweets are shared among everyone.

In the weeks beforehand, Geneva’s bakeries and chocolatiers fill their shop windows with marmites of all sizes. In schools, children eat the vegetable soup and break their marmites in homage to Mère Royaume.