 The younger Grimod de La Reynière began his public career on his return from studies in Lausanne by collaborating in the review "Journal des théâtres" in 1777–78, continuing to write reviews of theatre, some of which he published himself, as "Le Censeur Dramatique".During his parents' absence he gave grand dinner parties in the Hôtel Grimod de La Reynière, at one of which his father returned suddenly to find a pig dressed up and presiding at the table.The story made the rounds in Paris, and a breach with the family ensued, which culminated in a "lettre de cachet" that disinherited him and confined him to an abbey close to Nancy, where at the table of the father abbot he began to learn the art of good eating.