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Escoffier. Georges Auguste - incudes 2 Escoffier menus, one he wrote, one printed.
LE LIVRE DES MENUS
A. ESCOFFIER avec la collaboration de PHILEAS GILBERT et EMILE FETU LE LIVRE DES MENUS Compliment in indespensable du Guide culinaire FLAMMARION EDITEUR 26, rue Racine, Paris.
FIRST EDITION. 1912. 253x164mm. 1fep. On verso – Du Meme Auteur Half-title. Title page. [1] p.5-6. Avant-Propos dated Avril 1912,. 7-164. (165) [1] Folding chart titled - "Tableau de Service dans une Grande Cuisine". The covers are the original terra-cotta colour with red and black lettering. They are slightly browned, with the spine cracked but holding well. Internally, it’s very clean and bright. Also enclosed is a draft menu written by Escoffier at the Carlton Hotel, and dated by another hand in blue crayon - Mercredi 24-7-07 for Johnston Esq. Also enclosed, one of Escoffier’s Carte du Jour printed menus from the Carlton Restaurant, the Carlton Hotel, Pall Mall, London, dated Dimanche, 21 Octobre 1906. In fine clean condition. All housed in a beautiful clamshell box bound in half dark brown leather with marble boards. The spine with raised bands, gilt lines and gilt tooling. Also with a red and green label and gilt lettering. The interior lined with fawn felt. Wonderful rare Escoffier items in fine original condition.
- The folding plate at the back of the book first appeared in 1903 in the first edition of Escoffier's major work "Le Guide Culinaire" The system laid out in the plate indicates the very precise way that Escoffier had re-organised the modern Kitchen from that of the Bel-Epoque era. It assigns the precise duties and dishes of each 'Partie' with the number of tables, couverts and times. However this chart does not indicate that each individual dish eventually served to the guest would have been sourced from numerous Kitchen 'Parties' before being cooked by one Chef de Partie (either Chef Saucier, Poissonier, Entremetier etc) and assembled on a platter for the waiter to carry to the Dining Room. The one enclosed rare draft menu written by Escoffier is a clear example of how the process works. Escoffier writes the menu in his typically messy scrawl and it is then sent to a comptroller who writes on the menu, the date and the name of the recipient of the special Dinner. It’s then sent to be printed up on the formal designed menu cards to be placed before each guest at the Dinner. This special menu would also be written up in a more legible hand and posted on the kitchen banquet notice board one week before the dinner. As delineated in the folding plate, each menu is then broken down into the relevant kitchen department tasks, and each dish is then cooked and assembled for the whole dinner to served at the designated time. The Carte du Jour menu is also one of Escoffier’s daily menus. His tenure at the Carlton Hotel lasted from 1899 to 1919. The book and the very rare items of Ephemera are a true and fantastic testament to Escoffier's far-reaching gastronomic influence within the highest reaches of English, European and American Society.

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Modern category

ref number: 10980

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - A signed handwritten letter
Addressed to 'Cher Monsieur Cadier'
And signed 'A Escoffier' on Carlton Hotel Stationary.
A 2 page manuscript letter, addressed to Mons. Cadier. On headed paper from the Carlton Hotel, Pall Mall. London. Dated 16 Avril 1918, with the Hotel Crest. The letter was folded in eight with creases, with one line partly obscured but still readable. The whole has been sometime mounted on same coloured card. Also enclosed is a black and white formal group photograph of many of the famous chefs of the day. All contemporaries of Escoffier. They are celebrating some occasion that honors Monsieur Cadier. All the chefs have signed the photograph. Among those present are M. Eugene Herbodeau, one-time protege of Escoffier and also his literary executor, also Auguste Laplanche, Maitre Chef de Cuisine at the Savoy Hotel for many years. Marcel A. Percevault, Maitre Chef de Cuisine of Claridges from 1933-54 is part of the group. Enclosed in a neat marbled cardboard folder with a large label on the front cover. Very rare items.
- In the letter, Escoffier writes in ink ---- [Dear M. Cadier, In our short conversation this evening, I forgot to tell you that over and above the 10 pounds per week you will have 50 pounds gratuity at the end of each year. M.P. informed me of the little remark you made to him on the subject of M.M. Dupont and Carriyer, both of them are good friends and, as you know, they are not particularly well (suffering a little). They have been with me to pass the time waiting for jobs. Officially they have never been sous chefs. With regard to M. Limassin, although I had certain serious reasons for not being satisfied I gave him a post he can be proud of. I believe that in view of the circumstances it is necessary to give you the details. Yours sincerely A Escoffier P.S. If at any time you wish to acquire a post at the Carlton you can take all the time you need to allow you to find someone to replace you thereby not leaving the firm in an embarrassing situation]. -- Adolphe Hypolite Cadier -- 1882 – 1954. A French born chef who spent the major part of his working life in England. On arrival he first worked at Oddenino’s Restaurant, Regent Street, London for a short time in 1910. Cadier also worked 1939-42, at the famous fish restaurant; La Maison Prunier, St James St. London. He is mentioned on page 254 of Madame Prunier's very good book -- La Maison, History of Pruniers. London. 1957. Escoffier was the Maitre Chef de Cuisine of the Carlton Hotel, London from 1899-1919. His concern and care for chefs who had worked under him is well documented. Escoffier himself, in the translation of his own recorded notes in his great grand-daughter-in-law, Laurence Escoffier's book, 'Memories of my Life', states; "During my career I was able to implant 2,000 French chefs all over the world" This letter is a fine indication of that care and tact, for which he was revered. Combined with the signed photograph of a large group of contemporary fellow professionals, very interesting items of pertinent Escoffier ephemera.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 10988

