Guillaume Tirel, known as Taillevent, born in Pont-Audemer in 1310, and died in 1395 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, is a French cook, to whom is attributed the Viandier, the most famous French cookbook of the Middle Ages , although a manuscript dating from before the time of Taillevent proves that the attribution is subsequent to the creation of the work.
Taillevent was kitchen child of Jeanne d'Évreux, queux of the King of France Philippe de Valois and the Duke of Normandy, first queux and sergeant-at-arms of Charles V and first squire in the king's kitchen. It is undoubtedly to him that a document preserved in the Treasury of Charters must apply, and which attests that in 1362, the Duke of Normandy gave Guillaume Tirel, known as Taillevant, his queux, the sum of one hundred francs of gold for his good and pleasant services, and for him to buy a house in the city of Paris in order to be closer to serving the duke.

In 1381, he entered the service of Charles VI as the king's first kitchen squire, who ennobled him and with whom he became, in 1392, Master of the King's kitchen garrisons.

He died in 1395. His tomb was once visible at the Saint-Germain-en-Laye museum; however, the stele is now exhibited in the crypt of the modern Saint-Léger church in the same commune.
Stele from the tomb of Guillaume Tirel, known as Taillevent, in the crypt of the Saint-Léger church in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.
Posterity

The French poet François Villon (1431-1463) immortalized this great cook with two lines from his Testament:

    “If I went to see Taillevent In terms of fricassurance. »

“Taillevent” is also the name of a prestigious Parisian gourmet restaurant and “Guillaume Tirel” is the name of a hotel high school in the 14th arrondissement of Paris.
Publication

Le Viandier, a medieval recipe book, is attributed to Guillaume Tirel. It consists of a resumption of an old work concerning the “art of the meat maker” and is a reference work concerning medieval French cuisine.
Front page of Le Viandier, by Taillevent.
Black and white version of the tomb of Guillaume Tirel.
Appendices
Bibliography

    Jérôme Pichon and Georges Vicar, The meat maker of Guillaume Tirel dit Taillevent, kitchen child of Queen Jehanne d'Evreux, queu of King Philippe de Valois and the Duke of Normandy, dauphin of Viennois, first queu and sergeant-at-arms of Charles V, master of the kitchen garrisons of Charles VI (1326-1395), published in the manuscript of the National Library, with variants of the mss. from the Bibliothèque Mazarine and the Archives de la Manche, preceded by an introduction and accompanied by notes, Techener, Paris, 1892 (read online) [archive], (report Luce Siméon, in Romania, 1892, no 82, p. 306-309) [archive]
    Jérôme Pichon and Georges Vicaire, The Viandier of Guillaume Tirel, known as Taillevent - Supplement; the manuscript from the Vatican library, Techener, 1892 (read online) [archive]
    Jean-François Kosta-Théfaine, Gastronomy of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, 106 recipes and 10 menus by Guillaume Tirel, collected and translated by J.-F. Kosta-Théfaine, Paleo editions, 2011, coll. Direct access, 424 p. (ISBN 978-2-84909-614-7).
    Jean-François Kosta-Théfaine, Guillaume Tirel known as Taillevent: The Viandier. Cooking recipes from the Middle Ages, translation by J.-F. Kosta-Théfaine, Clermont-Ferrand, Paleo editions, 2011 (ISBN 978-2-84909-650-5).
    Bruno Laurioux, The Reign of Taillevent. Books and culinary practices at the end of the Middle Ages, Paris, Publications de la Sorbo