Marie Pierre "Mapie" de Toulouse-Lautrec (1901–1972) was a French journalist and food writer, born Marie Pierre Adélaïde Lévêque de Vilmorin in

Verrières-le-Buisson Verrières-le-Buisson () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is from the centre of Paris, in the Essonne department just outside the inner ring of the Île-de-France. The commune borders the river Bièvre. History The ...

, scion of the

Vilmorin Vilmorin is a French seed producer. The company has a long history in France, where it was family-controlled for almost two centuries, and today exists as a publicly traded company owned principally by agro-industrial cooperative Groupe Limagrai ...

seed company. Her horticulturalist father was Joseph Marie Philippe Lévêque de Vilmorin (1872-1917), and her mother was the former Bertha Marie ''Mélanie'' de Gaufridy de Dortan (1876-1937). The writer

Louise de Vilmorin Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

(1902–1969) was her younger sister, while one of her younger brothers, Roger, was the result of an affair between her mother and

Alfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

. Her other siblings were Henri, Olivier, and André.

Career

Mapie de Toulouse-Lautrec started her career in journalism at ''Fémina'' magazine, where she had a society column, and wrote theatre reviews. After the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

Hélène Lazareff Helene or Hélène may refer to: People *Helene (given name), a Greek feminine given name * Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus and Leda *Helene, a figure in Greek mythology who was a friend of Aphrodite and helped her seduce Adonis *Helene (Am ...

hired her as cookery columnist for ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

''. She invented the detachable recipe card for that magazine (see the biographical link below, supplied by her publisher). Her recipes are elegant and original, and of an alluring simplicity. In 1961 she collected most of them in a book called ''La cuisine de Mapie''. This collection was reprinted in 2004, with a preface by her daughter Adelaide.

Personal life

Mapie married twice; her husbands were: *Guy Marie Félix Levêque de Vilmorin (1896-1984), a cousin. They married on 17 March 1922 and divorced in 1932. They had three children, including a daughter, Adélaïde. *Guillaume de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa, Comte de Toulouse-Lautrec (1902–1985), a nephew of the painter

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the ...

. Married on 28 August 1933, they had two children, a daughter, Constance (born 1934, married Maurice Dumoncel), and a son, Charles-Constantine, Comte de Toulouse-Lautrec (born 1936, married Miranda Redfield).

Publications

*''ELLE cuisine, menus et recettes'', Fayard, 1957 *''Les Recettes de Mapie'', Hachette, 1958 *''Cuisine de France et du monde'', Hachette, 1958 *''ELLE encyclopédie: 365 jours de cuisine'', Fayard, 1959 *''Entrées et desserts'', Fayard, 1961 *''La Cuisine de Mapie'', Tallandier, 1967 *''Cuisinez vite et bien'', Hachette, 1974 *''La Cuisine de Mapie'', Tallandier, 2004

External links

BiographyBibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toulouse-Lautrec, Mapie de French food writers 1901 births 1972 deaths French women journalists 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French women writers People from Verrières-le-Buisson Elle (magazine) writers Women cookbook writers