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - A pertinant signed handwritten letter
A letter to P. Andrieu, signed by Escoffier.
A two page letter written at his retirement home in Monte-Carlo, 20 November, 1934
Addressed to Monsieur P(ierre) Andrieu, --- Paris. The two pages are covered in Escoffier's handwriting. There is also a one page English translation of the letter. A very clean item. Enclosed in a neat marbled cardboard folder. With a label on the front cover. The letter is from the library of Pierre Orsi, the famous Lyon restuaranteur. A rare item.
- The letter is written one year before Escoffier's death. He writes in a rather shaky hand -- [Dear Sir, I am very surprised that you did not receive my letter which was in answer to yours, whereby you were asking me to write an article for the newspaper "L'action automobile". This article should have been about regional cuisine as seen from the point of view of the chef - Curnonsky treats it from the point of view of the gastronome. Between the chef and Curnonsky there is a wide gap that I do not wish to bridge. Mr Curnonsky speaks as a writer, he is charming and his articles are interesting in places but I have no desire to be the cause of any arguments. To answer your question, I could only do it after reading the article "les princes de la cuisine francaise". Despite all my desire to be agreeable to you and Mr Roussel, it will be impossible for me to do it. I must also tell you that the different regional cuisines do not exist anymore. Ever since all the "regions" have been merged by the advance of the automobile which created easier access from one country to another, we have now in France only one cuisine and that is French Cuisine. -- With deepest regret for not acceding to your wishes, Yours sincerely, A. Escoffier. -- My best wishes to Mr Roussel.] Pierre Andrieu was an author of many articles and books in the domain of wine and gastronomy. He was also a collaborator of Curnonsky's. Together they published in 1935 a book about the restaurants of France, titled 'Les Fines Gueules de France'. This letter pertains to the research for that book. Maurice Edmond Sailland (October 12, 1872, Angers, France – July 22, 1956, Paris), better known by his pen-name Curnonsky and dubbed the Prince of Gastronomy, was the most celebrated writer on gastronomy in France in the 20th century. He wrote or ghost-wrote over 65 books and enormous numbers of newspaper columns. He is often considered the inventor of gastronomic motor-tourism as popularized by Michelin, though he himself could not drive. The contents of the letter display an ironic point of interest. Escoffier, one year before his death is offering a glimpse of the changes he is seeing to his beloved French cuisine. Having re-organised, during his life time, the French kitchen so fundamentally from that of the Bel-Epoque era he is still only really interested in viewing the changes from the chef's point of view. It is obvious that even at the grand old age of eighty eight, he is still active and well informed.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 10989

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - Two of Escoffier's menus
From the Carlton Hotel. Pall Mall. London.
Menu 1 -- from the Carlton Grill Room dated May 11th 1909. Menu 2 -- a daily 'Carte du Jour' dated May 10th 1909.
Both menus as new. The ala carte menu has a 1" tear in the fold with no damage to text. Housed in a cardboard, marbled folder with a label on the front cover. Also comes with a black and white photograph of the Carlton Hotel - circa 1910.
- Escoffier was Maitre Chef de Cuisine at the Carlton Hotel from 1899- 1919. These are two of his menus. As such, and in this fine condition, very rare.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 10992

