Under Richaut, the celebrated saucier of
the house of Conde, he learned the working of the sauces ;
during the great fetes given at the H6tel-de-Ville at Paris,
under the direction of L’Asne, he acquired the practical
knowledge concerning ornamented cold dishes ; at the
Elysee Bourbon, under the management of Robert and
Laguepierre, he learned, as he terms it, the elegance of the
modern kitchen, and the ensemble of a great administra-
tion. He was thus well qualified to be an exponent of the
sumptuous banqueting magirism, and contributed not a
little to increase the luxury and expense of social entertain-
ments in all parts of the civilized world. Autodidact of
great ability, yet without fundamental philosophical culture,
he used titles for some of his disquisitions which cover a
much greater field than the contents of his chapters. Thus,
in the ‘ Parallel of the Ancient and Modern Cookery,’ the
adjective ‘ ancient ’ does not apply, as one would expect, to
the times of the Greeks and Romans or Egyptians, but only
to the cookery of the past parts of the eighteenth century
40
THE SPIRIT OF COOKERY
as represented in the ‘ Dons de Comus,’ Menon’s ‘ Soupers
de la Cour,’ and the ‘ Cuisinier Moderne ’ of La Chapelle.
He worked and wrote, as he himself said, not for the mass
of the people, but for the class of sensualists (fZes sensuels),
and with their extinction under the influence of the July
Eevolution of 1830, his exaggerated style of ornamentation
and garnishing of all kinds of pastry became obsolete.
Amongst the important works of French culinary authors
who have developed special branches of the art are a
‘ Treatise on Baking,’ particularly of cakes, by Parmentier,*
and one on confectionery by J. J. Machet.f The widest
and most lasting reputation was obtained by Fran9ois
Appert,^ who invented a method for preserving all animal
and vegetable substances in a state in which they remain
fit for aliment during several years, which is now practised
on a very large scale all over the world, and has given rise
to a colossal trade.
In 1826 was published at Paris an anonymous work
under the title of ‘ Physiologie du Goilt,’ etc.§ An edition
of the year 184:0 was accompanied with a preface by the
physician Eicherand, and a poem by Berchoux. It appears
to be a book written with a great deal of knowledge
of the world, but abounds in extravagances, which, notwith-
standing their dialectic glitter, not rarely reach the para-
doxical. Its lively style and frequently elegant diction
attracted to it many readers, and its contents were con-
sidered as oracular by the newly made in society, and it
was translated into several languages. Bereft of its French
* Pannentier, ‘ Le parfait boulanger.’ Paris, 1778, 8vo.
f Machet, J. J., ‘ Le confiseur moderne, ou I’art clu confiseur et du dis-
tillateur.’ Paris, 1821, 8vo.
X Appert, Pran9ois, ‘ Le livre de tons les menages, ou I’art de conserver
pendant plusieurs annees toutes les subsUnces animales et vegdtales,’ 4th
edition. Paris, 1861, 8vo. _ ^
§ ‘ Physiologie du Goftt, ou meditation de gastronomie transcendante,
par un professeur. 1st edition, Paris, 1826, and others. ‘ Edition prt'cedee
d’une notice de Kicherand, suivie de la gastronomie, poeme p. Beichou.\.’
Paris, 1840, 18mo.
THE HISTORIC LITERATURE OF COOKERY 41
Page 37
Presented as published in 1895. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Under Richaut, the celebrated saucier of the house of Condé, he learned the working of the sauces; during the great fêtes given at the Hôtel-de-Ville at Paris, under the direction of L'Asne, he acquired the practical knowledge concerning ornamented cold dishes; at the Elysée Bourbon, under the management of Robert and Laguepierre, he learned, as he terms it, the elegance of the modern kitchen, and the ensemble of a great administration. He was thus well qualified to be an exponent of the sumptuous banqueting magirism, and contributed not a little to increase the luxury and expense of social entertainments in all parts of the civilized world. Autodidact of great ability, yet without fundamental philosophical culture, he used titles for some of his disquisitions which cover a much greater field than the contents of his chapters. Thus, in the 'Parallel of the Ancient and Modern Cookery,' the adjective 'ancient' does not apply, as one would expect, to the times of the Greeks and Romans or Egyptians, but only to the cookery of the past parts of the eighteenth century
as represented in the 'Dons de Comus,' Menon's 'Soupers de la Cour,' and the 'Cuisinier Moderne' of La Chapelle. He worked and wrote, as he himself said, not for the mass of the people, but for the class of sensualists (les sensuels), and with their extinction under the influence of the July Revolution of 1830, his exaggerated style of ornamentation and garnishing of all kinds of pastry became obsolete.
Amongst the important works of French culinary authors who have developed special branches of the art are a 'Treatise on Baking,' particularly of cakes, by Parmentier,* and one on confectionery by J. J. Machet.† The widest and most lasting reputation was obtained by François Appert,‡ who invented a method for preserving all animal and vegetable substances in a state in which they remain fit for aliment during several years, which is now practised on a very large scale all over the world, and has given rise to a colossal trade.
In 1826 was published at Paris an anonymous work under the title of 'Physiologie du Goût,' etc.§ An edition of the year 1840 was accompanied with a preface by the physician Eicherand, and a poem by Berchoux. It appears to be a book written with a great deal of knowledge of the world, but abounds in extravagances, which, notwithstanding their dialectic glitter, not rarely reach the paradoxical. Its lively style and frequently elegant diction attracted to it many readers, and its contents were considered as oracular by the newly made in society, and it was translated into several languages. Bereft of its French
* Pannentier, ‘ Le parfait boulanger.’ Paris, 1778, 8vo.
f Machet, J. J., ‘ Le confiseur moderne, ou I’art clu confiseur et du distillateur.’ Paris, 1821, 8vo.
X Appert, Pran9ois, ‘ Le livre de tons les menages, ou I’art de conserver pendant plusieurs annees toutes les subsUnces animales et vegdtales,’ 4th edition. Paris, 1861, 8vo. _ ^
§ ‘ Physiologie du Goftt, ou meditation de gastronomie transcendante, par un professeur. 1st edition, Paris, 1826, and others. ‘ Edition prt'cedee d’une notice de Kicherand, suivie de la gastronomie, poeme p. Beichou.\.’ Paris, 1840, 18mo.