Author: Guy, Christian
Title: An Illustrated History Of French Cuisine From Charlemagne to Charles de Gaulle
Publisher: Bramhall
Place: New York
Date: (1962)
Edition: reprint
Pages: 243
Binding: Hardback
Condition: VERY GOOD very good dj
Photographs: b&w
Illustrations: many from old prints never before reproduced
Book Id: MAIN002129I
Details: Introduction, index
About the book: An entertaining and informative history of the world's greatest cuisine. French cooking is traced from the days of Charlemagne, through the Middle Ages, the glamorous reigns of the Henris' and the Louis', the sumptuous Napoleonic era when such culinary geniuses as Laguipiére, Carême and Brillat.-Savarin were creating their specialities, down to the present-day France of Charles de Gaulle.
All this is made lively with witty and memorable anecdotes like:

• how Charlemagne made the cheeses of Brie famous
• the origin of the croissant
• Parmentier's efforts to introduce the potato
• how Philippe Auguste first tasted canara au win rouge after the battle of Bouvines
• the famous " meal of beef" (there was nothing else to eat) the Duke of Richelieu ordered served to royalty taken prisoner by his troops during the Hanoverian war
• the origin of the word restaurant
• the cut-throat competition among the courtiers of the Sun King to please him with new dishes

And for the adventurous, the authentic recipes from each period of France's history are intriguing, such as Catherine de' Medici's recipe for Pintade a la Medici, Louis XIV's omelette au sucre and many others.