François-Pierre de La Varenne

… (1652) and was written by La Varenne, an outstanding chef, who is believed to have learned to cook in Marie de Médicis’ kitchens. La Varenne’s cookbook was the first to present recipes in alphabetical order, and the book included the first instructions for vegetable cooking. By now spices were no…

…greatest of French chefs—François-Pierre de La Varenne in the 17th century, Marie-Antoine Carême in the late 18th, and Auguste Escoffier in the 19th—advanced the systematization of French cuisine by their writings and through the legions of chefs they trained. In developing new dishes they accumulated a body of knowledge about…

…early French chefs, such as François Pierre La Varenne and Marie-Antonin Carême, climbed the career ladder by moving to serve ever more-powerful and wealthy patrons. France is especially interesting because it achieved renown for its cooking very early. La Varenne’s book Le Cuisinier Francois (1651) was translated into English in…