CHAPELLE, Vincent la.
Le cuisinier moderne, qui aprend à donner toutes sortes de repas, en gras & en maigre, dune manière plus délicate que ce qui en a été écrit jusquà present ...
The Hague, printed by Antoine de Groot for Antoine van Dole ["aux dépens de lauteur"], 1736. 4 volumes bound as 2. 8vo. With the title pages printed in red and black, a series of 7 (large) folding engraved plates (numbered I-VII in the plate) depicting table settings for 12 to 100 "couverts" and 4 folding printed text-leaves (numbered I-VII on recto and verso) with descriptions of the menues for the various diners, 4 folding engraved plates depicting various silver plates ("Modelle des plats") & 3 silver table showpieces for the various courses, and 1 woodcut armorial head-piece (on the dedication to Stadtholder William IV in part 1). Uniform contemporary half mottled calf, sprinkled paper sides, gold-tooled spine with greenish-blue and brown morocco title-labels lettered in gold, red sprinkled edges. [1], [1 blank], [4], 261, [1 blank], [15], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank], 258, [14]; [1], [1 blank], 288, [16], [1], [1 blank], 313, [1 blank], [20] pp.
€ 6,500
Complete set of the first French edition (dated either 1735 or 1736 on the title pages) of the famous cook book by Vincent la Chapelle (1690/1703-1745), originally published in English under the title of The modern cook (London, Nicolas Prevost for the author, 1733, 3 volumes).
La Chapelle was chief cook for the English ambassador in The Hague, Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (1694-1773) from 1731 to 1733. Stanhope was in The Hague to arrange and negotiate the marriage of Stadtholder William IV, Prince of Orange (1711-1751) with the daughter of the English King George II, Princess Anne (1709-1759) which took place in 1734 in London. The next year La Chapelle entered the Stadtholders service as his chief cook, which he remained until his death in 1745. The present French edition was dedicated to William IV. A second enlarged French edition appeared in 1742 in 5 parts (also published in The Hague).
La Chapelle insisted on breaking tradition by focusing on simple recipes and streamlined cooking methods. The overly refined foods that required complex methods were a thing of the past in the author's mind. The present work became one of the great classics of the culinary arts in the 18th century, its contents stronly influencing aristocratic cuisine in England and throughout Europe.
Some of La Chapelles dishes are inspired by the inventions of French chef François Massialot (1660-1733), but La Chapelle certainly distances himself from the famous master in the preparation of dishes and in the search for a simpler cuisine (even including local Dutch recipes). He worked towards creating a cuisine that could be called "nouvelle": not extraordinary and very rich, but simple dishes focusing on taste and the individual ingredients, in which various herbs played key parts.
With the engraved armorial book plate of Carolus de Hoffmann (with the motto "Ehre und Werth") on the front pastedown of both volumes. The bindings are slightly rubbed, slightly damaged around the edges and corners of the boards, the hinges of both volumes are cracked, the first flyleaf in both volumes is loose but still present. Several engravings with small tears, large tear in the outer part of the largest engraving in volume 1, occasionally browned, otherwise in good condition. Landwehr, Het Nederl. kookboek (1995), 28.2; Simon, Bibl. Gastronomica, no. 933 ("One of the most reliable of reference books dealing with cookery and the pleasures of the table during the 18th century"); WorldCat 1014584407, 26327396 (4 copies); cf. for 1735 copies: Bitting p. 268; Landwehr, Het Nederl. kookboek (1995), 28.1; STCN 239929489 (2 copies); Vicaire (1954), pp. 867-868; Witteveen & Cuperus, Bibl. Gastronomica, 3646; WorldCat 833131906, 1528052, 939651437, 636247728, 1418503602 (8 copies); not in Horn/Arndt; Oberlé; Schraemli.
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