OP: La Cuisine et la Patisserie Expliquees du Cordon-Bleu
Bibliothèque du Journal “Le Cordon-Bleu,” ND c.1910, Paris. Hardcover. Very Good.
Le Cordon Bleu, now with dozens of locations around the world, began in Paris in 1895 as a means of offering cooking classes to subscribers of the magazine for which it was named. It evolved into a world-renowned cooking school. Graduates of the original Paris location include culinary figures like Dione Lucas, Julia Child, Mary Berry, Giada De Laurentiis, and Gaston Acurio.
A textbook published by the school inevitably followed. The book is divided into two sections, each with their own pagination and index. The first focuses on science, tools, techniques, health and nutrition, and fundamental recipes, while the second is dedicated to specific dishes and their preparations from hors-d’oeuvre to desserts and confectionery with everything in between.
Though undated (c.1910) this edition was published in the period of the school’s original ownership and direction under journalist Marthe Distel (1871–1934) and chef Henri-Paul Pellaprat (1869–1954). The school closed during WWII and reopened under the new ownership in 1945.
While some soiling and stray marks can be found, our copy is remarkably clean and intact, a contrast to many other examples from the period available on the market. The paper stock is thin and toning but not yet brittle, and the endpapers were replaced by a previous owner. In French. Acquired from the Sontheimer Foundation Library. Carl Sontheimer (1914–1998) invented the original Cuisinart food processor.