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Hamp Pierre - He worked under Escoffier at the Savoy.
Kitchen Prelude
(Mes Metiers) by PIERRE HAMP Translated from the French by DOROTHY BOLTON (With a printers device) NEW YORK E.P. DUTTON & CO., INC.
FIRST ENGLISH EDITION 1933. 8vo. 193x140mm. 1fep. Half Title. [1] Title page. [1] 1-309. [1] 3feps. Original orange cloth binding with brown writing on the spine. The spine slightly sun bleached. Overall a very nice clean copy of a very scarce book. Not known if it should have a dj.
- Pierre Hamp has written a very interesting book of his life learning to be a Patissier and a main kitchen chef. He started his apprenticeship on Friday 13th November 1891 at M. Arthur Laborde's Patisserie at 13 Rue Demours in the Quartier des Ternes. At the bottom of the pecking order of thirteen apprentices and five cooks, he goes on to describe a very hard life (normal for the time) learning his trade. After his apprenticeship in Paris he moved to London and worked for some time under Escoffier at the Savoy. The blistering pace and hours as an apprentice gave him a highly critical professional sense that comes across in his writing. He also gives unique insights into the characters and personalities of a big Kitchen brigade that are not so different from those of today. Although Hamp is quite critical of Escoffier, one gets a unique sense of the chefs as people he had under his charge. A good read about a bygone age. Chefs reading this will see that many things remain the same, especially the sense of professionalism and pride of good well trained craftsmen.

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Modern category

ref number: 11075

Cocke. Thomas - A rare treatise on rules for food and purified water.
Kitchin-Physick:
OR, Advice to the POOR, By way of DIALOGUE Betwixt Philantbropos, } { Physician, Eugenins, } { Apothecary, Lazarus } { Patient. WITH Rules and Directions, how to prevent sick-ness, and cure Diseases by Diet, and such things as are daily fold in the Market : As also, for the better enabling of Nurses, and such as attend sick people ; There be-ing nothing as yet extant (though much desired of this Nature. (one long horizontal line) Parve nec invideo, &c. Ovid de Trift. (one long horizontal line) London, Printed for J.B. who desires the Reader to take notice that he is the next week to return this Book to the Clark, or pay 12d. [the whole text surrounded by a double line border].
FIRST EDITION 1675. 12vo. 150 x 95mm. Ex-Libris label on front paste-down. Ex-Libris label of "W. William Cock M.D." dated 1899 tipped onto the 1st fep. A 2nd fep. Title page. [1] p4 Epistle Dedicatory, by "Thom. Cocke". 1-4 Advertisement to the Patient. 5-87. Last page is printed: "Finis part the first". [1] 1fep. Pages age browned with a few spots of foxing. Pages cropped on top without loss. Dark brown early calf boards. Chips missing to leather spine. Front joint with loss of leather. Holding well, not detracting. Gilt tooling and lettering on maroon leather label and spine. Has a nice patina.
- This is a book of food recipes that have been written as a dialogue rather than a list. The four chapters cover the four metabolic humors in the body according to the theory and practice of Greek Medicine. Thomas Cocke seems to have been a sincere, sympathetic and experienced Physician of his time. The book itself and publishing dates are frustrating to tie down. What little information there is confuses. Oxford p3. 8/39 has a dated copy printed for the Author, by T. Basset at the George near Clifford's Inne in Fleet Street. 1676. He carries on and states that "the book is rules for the use of food", Describing the title page of the second part as a "Practical and short Discourse of stoving and bathing". There is also a plate of a bath and the preface is signed by Thomas Cocke, but there is no stated date. Beside this dated first part and undated second part of Oxford's copy, we can on p435 of Cagle's huge bibliographical catalogue 'A Matter of Taste', see another copy, with his first part also undated but the second part present and dated 1675. Cagle curiously assumes dates for both parts of the first edition as 1675. He further informs that Wing gives separate numbers for each part. All of the first parts end with "Finis part the first", with the two parts usually bound together. The first and only edition of the second part, 'Miscelanea Medica', was issued together with several later editions of 'Kitchin Physick'. Its ventured that some of the first editions did not always appear with the second part bound in. This copy could to be one of those. This binding is later 18th century and does not appear to have had the 2nd part. It also does not make sense to have the two parts originally bound together then separate them. It is also very curious that the first part of Cagle's first edition is undated while his 1675 second part is. The first conclusion one can make is that the parts were written and printed separately by Thomas Cocke and bound together later. This would also explain why Cocke published later dated editions of the first part but only used the one dated second part of the first edition. The second conclusion is that Cocke published the undated first earlier than 1675, and was working on a second part that came later. That would also explain why p87 on every first part, ends with "Finis part the first". He always intended to add a second part. There is one other interesting fact about this copy. The large ex-libris bookplate of F. William Cock MD, under which is written in his hand, (one assumes) an in-distinguishable coded reference. On the opposite front inside cover, 'By Thomas Cocke Physician', is written in ink by the same hand. One wonders whether they were related and William Cock M.D. had done some successful corroborative research. Finally, this is a small treatise on diet and cookery for sickness. These books cannot be separated from any collection of early cookery books. Except for the cookery books published for Royal Households, Restaurants, Taverns etc, that displayed only recipes for food, a large percentage of others, mainly 18th century published works combined food and medical recipes together. An interesting copy of a rare book.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11331

