OP: Dining On the France
The Vendome Press, New York, 1981. Hardcover. Very Good.
“For many people a crossing or a cruise remained a unique experience, the fulfillment of a dream. The gastronomic excitement should match that uniqueness,” bon vivant Joseph Wechsberg says in his introduction to Dining on the France (1981). The success of the SS France in achieving the latter point was above and beyond all reasonable expectations. Indeed, Craig Claiborne went so far as to say in The New York Times that the SS France was “the best French restaurant in the world.”
And what a feat to produce such exceptional, grand cuisine for 3000 guests, three times a day, never denying a special request, and without repeating a single dish for the duration of the journey. Somehow chef Henri Le Huede pulled it off for 37 years as the head chef aboard the ocean liner before it was decommissioned in 1979.
In his retirement, Le Huede assembled hundreds of his recipes for his first, and only, cookbook, each impressive dish suitable for the celebrity and well-to-do clientele to whom he catered. Among them:
- Baked eggs with a morel cream sauce
- Quail filled with foie gras, sewn up, wrapped in grape leaves, braised in brandy, and served with peeled grape marinade (it is also worth noting that 4 ounces of truffles are used in the foie gras marinade and are then discarded)
- Rabbit terrine with pistachios
- Roasted pork served with consommé-braised cabbage and apples, served with steamed new potatoes
- Seafood crepes gratineed with sauce Américaine and Gruyère
Though the portions have been scaled down from 3000, the yields still suggest cooking for a crowd; best suited for a restaurant chef and engaging reading beyond that. We’re pleased to offer a copy in excellent condition, save for a heavy bump to the top edge, affecting the case only, and a price-clipped jacket with two small closed tears. Black and white photo insert.
