Cookbooks & Food Writing?

Almanach des gourmands, Alexandre-(Balthazard)-Laurent Grimod de La Reynière (1758-1837)

Much more to say about this old book because I think it’s one of the first actual cookbooks. (And I love old cookbooks.)

Meanwhile, I have some notes from a class (no longer online) that traces the history of food writing. Most of it is about cookbooks and such by American chefs and writers of the past, but the set up is historical.

Would a post every now and then tracing this history be of interest?

Your daily trivial aside. NYT restaurant critic, chef, and cookbook author, Craig Claiborne was born in Sunflower, Mississippi and raised in Indianola. He spent a lot of time in the kitchen of his mother’s boarding house. Now you know.

7 thoughts on “Cookbooks & Food Writing?”

  1. Absolutely! I always enjoy learning. While on the subject of kitchen’s, cannot recall if I shared the story about the 16th century French scholar Guillaume Budé who was absolutely stoic. The story goes that while he was in his study, his kitchen staff ran into the room yelling ‘the kitchen is on fire, the kitchen is on fire’!!!! Budé looked up calmy and said – I don’t concern myself with domestic matters.

    1. Excellent! I have not watched Tasting History but I listened to 30secs and bookmarked. Good resource.

      I’ve posted a lot of recipes (834 in 11 years) at my other blog, and so have several people who follow who have their own foody-blogs. I posted a variant of the same question over there and got good response. So maybe we’ll get some traffic here.

      While I have you on the line, at another blog (the Kids Blog at Miss Missy’s School) I’m working on a post and I’d like to feature four illustrations from The Water Babies, from four different illustrators. I have an images from Jessie Willcox Smith and from Warwick Gobel. Can you think off the top of your head of two others? I know you posted a lot but I can no longer get there! Don’t go to any trouble, though.

      1. Mabel Lucie Attwell, Anne Anderson and Harry Theaker have some of the most beautiful illustrations in my opinion.

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