CAREME. MARIE ANTONIN
L'ART DE LA CUISINE FRANCAISE AU DIX-NEUVIEME SIECLE.
TRAITE ELEMENTAIRE ET PRATIQUE Des Bouillons en gras et en maigre, des Essences, Fumets, des Potages francaise et etrangers; des grosses pieces de Poisson; des grandes et petites Sauces; des Ragouts et des Garnatures; des grosses pieces de Boucheriee, de Jambon, de Volaille, et de Gibier, etc. PAR Antonin CAREME, de Paris. (one single line) TOME 1st A PARIS, (one single line) AU COMTOIR DES IMPRIMEURS-UNIS, Qui Malaquais, 15, CHEZ JULES RENOUARD ET C, LIBRAIRES, 6, RUE DE TOURNON, Meme maison a Leipzig; CHEZ DENTU, LIBRAIRE, GALERIE D' ORLEANS, AU PALAIS-ROYAL., Et au Depot principal, rue Sainte-Anne,55. (one very small single line) 1847
3 VOLUMES -- TOME 1: 218 x 140mm. 1fep. Half-title. [2] Portrait frontis of Careme. Elaborate title page (designed by Careme) [1] Title page. [1] v-vj Dedication to Madame Rothschild. vij-xix To Lady Morgan. [1] xxj-liij Notice Historique et Culinaire. [1] lv-lxvj Avertissement. lxvij-cviij Histoire. cix-cxvj Fragments. cxvij-cxxvij Des Ceremonies. [1] 1-296. (1)298-313 Table. [1] 1fep. Many small vignettes throughout the book. TOME 2: 218 x 140mm. 1fep. Half-title. Elaborate title page (designed by Careme) [1] Title page. [1] j-xxviij Aphorismes. xxix-xxxj Trait de Devouement d'un Domestique. [1] (2)7-326. (1)328-342. 1fep. Nine folded plates present plus many small vignettes throughout the book. TOME 3: 218 x 140mm. 1fep. Half-title. [1] Title page. [1] (1)2-519. [1] (1)522-544 Table des chaptres.. 1ep. Three single and eleven folded plates present plus many small vignettes throughout the book. All half title, elaborate titles and title pages foxed due to inferior paper being used. All text blocks clean and tight. All volumes in quarter dark tan calf with marbled board. Calf tips to boards. Spines with raised bands, gilt lines, blind tooling and 2 two red labels each. A fine set.
- Marie-Antoine Carême, born June 8, 1784, Paris, France, died January 12, 1833, Paris. A French chef who served the royalty of Europe, wrote several classic works on cuisine, and advanced the notion of cuisine as both an art and a science. Carême was born into a poor family. He began his career at age 15 as a kitchen helper in a Parisian restaurant but soon moved to employment in a fashionable pastry shop, or pâtisserie, frequented by Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand. Carême’s elaborately sculptured confections reached the table of Napoleon himself. Carême thereafter became the chef of Talleyrand (12 years), of the prince regent (the future George IV) of Great Britain (2 years), and briefly, in succession, of Tsar Alexander 1 of Russia, the court of Vienna, the British embassy in Paris, the Prince of Württemberg, the Marquess of Londonderry, and Princess Bagration. He then spent seven years with the Baron de Rothschild at his Ferrières estate. He published the first three volumes of 'L'art de la Cuisine Francaise au xixe-siecle.' by January 1833, while still alive. After his death volumes four and five were edited by his friend the food author Armand Plumerey, from the existing papers of Careme and published by 1834. Interestingly these three volumes can be considered a complete set as well as the set of five with Plumerey's additional two. Careme and his wife were buried together in Montmartre at the Cimetière de Montmartre.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11307

