L'école parfaite des officiers de bouche, qui enseigne les devoirs du maître-d'Hôtel, & du sommelier; la manière de faire les confitures séches & liquides; les liqueurs, les eaux, les pommades & les parfums; la cuisine, à découper les viandes & à faire la patisserie.

8vo: [12]-507-[17] pp.; 4 pl. (A1 missing, some marg. browning, tear in bl. margin of xx).

Contemp. calf (corners bumped and rubbed), gilt orn. spine with 5 raised bands (some tiny wormholes, sm. def. on head, all edges red.

Eighth, corr. and augm. edition (first 1662) of one of the most valuable and important books on French cuisine during the 17th and 18th c. Featuring a potpourri of hundreds of French recipes, cooking techniques and kitchen management lessons: menu planning, table decorations, dish care as well as health and cleanliness. Followed by chapters on how to make perfumes, ointments and soaps. Ill. with 18 in-text instructional woodcut figures showing a.o. examples of cutting poultry and 4 fold. engr. plates showing table plans. The work is an anonymous compilation from "La Maistre d'hostel" (1659), "Le Pastissier et Confiturier françois" (1653), "Lune's cuisinier" (1656) and "Livre fort excellent" (1555), along with original recipes.
Ref. Vicaire, Gastr., p. 341. - Cp. BnF, COPAC.
Prov. Mr. Pepin (label).