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - One of Escoffier's menus
A menu and a table plan. Carlton Hotel. Pall Mall. London.
1.-- A Dinner Plan of Tables. Thursday. July 21st 1910. 2.-- Special Dinner Menu. Monday. September 16th. 1918.
1. -- This card is decorated by a double gilt border, front and back. On the front is an emblem of the American flag and the Union Jack. It is a four page ‘Plan of Tables’ for a Dinner in honour of General Stuart L. Wilson at the Carlton Hotel, Thursday, July 21st 1910. Seated at the ‘Red Table’ is Lieut. Sir Ernst H. Shackleton who was to set out 4 years later on ‘Endurance’ for his ill-fated attempt to reach Antarctica. It has taped marks on the back, indicating it has been sometime mounted in a book. 2. -- The menu is for a special Dinner at the Carlton Hotel on Monday 16th September 1918. Hosted by the Hon. A.J. Balfour MP for His Excellency Monsieur Michalacopoulos. The menu has an embossed gilt crest of the Royal Coat of Arms. Mons. Andre Michalacopoulos was the President for the Counsel of Ministers and Minister for Greek Affairs and A.J. Balfour was British Prime Minister from 1902 – 1905. It is a nice clean menu card with a 2 page insert tied by a ribbon. Both are housed in a nice cardboard, marbled folder with a label on the front cover. Rare Escoffier ephemera items.
- Escoffier was Maitre Chef de Cuisine at the Carlton Hotel from 1899-1919. These two items are his, from the Carlton Hotel kitchen banqueting department.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 10993

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - An association copy; signed by Elizabeth David
Ma Cuisine
A. ESCOFFIER MA CUISINE 2,500 RECETTES FLAMMARION EDITEUR 26, RUE RACINE, PARIS
FIRST FRENCH EDITION. 1934. Original D/W with small chips at the top and bottom of the spine and folds at cover edges. Otherwise very bright. Fresh green cloth boards and spine with yellow writing. Slightly rubbed on the edges. The front paste-down has a signed dedication by E.D.: "For Colin with my love Liz May 23rd 1960" 1fep. Half-title. 1pp Du meme Auteur. Title page. [1] 5-8 Introduction. 9-673. 3pp Menus Types. 677-703 Table des Metieres. [1] 1fep. Unusually bright copy as the paper is usually quite browned.
- First French editions of Ma Cusine are quite scarce, but this one is rare, coming from E.D's library and with her signature. A real collectors item.

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Modern category

ref number: 11007

Escoffier. Georges Auguste
Ma Cuisine
Ma Cuisine AUGUSTE ESCOFFIER Translated from the French by VYVYAN HOLLAND Edited by MARION HOWELLS Foreward by ANDRE L. SIMON. PAUL HAMLYN. LONDON
Good D/W slightly chipped along the edges. Dark purple cloth cover and spine with blind tooling, gilt lettering and gilt outline of a cooking pot. 1fep. Half Title. [1] Title page. [1] 1pp Contents. [1] 7-9 Forward by A.L. Simon. 10-11 Preface. 12-13 Introduction by Escoffier. 14-15 Weights & Measures [1] 17-818. 819-884 Index. 1fep. A very good copy.
- Escoffier was eighty years old when the first French edition of Ma Cuisine was published in 1934. He died the following year. The first English edition was published - 1965. This copy is the first English edition - second impression - 1966. A very impressive book aimed at the housewife. Containing over 2000 recipes, it is a monumental and important work. The Forward by Andre L. Simon is interesting for its very personal and endearing description of Escoffier and his qualities. An important addition to any collection of cookery books.

