''The Cook's Decameron: A Study In Taste, Containing Over Two Hundred Recipes For Italian Dishes'' is a
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 ...
by Emily Waters (as Mrs. W. G. Waters) first published in 1901.
Introduced in the form of a story inspired by
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...
's ''
Decameron
''The Decameron'' (; it, label=Italian, Decameron or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old it, Prencipe Galeotto, links=no ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dan ...
'' (for which it is named), the book introduces the fictional Marchesa di Sant Andrea who learns that nine aristocratic friends have all been forced to postpone much anticipated dinner parties as their cooks have all resigned. That evening, the Marchesa and her friends meet and make plans to establish a cooking school under the Marchesa's direction. Following the introductory fiction, the form reverts to a more conventional cookbook, and Waters presents more than 200 recipes for Italian dishes.
The book was initially published in 1901 in London (William Heineman) and New York (Brentano). It was successful enough to be reprinted and in 1920 Waters published a sequel, ''Just a Cookery Book'', published by the Medici Society and containing 400 recipes.
Waters, who died in 1928, was also a skilled classicist and collaborated with her husband, William George Waters, in translating Italian Renaissance literature.
References
External links
''Cook's Decameron'' on Project Gutenberg
1901 non-fiction books
Cookbooks
British cookbooks
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