André Viard's ''Le Cuisinier Impérial'' (Paris: J.-N. Barba, 1806) was a culinary encyclopedia that passed through at least thirty-two editions in its long career as the essential reference work for the French professional chef during the nineteenth century. During its long run it was a staple of its publisher, J.-N. Barba, who warned potential literary pirates, in an age before the enforcement of copyright, of his intention to prosecute any editors of cookbooks who took, in whole or part, any recipes from the publication.
Le Cuisinier royal
', Barba, Paris, 1817 (warning of the publisher Barba p. 11). Viard, who called himself "''Homme de Bouche''", was the ''

chef de cuisine A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads and manages the kitchen and chefs of a restaurant or hotel. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is ...

'' to

Louis Philippe, comte de Ségur Louis Philippe, comte de Ségur (10 December 175327 August 1830) was a French diplomat and historian. Biography Ségur was born in Paris, the son of Philippe Henri, marquis de Ségur and Louise Anne Madeleine de Vernon. He entered the army in ...

and

Francis Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater, (11 November 1756 – 11 February 1829), known as Francis Egerton until 1823, was a noted British eccentric from the Egerton family and supporter of natural theology. Egerton was a Church of Eng ...

. The

cookbook A cookbook or cookery book is a kitchen reference containing recipes. Cookbooks may be general, or may specialize in a particular cuisine or category of food. Recipes in cookbooks are organized in various ways: by course (appetizer, first cour ...

appeared under various titles that reflected regime changes: with the restoration of the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...

it became ''Le Cuisinier Royal'' (Paris: Barba, 1817) in its ninth edition, and in 1852, in its twenty-second edition, ''Le Cuisinier National''. The co-author Fouret appeared in editions of the 1820s. Its last edition appeared in 1875. Viard's rival in French kitchens was

Marie-Antoine Carême Marie Antoine (Antonin) Carême (; 8 June 178412 January 1833) was a French chef and an early practitioner and exponent of the elaborate style of cooking known as ''grande cuisine'', the "high art" of French cooking: a grandiose style of cookery ...

's ''L'Art de la cuisine française au dix-neuvième siècle,'' the first volume of which appeared in 1833. A German translation was published as ''Viard und Fourets Universal-Kochbuch'' (Stuttgart, Carl Hoffmann, 1827). A second edition was credited to Catharina Löffler, ''Pariser Kochbuch'' (Stuttgart, Weise and Stoppani, 1829).Gastronomia, note 3
/ref> An earlier, unrelated cookbook with a similar name, François Massialot's ''Le Cuisinier Royal et Bourgeois'', one of the first French cookbooks, consisted of

recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe. His ...

s from

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

's kitchens and marked the beginning of

haute cuisine ''Haute cuisine'' (; ) or ''grande cuisine'' is the cuisine of "high-level" establishments, gourmet restaurants, and luxury hotels. ''Haute cuisine'' is characterized by the meticulous preparation and careful presentation of food at a high pri ...

Notes

References

*
French Cooks and Cookery
',

The New Monthly Magazine ''The New Monthly Magazine'' was a British monthly magazine published from 1814 to 1884. It was founded by Henry Colburn and published by him through to 1845. History Colburn and Frederic Shoberl established ''The New Monthly Magazine and Univer ...

, Colburn, 1842, p. 10-12.
Kansas State University
''Le Cuisinier Royal,'' Paris 1817.

*William Carew Hazlitt, ''Old Cookery Books and Ancient Cuisine'

describes twelfth edition incorrectly dated 1805.

External links

*A. Viard,
Le Cuisinier impérial, ou l’art de faire la cuisine et la pâtisserie pour toutes les fortunes
', Barba, Paris, 1806 *A. Viard,
Le Cuisinier royal, ou l’art de faire la cuisine et la pâtisserie pour toutes les fortunes
', Barba, Paris, 1817 {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Cuisinier Imperial Cuisinier