Old school French haute/classic cuisine

[johung]

Hi all,

Are there still some old school high-end classic French cookbooks available? I have considered Escoffier and Larousse but I seem to recall some book in 1980s Asia that had recipes taken from a 1960s and 1970s book. They come with lots of colour photos for very old-school haute dishes.

Would it be Henri-Paul Pellaprat's book or something else?

[Dave Hatfield]

Hi all,

Are there still some old school high-end classic French cookbooks available?  I have considered Escoffier and Larousse but I seem to recall some book in 1980s Asia that had recipes taken from a 1960s and 1970s book.  They come with lots of colour photos for very old-school haute dishes. 

Would it be Henri-Paul Pellaprat's book or something else?

←

Julia Child's original "Mastering the Art ... " is actually pretty good.

Also, I like the individual volumes of Larousse where they do recipes only on meat, vegetables and so forth in each volume. They're more user friendly than the big book.

Maybe not exactly what you are looking as there are no pictures.

[Chris Amirault]

johung, what do you mean by "available"? There are scads available used, but do you mean in print?

[johung]

johung, what do you mean by "available"? There are scads available used, but do you mean in print?

←

Yep it would be great if it is still in print, but if there is really nothing like this any excellent 2nd hand condition would be fine.

[Busboy]

You might try Jacques Pepin's Complete Techniques. Very old school and every recipe illustrated by many photographs. Arguably more a technique book than a recipe book, but each technique is actually an illustrated recipe, and there are a couple of hundred, at least.

[Jon Tseng]

Amazon lists a new translated edition of Points "Ma Gastronomie" coming out in the fall. Not quite old school hotel haute, but almost of the era. Search under "Fernand Point".

You also might want to check out the Robert Laffont editions of 1970s French cheffy cookbooks. They are hardcover books with distinctive white covers. They run through the gamut of many of the leading 1970s *** chefs complete with rather tacky colour plates of the dishes.

Also try Masterpieces of French Cuisine (Amunategui). Again lots of 1960s and 70s dishes; heavily sauced; lots of doodads.

J

[dougal]

"Secrets of the Great French Restaurants" might not be the most believable title, but the fact that Bertholle co-authored "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" with Julia Childs does correctly indicate a certain authority.

First published 1975. I definitely had a copy, (in 1975!) - not many photos, but the particular resto's were fully credited IIRC. I haven't seen it for ages. Now that I could appreciate it more, I'm wondering where its gone to. Rats!

http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-French-Resta.../dp/0333334590/

[McDuff]

Raymond Oliver...Ma Cuisine

[muichoi]

I have to say that 'mastering the art' is perhaps the most overrated cookbook of all time. Persistently they make simple processes complicated and thus render what should be foolproof fallible. I hate it.

[johung]

Thanks for more suggestions. I managed to track down a completely new copy of Henri-Paul Pellaprat's Great Book of French Cuisine, not the 2003 one revised by Jeremish Tower but rather his original work and translated in the 1960s/70s into English. It says it has 1100 pages and 2000 recipes and a least 280 colour photos and originally published in the 1970s and reprinted in 1994.

I suspect it is the book with fancy colour photo of dishes like

- pigeon de prince Rainier (a braised stuffed pigeon dish with foie gras, veal, truffles)

- journedos a la nantua sauce (steak with a shrimp/prawn infused butter)

- fondants de volaille en francais (a stewed chicken mousse dish, with foie gras and truffles, with a thick cream-based sauce, and garnished with chicory and cabbage sprouts)

Should be an interesting read IMHO.

Edited August 25, 2008 by johung (log)

[Dave Hatfield]

I have to say that 'mastering the art' is perhaps the most overrated cookbook of all time. Persistently they make simple processes complicated and thus render what should be foolproof fallible. I hate it.

←

Still. though, its one of the most influential cookbooks of all time - at least in the United States.

Given the time it was written I don't think the processes are over complicated. They are the techniques used by top French chefs then and to a large extent now. I still refer to it from time to time when I want to be reasonably authentic when cooking a French classic.

Don't hate it, just ignore it. There are plenty of alternatives these days, but do remember that there weren't back then.

[qrn]

Hi all,

Are there still some old school high-end classic French cookbooks available?  I have considered Escoffier and Larousse but I seem to recall some book in 1980s Asia that had recipes taken from a 1960s and 1970s book.  They come with lots of colour photos for very old-school haute dishes. 

Would it be Henri-Paul Pellaprat's book or something else?

←

I have a Pellaprat from 66. that is still very useful. I got it new..

Bud

[muichoi]

I have to say that 'mastering the art' is perhaps the most overrated cookbook of all time. Persistently they make simple processes complicated and thus render what should be foolproof fallible. I hate it.

←

Still. though, its one of the most influential cookbooks of all time - at least in the United States.