Point. Fernand - Fernand's menu hand-written by Mme. Point.
La Cave du Restaurant de la Pyramide
Fernand Point VIENNE (ISERE) TELEPHONE 0-96.
Measuring a large 19.5” x 12.5”. 4 pages. Yellow cardboard, with a drawn illustration of the Roman Pryamide in Vienne. The menu written in Mme Point’s typically large hand-writing on the front cover, with the inscription beside it, reading: Pour Monseur et Madame Read Mullam avec le hommages Gastronomiques de Fernand Point 26-9-53. The two inside pages with four large columns with wines listed and priced. The back page empty except for two photographs of Roman ruins of Vienne. It has previously been folded in the middle but now straightened and housed in a large cardboard and marbled folder with a label on the front cover. Nice and clean with minimal wear. A very rare collector’s item.
- Fernand Point (1897, Louhans, in Bresse in Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy–March 5, 1955) was a well-known French restaurateur in Vienne, a small city twenty miles south of Lyon, who for many years was the owner of La Pyramide, which was considered by many to be the greatest restaurant in the world. Although he died about twenty years before the introduction of what became known as nouvelle cuisine, he is nevertheless considered to be the father of modern French cuisine because of the numerous great chefs that he influenced and trained: his insistence on absolutely fresh ingredients for dishes of regional background (this is why the menus were written daily by Mme Point, only after Fernand had been to the market and decided on the day's dishes), and his refusal to use the old-fashioned made-in-advance sauces of 'haute cuisine'. His quest for perfection in everything he served led, in 1933, to his restaurant being among the first to be given the newly introduced three-star rating by the Michelin Guide. Such master French chefs as Paul Bocuse, Alain Chapel, and Jean and Pierre Troisgros trained under Point and, applying his principles, eventually helped create the nouvelle cuisine of the late 1970s. Born in Burgundy, Point was the son of a hotel-restaurant owner and during his youth trained in well-known restaurants such as Foyot and the Bristol Hotel in Paris, the Majestic in Cannes, and the Royal Hotel in Évian-les-Bains. In 1923 his father bought the hotel-restaurant Guieu in Vienne but died two years later. Point left his job at the Royal Hotel and took over the restaurant, which he renamed La Pyramide. With the help of his wife, Marie Louise, he would run it for the next 30 years. Five years after taking it over, he won his first star from Michelin and in 1933 La Pyramide was among the first twenty-three restaurants that received three stars, an accolade that it would retain for more than 50 years. It was again among the first seven three-star restaurants when, in 1951, this rating was resumed after the war. In 1955, the year of Point's death, there were 12 three-star restaurants, and his widow Marie Luise (who died 1986) managed to keep the restaurant in this top category. This is a special menu hand-written by Mme. Point on the La Pyramide wine menu. Checking the wine menu one can see that it is exceptional, with a very comprehensive selection. Among some of the many gems one can find is a Cotes-du-Rhone Hermitage 1870. A Chateau d’Yquem 1892. A Chateau-Lafitte Rothschild 1865. The Menu itself starts with one of the dishes Point was famous for: Brioche de Foie Gras.

