Image: François Massialot · Public domain
Le Cuisinier Roial et Bourgeois
- Year
- 1691
- Era
- 17th century
- Origin
- France · Europe
- Language
- French
- Category
- French foundational
Le Cuisinier Roial et Bourgeois, first published in Paris in 1691, marks a turning point in French culinary literature by addressing both aristocratic households and the urban bourgeoisie within a single volume. Compiled by François Massialot, an officier de bouche who served various princely tables, it organised recipes alphabetically in later editions and helped codify the emerging classical French repertoire. The title appears variously as Roial or Royal across printings.
Cooking from this book
Crème brûlée
Signature dishThis celebrated custard with its glassy caramelised sugar crust is often traced to Massialot's late seventeenth century compendium, where an early printed version of the dish appears under a French name. Its inclusion captures the book's importance as a bridge between royal kitchens and prosperous bourgeois households, codifying refined desserts alongside grand meat cookery. The dish remains emblematic of the work's lasting influence on classical French pastry and sweet course traditions.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
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