Cuisiniers a Roanne: Les Recettes Originales de Jean et Pierre Troisgros

Paris: Editions Robert Laffont, 1977. Small quarto (24.5 x 16 cm.), 365, [1] pages. Illustrated in the text and with eight color plates. Index. FIRST EDITION. The first cookbook from the giants of nouvelle cuisine. At the time of this publication, the two brothers had recently completed an expansion of the building and kitchen of their eponymous restaurant, Les Frères Troisgros in Roanne (Loire). This followed the restaurant receiving a third Michelin star and being called "the best restaurant in the world." The rise of the brothers is legendary, and a major element of the legend is the formative time spent in the kitchen of Fernand Point's La Pyramide in Vienne. They served in the kitchen of the great Point simultaneously with Paul Bocuse, and one can only imagine the youthful conversations among the three over cigarettes out back. The brothers certainly recognized the importance of their time with Point, as they have inscribed this copy on the half-title to Point's widow (who had continued to operate the restaurant after his death), "A Madame Point, toute notre admiration, et une pensée pour notre Maitre Fernand Point a qui nous devons tout! Amities Culinaires, Pierre Troisgros, Jean Troisgros". A magnificent association, crediting their mentor Point, "to whom we owe everything" (trans.], and illustrating the importance of succession in the culture of the best French chefs. A volume in the important series Les Recettes originales de..., edited by Claude Lebey. The entire series was issued between 1976 and 1992. In publisher's pictorial boards with some scuffing and soil. No dust jacket, as issued. Some light soil and foxing throughout the text block. With a few pencil annotations by an auction expert, otherwise very good. [OCLC locates fourteen copies].