Beau Monde Seasoning is not among the classic spice mixtures; it is a product manufactured by Spice Islands, the seasonings company owned by ACH Food Companies, Inc., a division of Associated British Foods plc.

All Spice Islands will say is that their Beau Monde Seasoning is "often imitated, never duplicated," and that it contains a "harmonious balance of celery, onion, and salt." A spokeswoman for the company says it has been making Beau Monde Seasoning since about the time the company started in 1941.

The good news is that you can certainly obtain real Beau Monde Seasoning, at least online. Your grocer should also be able to order it for you – many grocers will jump through hoops to keep your business, and just because they can't dedicate shelf space to everything, less popular items should be available to them through their warehouse.

There are also some other beau monde spice mixtures on the market – apparently Spice Islands does not own the trademark – but we have not found any that include onion in any form, and so are not confident that a substitute beau monde will live up to your expectations. Similarly, there are recipes online, but most contain cloves, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and mace, in addition to salt, celery seed, bay leaf, and pepper. Again, we have not found one that incorporates onion salt or ground dehydrated onion, or any onion at all. The very nice Spice Islands spokeswoman said the Internet recipes she has seen incorporate "sweet" flavorings, which do not relate to the company's beau monde.

If you have been mixing up the Internet versions of beau monde, you may be perfectly happy continuing with it. But if you have been enjoying Spice Islands' Beau Monde Seasoning, you will probably be disappointed with the homemade versions. Do yourself a favor and get the real thing.

Suggested Recipe: Sweet Beau Monde Seasoning