TDG: Desperately Seeking Edouard

[Fat Guy]

There's not really any adult content here, but it does get a bit steamy at times.

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[Jinmyo]

Excellent article.

[Dave the Cook]

I recently came across Pomiane myself, and was shocked that this guy is so little known.

Arguably, he's the forefather of the quick-but-good school of cooking whose primary spokeperson today seems to be the ubiquitous and terminally perky Rachael Ray. But Edouard's real heir is Pierre Franey, who put out a couple of Sixty-Minute Gourmet books in the 80s. Franey is not nearly so droll as de Pomiane, but he proposed the same agenda: this is not difficult, it need not take all day, it can taste good and be good for you without breaking the bank. I learned more about the ins-and-outs of everyday cooking from Franey than any other chef/author I can think of, but that's only because I found him before Pomiane.

After discovering ...Ten Minutes, I went to the library to look for Cooking with Pomiane. It saddens me that the likes of Al Roker, David Hasselhoff, Suzanne Sommers and Rosie O'Donnell get shelf space, and a revolutionary like Pomiane goes begging.

Thanks, Lily -- a very nice article.

[Sandra Levine]

Pomiane is as evocative to me of Paris in a certain era as Hemingway's A Moveable Feast and Bemelmans' My Life in Art. [sigh]

[IrishCream]

Very nice article. I am curious...have you actually cooked any of the 10 minute recipes? Do they taste as good as they sound?

[Sandra Levine]

The book is delightful to read, but many of the recipes depend on unacceptable shortcuts like canned vegetables or bouillon cubes or unavailable vegetable flours. That being said, there are many other, very simple recipes that would be worth learning for a novice and are part of the repetoire of anyone who has done any cooking at all. It's the idea and charm of the book that count today, but it must have been a revelation in 1930.

Edited April 4, 2003 by Sandra Levine (log)

[maggiethecat]

Very nice article.  I am curious...have you actually cooked any of the 10 minute recipes?  Do they taste as good as they sound?

Yes I have, many of them. But Sandra's points are valid.

The philosophy and the method...the parsley and the violets...are what makes this book sing. There are many, many menus you can make using modern (and superior) substitutes that the poor Docteur would have fallen on like the scientist he was. He would use them, if he were alive.

A real meal, a French meal, in ten minutes. It can be done better and more easily now than when de Pomiane wrote this book. But the majority of the recipes are French Classics, and they taste as good as they sound. Simple, attainable, worth adding to the repertiore.

[britcook]

The BBC (God bless 'em) made a series (possibly two?) in the early 90's based upon French Cooking in 10 minutes, very well done and quite amusing. The general tone was that he was entertaining a lady and he had better things to do than waste time in the kitchen so everything was pared to the minimum necessary to produce a reasonable meal. I've cooked a few things from it and they certainly do work.

[nerissa]

Loved the article.

[maggiethecat]

The BBC (God bless 'em) made a series (possibly two?) in the early 90's based upon French Cooking in 10 minutes, very well done and quite amusing. The general tone was that he was entertaining a lady and he had better things to do than waste time in the kitchen so everything was pared to the minimum necessary to produce a reasonable meal. I've cooked a few things from it and they certainly do work.

Thanks, Britcook.

Part of my reason for writing this was to get more information about The Man. Thanks for telling me about those BBC tapes.

The erotic subtext is absent in the book. But it could certainly apply to...well...everyday life.

And thanks for verifying that the stuff works.

[awbrig]

i cant write worth a damn, who doesnt know that? See I didnt even capitalize I at the beginning of this post...

I read eGullet to read people like FG, Wilfred, Aurora, Lady T, Qualajote, Tommy, and Maggie...

Maggie knows how to write...and Im glad Im here to read her posts...and if you dont know already, she's a hell of person to get to know!

Thx for the great article Maggie!

Edited April 5, 2003 by awbrig (log)

[maggiethecat]

i cant write worth a damn, who doesnt know that?  See I didnt even capitalize I at the beginning of this post...

I read eGullet to read people like FG, Wilfred, Aurora, Lady T, Qualajote, Tommy, and Maggie...

Maggie knows how to write...and Im glad Im here to read her posts...and if you dont know already, she's a hell of person to get to know! 

Thx for the great article Maggie!

Dear Briggie:

The check is in the mail,

Thank you, bro. I mean it. And using capital letters isn't hard. I'll show 'ya.

[Priscilla]

Beautifully written and very inspiring, Maggiethecat!

[stellabella]

a girl could get lost in the mustache.

warmly,

a fan of magda

[bushey]

Lovely article, maggie.

I'm intrigued by the reference to the now-out-of-print The Jews of Poland. My late, former father-in-law was born in Poland to a distinguished line of rabbis. His name was Jacques and he would have been a contemporary of de Pomiane. Not only was he fluent in French (among several other romance languages, Russian and Hebrew), he received degrees in library science and international law (now there's a combination!) from the Sorbonne. Another distinguished man of another era.

[Jaymes]

Maggie. Dahlink.

I just had time tonight to read your piece. I loved it as much as I thought I would. Which is quite a lot.

Not only was it well-written and concise, but so informative. Wise and witty and fun.

And really, Dahlink, what else ever is there?

[maggiethecat]

And really, Dahlink, what else ever is there?

Not much, Jaymes! Thank you.

Today is l'anniversaire d'Edouard, and worth a toast around your Easter table. But I guess I won't be cooking from de Pomiane because it's Easter Day.

Spiral ham and scalloped potatoes at my sister-in-laws. It will take her much longer than ten minutes!

Demain.

[Alex]

Thanks, maggie! I just placed a hold on Cooking With Pomaine on my library's web site, ordered Cooking in Ten Minutes in a used hardcover edition through amazon.com, and, wonder of wonders, found (and ordered) The Jews of Poland from amazon.com.uk. Expensive (£28.96), but worth it, I think; that's my family's background.

[maggiethecat]

wonder of wonders, found (and ordered) The Jews of Poland from amazon.com.uk. Expensive (£28.96), but worth it, I think; that's my family's background.

Alex: How truly cool! Please report on the book when it arrives; I'd love to hear about it.

Definitely worth it. Great cop.

[maggiethecat]

I was flipping through my cherished stack of The Pleasures of Cooking today, doing some research on another project. In Vol IX, NO.3 (Nov./Dec. 1987) Carl Sontheimer gave a quick bio of Madame Benoit, the original Grande Dame of Canadian Food Writers. (She contributes a terrific article, with recipes, about the French-Canadian revillon, or post Midnight Mass Christmas party.)

Chic alors! Jehane Benoit was a student of food chemistry at the Sorbonne in the 1920s "where she studied under Dr. Edouard de Pomiane, a researcher at the Pasteur Institue and the author of many celebrated cookbooks."

Mme. Benoit is a cultural icon for many Canadians, and this felt like finding out that my Great Aunt Chi had entrelardered with Edouard.

Edited September 13, 2003 by maggiethecat (log)