I have here for sale a rare book entitled L'AIDE-MEMOIRE CULINAIRE by A Escoffier, the 'godfather' of French cooking - published in Paris in 1919, by Bibliotheque Professionelle and printed by Grevin, Imprimerie de Lagny. Most culinary students use Escoffier's works as the basis for their training. The book is laid out by course - potages, beurres, hors d'oeuvre, oeufs, viandes etc and each recipe or skill is condensed down to a few simple instructions and was designed, as the title would suggest, to jog the chef's memory on how to make a certain dish. Included in the book is an Etude sur les Vins Francais et Etrangers a l'usage des Cuisiniers, Maitre d'hotel et Garcons de Restaurant (French and foreign wines for use by chefs, maitre d's and waiters).
The Aide-Mémoire culinaire followed by a study on French and foreign wines for the use of cooks, maître d'hôtel and waiters. Paris, 1919; VIII pp., 360 pp. RARE FIRST EDITION. This book is unknown to Bitting, Cagle, Oberle. He was missing from all the major gastronomic collections, except Lochner (cat. Le Fur n 254). Escoffier wrote this checklist to facilitate the work of the staff in the dining room so that they could inform customers without having to go to the kitchen for information. The foreword evokes the important changes that the post-war period will bring to table customs.
Brown hardboards with a brown linen spine. Faded black lettering to the front board. Boards are very dark and are rubbed and worn. Front board is loose and the rear board has been repaired on the inside hinge with sellotape. Pages are sunned and stained but all pages present. Condition: fair and I would recommend resewing and rebinding it. 360 pages, 17 cm x 11 cm.
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