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Modern category

ref number: 11008

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - With two of Escoffier's original menus.
RITZ'S Carlton Restaurant.
ON BOARD THE S.S. "KAISERIN AUGUSTE VICTORIA" (HAMBURG AMERICAN LINE) Under the Management of THE CARLTON HOTEL, LONDON.
Large 4to. 3feps (with 2 menus tipped in to last fep) Title Page. 160 pages. All pages blank on the reverse of the text. Many photographs of the Ship's different facilities, (including the Restaurant). 3 feps. Many pages strengthened on the the blank side due to brittleness. Internally very clean. The two menus tipped in before the title page are both dated 1908. The 'Kaiserin' one is a breakfast menu and the 'Amerika" one appears to be a Table d'Hote Lunch menu. Both are from Escoffier's time of tenure and responsibility for both of those ship's restaurants. Bound in modern half dark calf and bottle green cloth boards. The spine has blind tooling. The original cover from the Al'a Carte Restaurant pasted on the front cover. All pages very slightly age browned. Overall a very handsome and rare item.
- This book is a very sumptuous production and a joint venture between the 'Hamburg American Line' and 'The Carlton Hotel' advertising the 'S.S. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria's' conception, preparation and maiden voyage from Hamburg to New York on May 10th, 1906. The 705 foot, 24581 ton giantess, S.S. Kaiserin, was launched on August 20th 1905, and for the next year was outfitted with many new features. One that highlighted the new ship and caused a lot of excitement was the opening of an a'la Carte Restaurant, staffed and run by the famous Ceasar Ritz. The Restaurant also boasted its own dedicated Kitchen, staffed and run by the equally famous Auguste Escoffier. This was an important new facility built to a very fine specification and quality. Grill Rooms had featured on previous voyages and had been very popular. The opening of the new a la Carte Restaurant proved to be equally popular and became, against initial expectations, fully booked. This was undoubtably due to Escoffier's involvement and the unusual shipboard experience of being able to sample French cuisine of the highest standard . We are informed in the book that the Kitchens on the maiden voyage were not large enough to meet demand, and that they had to completely alter one of the decks to double the kitchen capacity. Escoffier and Ritz were also responsible for Restaurants on board other Hamburg America Line ships, one other being the "S.S. Amerika". Both of these ships were built side by side at the Harland Wolff shipyards in Belfast. 'Amerika' was launched on April 20th 1905, and the 'Kaiserin' one month later. This well produced book records an aspect of Escoffier's career that is the least documented. It is also very rare, especially with the two Escoffier's menus enclosed that would have been printed and offered to guests just after the expanded kitchen refit.

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Modern category

ref number: 11049

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - In its original bottle with rare Escoffier ephemera.
The Escoffier. Sauce Diable a'la Provencale
Four original items from Escoffier's company; Escoffier Ltd - 1903 and 1907.
ITEM 1. An original bottle of "The Escoffier Sauce Diable a'la Provencale". The sauce is still liquid with trapped air bubbles. It has the original blind-stamped metal cap and labels, all in excellent condition. This is an original bottle with the Escoffier Ltd. Ridgemont address. Later bottles have 'Escoffier' embossed in the glass back and front, as well as other later London addresses on the front label. ITEM 2. A recipe booklet with the original blue covers slightly loose and a small strip missing from the front cover without loss to text.. It has Escoffier's name and the Carlton Hotel' coat of arms' embossed on the front cover. It is titled 'A Few Recipes' and has a title page. p 1 Introduction. p 4-38 Recipes. p 39-42 Cookery and Health tips. p 43 Advertisement for Escoffier Ltd. [1] p 45-46 Advertisement for 'A Guide to Modern Cookery'. [1] p 48-51 Index. [1] Slightly age-browned throughout with a small stain affecting first 2 pages but not the text. ITEM 3. A lovely beautifully produced four page 'Escoffier Ltd' promotional pamphlet and price list for all Escoffier Sauces, and we are also informed the Preparations can be obtained from all high-class Grocers and Stores. ITEM 4. This is a second four page promotional pamphlet and price list titled 'Escoffier (1907) Ltd', in nice clean condition, . As the first pamphlet is elaborately decorated with a coloured image of one of the products and the text in red and black, the second is obviously a cheaper and later price list aimed at cutting costs. Interestingly this later pamphlet informs that the Preparations are stocked by the majority of high-class grocers and stores throughout the United States. All housed in a specially made clam-shell box with half mid-tan calf and brown cloth boards. The spine with raised bands, gilt lines and one red and one green label with gilt lettering. The four items form a unique and rare look at the marketing for Escoffier's famous sauces.
- Georges Auguste Escoffier, who began his career as a chef at age 13 in 1859 and is credited as one of the creators of what is now considered classical French cooking and was far ahead of his time in surprising ways. In 1903, while Chef de Cuisine at the Carlton Hotel in London, he started a company, Escoffier Ltd., to sell his sauces. He was concerned about nutrition and the effects of the pace of modern life on dining; despite his devotion to the good life, he was not fat. He started experimenting with tinned vegetables, notably tomatoes. While still at the Savoy Hotel, London in 1898, he is credited, in their excellent biography of Escoffier by Eugene Herbodeau and Paul Thalamas, of first producing 2000 x 2 kilo tins of tomatoes in Saxon-les-Bains for the Savoy. The fame of the product grew so fast that the following year, the food manufacturer, La Maison Caressa of Nice produced 60.000 kilos under his direction. This was the precursor to his famous sauces being bottled and sold through Escoffier Ltd. In 1915 Escoffier Ltd was sold. (Sadly after 80 years of business deals and corporate takeovers, only a remnant of it lingers on in America in two products, Nabisco Sauces - Diable and Robert). Escoffier supported any effort that made cooking simpler, cleaner, better organized, more widely appreciated or easier for chefs and home cooks alike. Despite the foie gras and truffles, the elaborate garnishes and rich sauces listed in various editions of his cookery book 'Le Guide Culinaire', (1st ed. 1903) Escoffier's work was still a sharp departure from the culinary practices that existed before. Not only did he greatly simplify the recipes and methods of food presentation that had existed previously, but he also re-invented the very manner in which professional kitchens were organized. To speed up service, which was something diners even in his day demanded, he created the brigade system of key specialised departments with teams headed by Chefs de Parties, responsible for all the individual parts of the different dishes presented in all the menus; A'la Carte, Du Jour, Banqueting, Room service, Parties privees etc. He also invented the prix fixe menu. Another poorly recorded, but constant character trait of Escoffier, was the effort he expended to help improve the conditions under which chefs worked. "When I started, chefs had no status in society," he wrote in his memoirs. "That should not be the case because cooking is a science and an art, and the man who works with all his heart to satisfy people deserves to be recognized." The preface to his great classic, 'A Guide to Modern Cookery' - 1907, (the 1st English edition of 'Le Guide Culinaire' of 1903), is a revelation. From a chef’s point of view, the observations that Escoffier espoused then in 1903, and in subsequent editions, ring just as loud today. It is no wonder that modern chefs are re-finding Escoffier. It is also another indicator of his lasting genius and true impact over time. Pierre Escoffier, who was 26 when his grandfather died in 1935, helped create and head the Auguste Escoffier Foundation. The Escoffier Museum is now based near Nice in the village of Villeneuve-Loubet, in the house where Escoffier was born. This item belongs in such a museum. The original sauce in the bottle, the well produced 4 page 'Escoffier Ltd' promotional pamphlet, the other plainer but rarer price list, and the little recipe booklet by Escoffier, give a true insight into Escoffier’s marketing astuteness.