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Modern category

ref number: 11133

Dubois. Urbain & Emile Bernard
La Cuisine Classique
VOLUME 1: LA CUISINE CLASSIQUE ETUDES PRATIQUES, RAISONNEES ET DEMONSTRATIVES D'ECOLE FRANCAISE URBAIN DUBOIS & EMILE BERNARD CHEFS DE CUISINE DE LL. MM. L'EMPEREUR ET L'EMPERATRICE D'ALLEMAGNE OUVERAGE ILLUSTRE DE 76 PLANCHES GRAVEES ET UN FRONTISPICE EMBRASSANT DANS SON CADRE TOUTS LES PRESCRIPTIONS THEORIQUES, D'APRES L'ORDRE ET LES PRINCIPES DE LA GRANDE CUISINE En cuisine, en peut briller selon sen aptitude, par le luxe, la variete, le gout parfait, les soins delicats; mais, parmi les qualite indispensables au practicion, nous mettons, en premier ligne, la science organisatrice et la connaissance approfondie de toutes les branches de l'art. TOME PREMIER DIXIEME EDITION PARIS E. DENTU, EDITEUR, PALAIS-ROYAL ET CHEZ TOUS LES PRINCIPAUX LIBRAIRES 1884 DROITS DE TRADUCTION ET REPRODUCTION RESERVES -- VOLUME 2: LA CUISINE CLASSIQUE ETUDES PRATIQUES, RAISONNEES ET DEMONSTRATIVES D'ECOLE FRANCAISE URBAIN DUBOIS & EMILE BERNARD CHEFS DE CUISINE DE LL. MM. L'EMPEREUR ET L'EMPERATRICE D'ALLEMAGNE OUVERAGE ILLUSTRE DE 76 PLANCHES GRAVEES ET UN FRONTISPICE EMBRASSANT DANS SON CADRE TOUTS LES PRESCRIPTIONS THEORIQUES, D'APRES L'ORDRE ET LES PRINCIPES DE LA GRANDE CUISINE En cuisine, en peut briller selon sen aptitude, par le luxe, la variete, le gout parfait, les soins delicats; mais, parmi les qualite indispensables au practicion, nous mettons, en premier ligne, la science organisatrice et la connaissance approfondie de toutes les branches de l'art. TOME SECOND DIXIEME EDITION PARIS E. DENTU, EDITEUR, PALAIS-ROYAL ET CHEZ TOUS LES PRINCIPAUX LIBRAIRES 1884 DROITS DE TRADUCTION ET REPRODUCTION RESERVES.
The 10th Edition; Large 4to. 307x250mm. VOLUME 1: Front paste-down and endpaper marbled. [1] 1fep. Half title. (1)Printers device. Engraved Frontispiece. [1] Title page. Verso with facsimile signature of Dubois. Half title for dedication. [1] Dedication a leurs Majestes de Prusse. [1] (1)x Preface to 1st edition. (1)xii Preface to 2nd edition. (1)xiv Preface to 8th edition. (1)xvi-xviii La Service a la Francaise. (1)xx-lxiv Menus. (1)2-421. [1]424-433 Table des Matieres. [1] 1p Table des Planches. [1] 1fep. Endpaper and back paste-down marbled. With 29 full page planches. Boards marbled with edges very slightly scuffed. Spine with black leather, raised bands and gilt lettering. Internally and externally very clean. VOLUME 2: Front paste-down and endpaper marbled. [1] 1fep. Half title. (1)Printers device. Title page. Verso with facsimile signature of Dubois. (1)2-526. [1]528-537 Table des Matieres. [1] 1p Table des Planches. [1] 1fep. Endpaper and back paste-down marbled. With 48 full page planches. (A total in both volumes of 77 planches). Boards marbled with edges very slightly scuffed. Spine with black leather, raised bands and gilt lettering. Internally and externally very clean. A handsome set of a magnificent cookery books. The fine engraved plates are incomparable.
- 'La Cuisine Classique' first published - 1856. Dubois' and Bernard's great classic, records a progressive step up from the style of French cookery based on the work of Marie Antonin Careme. These were simplifications and refinements (albeit still very complicated) of the early work of Carême. It was practised mainly in embassies, the grand houses of the titled and elite and also the royal palaces of Europe for much of the 19th and first half of the 20th century. The major developments were to replace service à la Française (serving all dishes at once) with service à la Russe (serving meals in courses but still on platters) and to develop a system of cookery which formalized the preparation of dishes with their sauces and garnishes. In its time, it was considered the pinnacle of haute cuisine, and it was a style distinct from cuisine bourgeoise (cuisine for families with cooks) the working-class cuisine of bistros and homes, and the cuisines of the the French provinces. Cuisine classique came under heavy criticism in 1972 from the food critics Henri Gault and Christian Milleau, for its rigidity, and penchant for elaborate, multi-layered preparations and heavily cooked foods, and an often whimsical and cryptic naming scheme for dishes. While restaurants serving cuisine classique are now generally considered stodgy anachronisms (if indeed there are any left) – they were supplanted by dining rooms serving nouvelle cuisine, where from the chef's point of view the biggest difference was serving the whole course on one plate. There has also been a revival of interest in provincial cooking (cuisine du terroir) and newer styles. La cuisine classique has had a decisive impact on cuisine as a whole. The cooking techniques of cuisine classique (but not the final assembly) still form the basis of most culinary educations, and the recipes of Escoffier's -'Le Guide Culinaire' and the combinations of the 'Le Repertoire de la Cuisine' are still used as a vital starting point in cooking versions of the French classics better suited to modern tastes. Those books and guides may not be consulted so much nowadays, but their lasting impact cannot be ignored, as every good French meal served today owes its creation, in large part to those times. It may be argued that there are no absolute original dishes, but rather, what we are served today is an amalgamation and progression of culinary techniques, advances in H&S and refridgeration, improved equipment and market availability since man hunted with spears. Our real debt is to those master cooks who imparted and maintained the highest standards possible and also left behind from their time, a written legacy of their knowledge and craft, that in turn influences and inspires the next generations. These two magnificent volumes from Dubois & Bernard cannot help but amaze; truly a different time.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11030

