The first regular cookery book published in France was, we believe, printed at Rouen in 1692. It was the production of the Sieur de la Varranner, esquire of the kitchen of M. d'Uxelles. It is dedicated to MM. Louis Chalon du Bled, Marquis d'Uxelles and of Cormartiu. He expatiates on the thousand- and-one vegetables and other "victual" which people know not how to dress with honor and contentment; and he then exclaims that, as France has borne off the bell from all other nations in courtesy and bienseance, it is only right and proper that she should be no less esteemed for her polite and delicate manner of living. The first edition of that remarkable cookery book, the "Dons de Comus," appeared about 1740, and is in every respect a superior work to the droll production just mentioned. It was composed by M. Marin, cook of the Duchesse de Chaulnes. The cookery of France at this epoch, and indeed from the time of Louis XIV., was distinguished by luxury and sumptuousness, but, according to Careme, was wanting in delicate sensualism. They ate well, indeed, at the court, says the professor of the The Complete Cook Book. 7 culinary art; but the rich citizens, the men of letters, the artists "were only in the course of learning to dine, drink, and laugh with convenance." The regency and reign of Louis XV. were among the grand epochs of French cookery. A book called "The Queen's Closet Opened," published in 1663, is the first English cookery book. Some of the dishes in this book maintain their popularity to the present day — as, for instance, chicken and .pigeon pie, boiled rump of beef, and potted venison; but others have wholly passed away — ^as, for example, a baked red deer, a capon laided with lemons, a steak pie with a French pudding in it, a salet of smelts, flounders, or plaice, with garlic and mustard, an olive pie, and dressed snails. Some insight into the cookery of 1754 may be obtained from the pages of the "Connoisseur." In London, at "Dolly's" and "Horsman's" beefsteaks were eaten with gill ale; and behind the 'Change, a man worth a plum used to order a twopenny mess of broth with a boiled chop in it. Placing the chop between the two crusts of a halfpenny'roll, he would wrap it up in his check handkerchief, and carry it away for the morrow's dinner. 8 The Complete Cook Book. A POEM BY THE POPE. When the pope turns frona the problems of ecclesias- ticism and statecraft to the writing of a poem on diets, it would seem, the subject is considered of some import- ance. I quote three stanzas here, believing many of my readers will be much interested in it. The poem is originally written in Latin in the style of Horace, and this translation is by Andrew Lang : "What diet lends the strength to life and frees The flower of health from each malign disease, The good Ofellus, pupil from of old, And follower of Hippocrates, has told. Eating base gluttony with anxious air. He thus laid down the laws of frugal fare : "Neatness comes first. Be thy spare table bright With shining dishes and with napkins white. Be thy Chianti unadulterate To cheer the heart and raise the spirits' weight. Yet trust not much the rosy god ; in fine, Be sure that you put water to your wine. Picked be thy grain and pure thy home-ma(3e bread; Thy meats be delicate and dairy fed. Tender, nor highly spiced thy food nor tease Thy taste with sauces from ^gean seas. Fresh b.e thine eggs— hard boiled or nearly raw, Or deftly poached or simply served au plat, 'There's wit in poaching eggs,' the proverb says, And you may do them in a hundred ways. The Complete Cook Book.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

The first regular cookery book published in France was, we believe, printed at Rouen in 1692. It was the production of the Sieur de la Varranner, esquire of the kitchen of M. d'Uxelles. It is dedicated to MM. Louis Chalon du Bled, Marquis d'Uxelles and of Cormartiu. He expatiates on the thousand- and-one vegetables and other "victual" which people know not how to dress with honor and contentment; and he then exclaims that, as France has borne off the bell from all other nations in courtesy and bienseance, it is only right and proper that she should be no less esteemed for her polite and delicate manner of living. The first edition of that remarkable cookery book, the "Dons de Comus," appeared about 1740, and is in every respect a superior work to the droll production just mentioned. It was composed by M. Marin, cook of the Duchesse de Chaulnes. The cookery of France at this epoch, and indeed from the time of Louis XIV., was distinguished by luxury and sumptuousness, but, according to Careme, was wanting in delicate sensualism. They ate well, indeed, at the court, says the professor of the The Complete Cook Book. 7 culinary art; but the rich citizens, the men of letters, the artists "were only in the course of learning to dine, drink, and laugh with convenance." The regency and reign of Louis XV. were among the grand epochs of French cookery. A book called "The Queen's Closet Opened," published in 1663, is the first English cookery book. Some of the dishes in this book maintain their popularity to the present day — as, for instance, chicken and .pigeon pie, boiled rump of beef, and potted venison; but others have wholly passed away — ^as, for example, a baked red deer, a capon laided with lemons, a steak pie with a French pudding in it, a salet of smelts, flounders, or plaice, with garlic and mustard, an olive pie, and dressed snails. Some insight into the cookery of 1754 may be obtained from the pages of the "Connoisseur." In London, at "Dolly's" and "Horsman's" beefsteaks were eaten with gill ale; and behind the 'Change, a man worth a plum used to order a twopenny mess of broth with a boiled chop in it. Placing the chop between the two crusts of a halfpenny'roll, he would wrap it up in his check handkerchief, and carry it away for the morrow's dinner. 8 The Complete Cook Book. A POEM BY THE POPE. When the pope turns frona the problems of ecclesiasticism and statecraft to the writing of a poem on diets, it would seem, the subject is considered of some importance. I quote three stanzas here, believing many of my readers will be much interested in it. The poem is originally written in Latin in the style of Horace, and this translation is by Andrew Lang : "What diet lends the strength to life and frees The flower of health from each malign disease, The good Ofellus, pupil of old, And follower of Hippocrates, has told. Eating base gluttony with anxious air. He thus laid down the laws of frugal fare : "Neatness comes first. Be thy spare table bright With shining dishes and with napkins white. Be thy Chianti unadulterate To cheer the heart and raise the spirits' weight. Yet trust not much the rosy god ; in fine, Be sure that you put water to your wine. Picked be thy grain and pure thy home-made bread; Thy meats be delicate and dairy fed. Tender, nor highly spiced thy food nor tease Thy taste with sauces from ^gean seas. Fresh Be thine eggs— hard boiled or nearly raw, Or deftly poached or simply served au plat, 'There's wit in poaching eggs,' the proverb says, And you may do them in a hundred ways. The Complete Cook Book.

The complete cook book