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Ephemera category

ref number: 11051

Escoffier. Georges Auguste - 1st edition of Escoffier's classic in the original state.
Le Guide Culinaire
BIBLIOTHEQUE PROFESSIONNELLE Le Guide Culinaire AIDE-MEMOIRE DE CUISINE PRATIQUE Par A. ESCOFFIER AVEC LA COLLABOATION De MM. Phileas GILBERT - E. FETU A. Suzanne, B. Reboul, Ch, Dietrich, A. Caillat, ETC. Dessins de Victor Morin - Je place ce livre sous le ptronage psthume de Urbain Dubois et Emile Bernard, en teimoignage de mon admiration pour ceux qui, depuis Careme ont porte le plus haut la gloire de l'Art Culiniare. A.E. - (printers device of two branches) PARIS 1903 - Tous droits de traduction et de reproduction reserves pour tous les pays, y compris le Suede, la Norvege et le Danemark.
FIRST EDITION. 220x135mm. Front paste-down and end-paper with patterned paper. [1] Half title. Verso with advertisement. Title page. Escoffier's facsimile signature on the verso. 3p Avant Propos. Verso with Abbreviations. 2p Remarks. 1p Advertisement. Verso with Tables de Chapitres. 1-766. 1p Methode de Repartition. 768-769 Menus. 1p plus 1 Folding plate showing service times and tasks. 771-786 Menus. (1)788-790 Table. (1)+p792 Errata. 4p Advertisements. 1fep. Back end-paper and paste-down with patterned paper. All paper age browned and brittle which is typical of this and other books of this time, due to poor quality paper being used. Two pages are loose and the folding plate has been expertly repaired with one of the folds a little darker than the rest. The original dark brown cloth with the Art Nouveau design and gilt lettering on the front still nice and bright. The spine has compartments with blind tooling and gilt lettering. The top compartment cloth is missing with the under material still brown and blending well. Overall a nice copy in its original state albeit somewhat brittle. A very scarce book.
- This is Escoffier's great classic from which so much has come about. Used as the basis for his'L'Aide Memoire Culinaire' 1910. Also Louis Saulnier's 'Le Repertoire de la Cuisine' 1914. The folding plate was used in Escoffier's volume of menus, 'Le Livre des Menus' 1912, which was written to compliment 'Le Guide Culinaire'. Later in 1934 we see in his final publication: 'Ma Cuisine", the classical recipes modified for the housewife. Le Guide Culinaire and the organisation of the Kitchen Brigade brought about by Escoffier during his life, became the basis of all theory and practical training taught in Catering Colleges. Andre Simon in his forward to the first English edition of 'Ma Cuisine' 1965, writes a very endearing description of Escoffier the person, and proclaims his rightful place at the head of the table, due to his towering achievements and the unchallenged position he occupies in the realm of Gastronomy.

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Modern category

ref number: 11059