Prunier. Madame S. B. - The book and an enclosed letter, both signed by Madame Prunier
LA MAISON
The History of Prunier's (small printer's device) MADAME PRUNIER (A small oval line device of a sailing ship with the date 1724) LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO LONDON.NEW YORK.TORONTO
FIRST EDITION 1957. 2feps, one page with the signature of MADAME PRUNIER and dated 26/6/57. Half Title. [1] Title page.[1] Dedication To my Father. [1] vii-viii Contents. ix-x Plates. 1+2-293. [1] 295-298 Index. 2feps. With 23 plates and four illustrations in the text, as called for. With the original dark green buckram with a gilt lettered label. With the original d/w illustrated by Toune in perfect condition. Also enclosed is a letter of reference, signed by MADAME PRUNIER and dated Nov.10th 1942. The reference is for M. Adolphe Cadier. (Cadier is also mentioned on page 254 of the book) There is also a copy of a letter addressed to M.Cadier from Auguste Escoffier, the famous Chef de Cuisine of the Carlton Hotel. Pall Mall. Also enclosed is a photo of M.Cadier and a wonderful small menu card from Maison Prunier. 9 Rue Duphot, Paris. All in excellent condition.
- La Maison Prunier has a wonderful culinary genealogy -- the recipes of the great Emile Prunier, of the renowned eponymous fish restaurant in Paris, were written and published in 1938 under the title 'Madame Prunier's Fish Cookery Book' The task was taken up by Emile's chef Michel Bouzy and published with the endorsement of his friend, the famous chef Auguste Escoffier. It was translated into English under the direction of Prunier's daughter Simone (author of this book) who opened a branch of Prunier's in 1934 at St. James, London W1. Prunier's hosted many of the world's famous personalities including Russian Grand Dukes, European Royalty, Sarah Bernhardt, Colette, Hemingway, Cesar Frank, Oscar Wilde and Clemenceau et al. River and lake fish including all available saltwater and shellfish were used as the signature dishes of Prunier; always the very finest and freshest. This book is full of the delights of the great pre-war Prunier Restaurants. Legendary dishes like 'Sole Prunier' with mushrooms and truffle in a Sauce Vin Blanc, Turbot Kedgeree, Oyster Souffle, Wonderful Fish Soups to start with and Prunier's famed Chocolate Creams to finish memorable meals. The glory of the book is the classic French fish repertoire, described here at its very best. At its peak and in its time, Prunier's had a reputation unequaled by any other establishment including Restaurant Boulestien and Quaqlinos. This book is a window back into a simpler and grander time, and especially Madame Prunier's diplomacy, care for customers and staff, and above all her drive to maintain the highest possible standards in peacetime and war. A wonderful item especially with the two signatures of Madame Prunier and the unusual items of ephemera. A very interesting read.

