Alexis Soyer's 1850 volume was a best-seller in its time. Aimed at women of the aspiring middle class, it was not simple a book of recipes, but rather a cookbook designed as an epistolary novel.

Perhaps the first celebrity chef, Alexis Soyer (1810 58) was a flamboyant, larger-than-life character who nonetheless took his profession very seriously. As the chef of the Reform Club, he modernised its kitchens, installing refrigerators and gas cookers. In 1851, during the Great Exhibition, he prepared spectacular (but financially ruinous) culinary extravaganzas at his restaurant, the Gastronomic Symposium of All Nations. In stark contrast, he organised soup kitchens during the Great Famine in Ireland and volunteered his services in the Crimea in 1855 to improve military catering. He was...

Perhaps the first celebrity chef, Alexis Soyer (1810 58) was a flamboyant, larger-than-life character who nonetheless took his profession very seriously. As the chef of London's Reform Club, he modernised its kitchens, installing refrigerators and gas cookers. They became something of a showpiece, even opening for tours. In contrast, Soyer also organised soup kitchens during the Great Famine in Ireland and volunteered his services in the Crimea in 1855 to improve military catering. He was also a prolific inventor of kitchen gadgets, notably promoting the Magic Stove, used for cooking food at...

This collection of literature attempts to compile many of the classic works that have stood the test of time and offer them at a reduced, affordable price, in an attractive volume so that everyone can enjoy them.