Given the time it was written I don't think the processes are over complicated. They are the techniques used by top French chefs then and to a large extent now. I still refer to it from time to time when I want to be reasonably authentic when cooking a French classic.

Don't hate it, just ignore it. There are plenty of alternatives these days, but do remember that there weren't back then.

←

I don't think any professional would make, for example, a hollandaise sauce in such an incredibly fussy way. It attempts to make supposedly difficult techniques simple, but always misses the important point, for example in this case describing the look and feel of the correctly cooked yolks. Such examples occur all over the book.

[Dave Hatfield]

I have to say that 'mastering the art' is perhaps the most overrated cookbook of all time. Persistently they make simple processes complicated and thus render what should be foolproof fallible. I hate it.

←

Still. though, its one of the most influential cookbooks of all time - at least in the United States.

Given the time it was written I don't think the processes are over complicated. They are the techniques used by top French chefs then and to a large extent now. I still refer to it from time to time when I want to be reasonably authentic when cooking a French classic.

Don't hate it, just ignore it. There are plenty of alternatives these days, but do remember that there weren't back then.

←

I don't think any professional would make, for example, a hollandaise sauce in such an incredibly fussy way. It attempts to make supposedly difficult techniques simple, but always misses the important point, for example in this case describing the look and feel of the correctly cooked yolks. Such examples occur all over the book.

←

Ok, I guess, but having just read the recipe again I don't see your problem. Remembering that the book was written for those who are very basic cooks I don't think its over the top.

Far more detailed than would be necessary if writing for experienced home cooks, but nothing fundamentally wrong with either the basic technique or the "blender' version. Not complicated either just very detailed.

Maybe I'm too easy & nostalgic on Julia. I remember doing her recipe for daub in our apartment in Madrid sometime in the early 60's. At that time there just were not many French cook books in English so her book was a revelation. I'd go to France, eat some of the classic dishes and come back home & try to cook them with my wife using "Mastering the Art.." We had a lots of fun and the dishes were successful. Or at least we thought so at the time.

[johung]

Hi all,

Just received my copy of Henri-Paul Pellaprat's Great Book of French Cuisine. The colour photos were taken of the same vein as the Asian-published western cuisine cookbooks that I own, although they don't cover the same dishes that I have in mind.

I think I will just forget about tracking books with the same recipes now, but rather, try to find either (a) old school haute cuisine French cookbooks regardless of any photos rae included; or (b) any good/comprehensive French cookbooks (of the 4 varieties and including cutting edge).

Currently I have these on my list of consideration:

1. Joel Robuchon

2. Larousse Gastronimique

3. Alain Ducasse's encyclopedias and other works of Ducasse

4. Flammarion's French cook series

5. Jacques Pepin

6. Cordon Bleu

7. French Culinary Institute's The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine

8. Chefs specializing on French style food based in the US, such as Daniel Boulud, Vong, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Anthony Bourdain, etc

9. Guy Savoy

10. Madame Evelyn Saint-Ange's La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange

11. Anne Willan's The Country Cooking of France

Anyone else have good suggestions? I'm not really too keen on Juila Child.

Thanks.

Edited September 9, 2008 by johung (log)

[Recoil Rob]

I cut my teeth on Pepin's Technique & Methode , and Lavernne Practique by Anne Willan, great references for adapting recipes.

For the entire old school recipe I second Masterpieces of French Cuisine (Amunategui) and there's also Entertaining in the French Style by Roger Vergere sp?

[Obese-Wan Kenobi]

Hi all,

Just received my copy of Henri-Paul Pellaprat's Great Book of French Cuisine.  The colour photos were taken of the same vein as the Asian-published western cuisine cookbooks that I own, although they don't cover the same dishes that I have in mind.

I think I will just forget about tracking books with the same recipes now, but rather, try to find either (a) old school haute cuisine French cookbooks regardless of any photos rae included; or (b) any good/comprehensive French cookbooks (of the 4 varieties and including cutting edge).

Currently I have these on my list of consideration:

1. Joel Robuchon

2. Larousse Gastronimique

3. Alain Ducasse's encyclopedias and other works of Ducasse

4. Flammarion's French cook series

5. Jacques Pepin

6. Cordon Bleu

7. French Culinary Institute's The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine

8. Chefs specializing on French style food based in the US, such as Daniel Boulud, Vong, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Anthony Bourdain, etc

9. Guy Savoy

10. Madame Evelyn Saint-Ange's La Bonne Cuisine de Madame E. Saint-Ange

11. Anne Willan's The Country Cooking of France

Anyone else have good suggestions?  I'm not really too keen on Juila Child.

Thanks.

←

You can try Girardet: Recipes from a Master of French Cuisine by Fredy Girardet

That's old school and Haute

Regards!

Edited October 3, 2008 by Obese-Wan Kenobi (log)