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Modern category

ref number: 11019

Pellaprat. Henri-Paul - The scarce 1st edition from the French Master.
La Patisserie Pratique
RECUEIL DE RECETTES DE PATISSERIE, CONFISERIE, GLACES FORMANT UN GUIDE PRATIQUE A L'USAGE DES MAITRESSES DE MAISON BOURGEOISE CUISINIERS ET CUISINIERES PAR HENDRI PELLAPRAT Professeur de l'Enseignement Superieur aux Cours et du Cordon-Blue BIBLIOTHEQUE DU JOURNAL * LE CORDON BLUE 129, Fabourg Saint-Honore. 129 PARIS.
FIRST EDITION. n/d circa 1910. 228 x 140 mm. 1fep. Title page with a border and a banner at the top enclosing Pellaprat’s initials. [1] 1p Preface. 1p Avant Propos. (1)6 – 230. (1)232 – 237 Table des Matieres. [1] 1fep. Very lightly age browned through out but overall very good. Red cover with the original back and front covers and spine sympathetically re-laid, with the original black text tooling.
- Henri-Paul Pellaprat born Saint-Maur-des-Fossés 1869, died 1954 was a French chef, and founder with the journalist Marthe Distel, of Le Cordon Bleu school in Paris. He was the author of ‘La cuisine familiale et pratique’ and other classic French cookery texts. He worked from the age of twelve as a pastry boy then cook at many of the most famous restaurants of the La Belle Époque period in Paris, such as the Maison Dorée. As time passed, he realized that his real calling was teaching and he accepted a professorship at Le Cordon Bleu. He taught at the school for forty years. Those who attended the courses in the early years of this century had the privilege of learning French cuisine from one of the recognised great master chefs of the day. Two of his students included Maurice Edmond Sailland, later known as Curnonsky, and Raymond Oliver. During this time he wrote his master-work ‘L'Art Cullinaire Modern’e. It was translated into five languages, and appeared in English as ‘The Great Book of French Cookery’. It was hailed as the most comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date book on French cooking and gastronomy ever written. As an author and teacher, Pellaprat did much to consolidate Le Cordon Bleu's position as the world's leading cookery school, and the tributes paid to his books echo the importance given to the school, which was setting standards and teaching classic French cuisine to an ever-growing number of graduates. Rosemary Hume, who later went on to found "Ecole du Petit Cordon Bleu" in London trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris under Henri-Paul in the 1920s.

