Image: DANIEL JULIE from Paris, France · CC BY 2.0
The French Cook
- Year
- 1653
- Era
- 17th century
- Origin
- England · Europe
- Language
- English
- Category
- French foundational
The French Cook represents the first English translation of François Pierre La Varenne's Le Cuisinier François, rendered by the otherwise obscure I.D.G. and issued in London in 1653. Through it, English readers gained direct access to the methods that defined the new French cuisine, including roux based liaisons, restrained use of spice, and the codification of stocks and ragouts, marking a pivotal moment in the transmission of Continental technique across the Channel.
Cooking from this book
Oeufs à la tripe
Signature dishAmong the dishes that announced a new sensibility in La Varenne's pages, eggs dressed in the manner of tripe stand out: hard cooked eggs sliced and bound in a smooth onion sauce thickened with butter and flour rather than bread or almonds. Its appearance in the 1653 English edition introduced readers to the roux based liaison and the restrained, savoury seasoning that would come to define French cookery for centuries afterwards.
An editorial note on a dish associated with this book, written for The Coquinist. It is not a reproduction of the book's recipe.
