Publisher Description

"Les diners de Gala is uniquely devoted to the pleasures of taste ... If you are a disciple of one of those calorie-counters who turn the joys of eating into a form of punishment, close this book at once; it is too lively, too aggressive, and far too impertinent for you."-Salvador DalíFood and surrealism make perfect bedfellows: sex and lobsters, collage and cannibalism, the meeting of a swan and a toothbrush on a pastry case. The opulent dinner parties thrown by Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) and his wife and muse, Gala (1894-1982) were the stuff of legend. Luckily for us, Dalí published a cookbook in 1973, Les diners de Gala, which reveals some of the sensual, imaginative, and exotic elements that made up their notorious gatherings.This reprint features all 136 recipes over 12 chapters, specially illustrated by Dalí, and organized by meal courses, including aphrodisiacs. The illustrations and recipes are accompanied by Dalí's extravagant musings on subjects such as dinner conversation: "The jaw is our best tool to grasp philosophical knowledge."All these rich recipes can be cooked at home, although some will require practiced skill and a well-stocked pantry. This is cuisine of the old school, with meals by leading French chefs from such stellar Paris restaurants as Lasserre, La Tour d'Argent, Maxim's, and Le Train Bleu.Good taste, however voluptuous, never goes out of fashion. In making this exceptionally rare book available to a wide audience, TASCHEN brings an artwork, a practical cookbook, and a multisensory adventure to today's kitchens.The first English edition of Les Diners de Gala was published in 1973 by FELICIE, INC., New York

Notes

A reprint of Dali's surrealist cookbook, featuring all 136 recipes over 12 chapters.

Author Biography

Salvador Dali was born in 1904 in Figueres, Spain. In his teens, he exhibited his work at home and in the town's municipal theater before leaving for Madrid's Academy of Arts. In his last year there, he was expelled for announcing that none of the faculty was competent to judge his work. After moving to Paris, he befriended Pablo Picasso and Andre Breton, moved in with the woman who would become his wife of nearly 50 years (though she was Paul Eluard's wife when he met her) and began work on the paintings for which became best known, such as "The Persistence of Memory," which he described as "

Review

...a visual explosion of surrealism and outrageous recipes. * The New York Times *
A look into a lost gastronomic world. * The Observer *
A mammoth tome whose lustrous gold cover hints at decadence to come. * Hyperallergic.com *
...a surrealist feast for the eyes, a kaleidoscope of weird, captivating, extraordinary, and mind-bending images, with recipes to match. * The Boston Globe *
A cookbook like no other. * British GQ *
Food porn at its most gluttonous. * Wired.com *

Review Quote

"Whether purchased for the cuisine or the art, Les Dners de Gala demonstrates how Dal, as a multifaceted artist, never allowed himself to be bound by the limits of the canvas. His artistic mind knew no bounds, moving from the gallery to the kitchen with ease."

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