Author: Ude, Louis Eustache (ci-devant cook to Louis XVI, & the Earl of Sefton, & steward to his late Royal Highness The Duke Of York)
Title: The French Cook
Publisher: Arco
Place: New York
Date: (1978)
Edition: photo reprint
ISBN: 0668043814
Pages: 478
Binding: Hardback
Condition: VERY GOOD very good dj
Book Id: MAIN006498I
Dj: This is a facsimile edition of a classic cookbook one of the first on French cuisine published in America. Printed in Philadelphia in 1828, it lays down in meticulous detail the rules to a mastery of the science and art of cookery.
In these days of "cuisine minceur," it is refreshing if not astonishing to read a cookbook that does not stint on a single item or omit one laborious step needed to create a classic dish. The author's exalted standards and his admonitions to the would-be practitioners of his great art are at once charming and completely relevant. If one wants to know what great cooking is all about, he 'can find it in the pages of this fascinating book.
Many of the dishes included here can be easily created in the modern kitchen, but experienced and knowledgeable cooks will be challenged to attempt some of the more elaborate preparations. The author lists no less than 99 sauces (although he admits that he does not use all of them), so this section alone makes the book valuable as a reference for food writers and historians as well as serious cooks.
The author also gives fascinating glimpses into how a large household was managed in the days of unlimited servants and household help from laying in the provisions, to planning the menu, to setting the table, to seating the guest, to serving the food and what food it is! The French Cook is a notable addition to that small shelf of books that leads the adventurous cook back to basics.