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Modern category

ref number: 11241

KOFFMANN. PIERRE - A signed copy.
La TANTE CLAIRE.
PIERRE KOFFMANN and TIMOTHY SHAW / PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANTHONY BLAKE. A square publisher's device for HEADLINE.
FIRST EDITION 1992. 285 x 215mm. 1fep. Half title with the signature, 'To Robert Hendry', and a cartoon head with a chef's cap drawn by the author. Frontis of Koffmann making fresh pasta. Title page. Publishers info. on the verso. 1p Contents. 2p Chapter 1 - Early Years. 8-61. p62-63 Chapter 2 - Early Career. 64-89. p90-91 Chapter 3 - National Service. 92-117. p118/119 Chapter 4 - England. 120-157. p158/159 Chapter 5 - La Tante Claire begins. 160-177. p178/219. Chapter 6 - La Tante Claire Success. p220-223 Index. p224 Acknowledgements. 1fep. Dark blue cloth covers with silver text on the spine. Pictorial dust-cover. Everything in fine condition as new.
- Pierre Koffmann born August 21st 1948, at Tarbes near the Pyrenees and the Spanish border. His Mother Germaine was descended from generations of Gascons. She had a hard life she did not really enjoy, living and working on the family farm. The meagre existence, hard long days of graft and survival were finally alleviated by Germaine's marriage to Albert Koffmann of Paris, who had come to work on the farm for a while. Pierre's mother and father provided him and his three siblings a solid upbringing. This book is the story of a wonderful odyssey from those early days in the country and the start of his career to England and La Tante Claire, and 3 Michelin stars that awaited him many years later. Told in text, recipes and wonderful pictures. Koffmann's cuisine does not soar into fantasy, but stays essentially, close to his Gascon and French country roots, but in his hands, cooked to a sublime degree. Great recipes, a great book and a great Chef.

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Modern category

ref number: 11321

Montagné. Prosper A handsome copy in the original state.
Larousse Gastronomique
Paris, France, Librairie Larousse, 1938
FIRST EDITON. 4to. Patterned paste-downs and endpapers. Preface by A. Escoffier and Ph. Gilbert. 1850 engravings and 16 full page plates in colour. French text. Black and white photos & illustrations throughout. Contents very clean and bright with very little sign of use. Original embossed and decorated cloth boards and spine. Gilt lettering is bright and clean. A wonderful copy.
- Alongside Georges-Auguste Escoffier's ‘Le Guide Culinaire’ and Louis Saulnier's ‘Le Répertoire de la Cuisine’, the Larousse Gastronomique became one of the key reference works on French national and regional cuisine for the professional chef. It is a reference text that codifies a history of the French culinary arts from the distant past to the present day in encyclopedic form. Entries cover such items as culinary terminology, foods, kitchen equipment, techniques, national cuisines, regional French cuisines, and historically significant chefs and restaurants. Philéas Gilbert was a collaborator in the creation of this book and also 'Le Guide Culinaire' with Escoffier, leading to some cross-over with the two books and causing Escoffier to note when he was asked to write the preface that he could “see with my own eyes, and Montagné (a Chef himself) cannot hide from me the fact that he has used 'Le Guide' as a basis for his new book, and certainly used numerous recipes.” Montagné's work signaled a break with the preceding era of French cookery (albeit with a big helping from his collaboration with the true Master; Escoffier) as exemplified by the architectural creations of Marie Antoine Carême. Montagné emphasized dishes that were simple by Carême's standards, and the shortened menus were delivered in the Russian style of service; meals served in courses on individual plates. This philosophy inspired the name of his culinary encyclopedia. Montagné covered the range from the relatively new haute cuisine to French provincial and home cooking with some attention to classic dishes of other nations Three editions of the Larousse gastronomique have been published in English. The first edition was published in 1961. Jennifer Harvey Lang edited the second English edition, published in 1988, from the 1984 French edition compiled and directed by Robert J. Courtine. Courtine's introduction describes the first edition as a monumental work, albeit one in need of some refurbishment. The new editions take into account technical innovations, advancements in food science, and a new culture of dining characterized by simpler meals and a dietary palette expanded through travel and global commerce. Yet the core achievements of Montagné including his recipes and technical advice on classical and regional French dishes are preserved. For the third English edition, published in 2001, Jennifer Harvey Lang worked from a new French edition edited by Joël Robuchon, the president of the Gastronomy committee of the Librairie Larousse. This edition claims to have retained the classic dishes and techniques of the original edition with a new found sensitivity to global influences in technique, presentation, ingredients, and recipes. It is 1,350 pages, over 150 pages longer than the preceding English edition and it includes two hundred new recipes and four hundred new entries. The Larousse Gastronomique no longer sits alone —- if it ever did. It does not provide the detail of the more narrow but specialized cookbooks. Nevertheless, it covers an immense breadth of culinary material, justifying its continued importance as a great volume of reference of French gastronomic tradition.

