OP: Memories of My Life (signed by Michel and Laurence Escoffier)

Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1997. Hardcover. Near Fine. First US printing.

Auguste Escoffier (1846–1935), without hyperbole, is the vector from which all modern French culinary technique stems. His book Le Guide Culinaire (1903) is required reading for culinary students learning the mother sauces, which Escoffier classified and defined, among all other classic French recipes. And, in fact, the very brigades in which those same cooks find themselves upon entering the workforce are the result of Escoffier’s own kitchen regimentation.

Few cooks working professionally in European or American restaurants will be unfamiliar with Escoffier’s name, but many may not know the details of his life and career. Memories of My Life, first published in France in 1985, is his collected memoirs, which he fully intended to be published and read by his colleagues in the restaurant industry. 

This first US printing was expanded with even more material from the family archives and includes black and white photo inserts, recipes, and menus. Our copy is a Near Fine, unused hardcover signed and inscribed to a previous owner by Michel and Laurence Escoffier, Auguste’s great-grandson and his wife, the translator of this edition. Slight sun fading to the spine. Captivating reading for professional cooks, especially.