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Modern category

ref number: 11020

Jourdan-Lecointe. Dr
Le Cuisinier des Cuisiniers.
1000 RECETTES DE CORDON BLUE FACILES ET ECONOMIQUES d'apres les decouveries recentes de la cuisine francaise, provencale, anglaise, italienne, suisse et allemande; 1° Patisserie; petit-fours; 2° office: confitures, sirops, fruits confits, li-quers; 3° filtration de l'eau et autres liquides; 4° procedes pour rafrai-chir l'eau et faire la glace; 5° conservation des substances alimentaires cuites ou a'l'etat frais, d'apres la methode d'Appert, par le dessiccation, le fumage, la salaison, etc; 6° choix, conservation et emploi des vins; 7° recettes pour faire des boissons economiques, grog et eaux gazeuses; 8° physiologie des pates alimentaires, des fromages, des poissons, du melon, etc; 9° choux et dissection des viandes et des poissons; 10° ser-vice de la table, ordre et soins de proprete; 11° dictonnaire des termes de cuisine; 12° musee des menages, choix d'ustensiles de cuisine et de menage dont l'usage merite d'etre recommande. AVEC L'INDICATION DE L'INFLUENCE DE CHAQUE METS SUR LA SANTE PAR M. LE DOCTEUR JOURDAN-LECOINTE. "A trente-deux aus, mon estomac ne digerait plus aucune espece de mets travailles par nos meilleurs cui-siniers: j'essayai de les preparer moi-meme sous un maitre habile qui dirigea mes premieres essais. Apres quinze aus d'experience et d'analyses sur nos preparations alimentaires, j'ai recuelli un grande nombre d'observa-tions sur cette mattiere importante. <> A L'USAGE DE TOUTE LES FORTUNES. QUATROZIEME EDITION, revue par r. de L, auteur de plusieurs procedes relatifs a'la conservation des substances alimentaires. ORNEE D'UN GRAND NOMBRE DE GRAVURES SUR BOIS. PARIS, L' MAISON, EDITEUR, RUE DE TOUNON, 17. 1856. L'editeur se reserve le droit de reproduction et de traduction.
190x125x45mm. 1fep. Half-title and on verso Frontispiece. Title page - on verso Division de l'ouvrage. 2p Au Lecteur. (1)4-24 Table Generale. (1)26-36 Table de Service. (1)38-645. [1] 1p Ouvrages Recommandes. [1] 1fep. The front and back covers are the original decorated cardboard ones, age browned but still clearly visible. The frontispiece is an exact copy of the front cover. The spine has been relaid in modern dark brown calf, with raised bands, gilt tooled devices in the compartments with two labels in red and green morrocco respectively, both with gilt lettering. Very clean inside except for the last chapter; Musee des Menages p612-645 which is evenly but lightly foxed throughout due to bad paper. All pages are original untrimmed size with some uncut. A nice copy overall.
- Docteur Jourdan-Lecointe published three cookery/gastronomic books… this one, ‘Le Cuisinier des cuisiniers’ which was first printed and published 1825. Also ‘La Cuisine de santé’. 3 volumes. First edition, Paris 1789. Cagle holds a re-issued copy of ‘La Cuisine de santé’, re-titled ‘La Cuisinier Royale ou Cuisine de Sante’ and dated 1792. He also informs that no other copy has been located. ‘La pâtisserie de santé’ was originally published in Paris, 1790. Cagle has an un-recorded third edition of 1793. Vicaire records the 1792 edition.

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Antiquarian category

ref number: 11152