A GUIDE TO MODERN COOKERY

London: WILLIAM HEINEMANN, 1909. Hardcover. Green cloth covered boards, title in gilt. Very good. 891 pages. 25 x 16 x 5 cm. Frontispiece black and white photo of author with tissue guard. First issued in French in 1903, this landmark work codified and modernized the principles of classical French cuisine. It comprises more than 5,000 recipes, many presented in concise, professional shorthand for experienced cooks. Escoffier developed much of the material during his tenure at the Savoy, Ritz, and Carlton hotels from the late 1880s through its publication. The text also formalizes the structure of the professional "brigade de cuisine," Escoffier's system of organizing kitchen labor into specialized roles, which continues to underpin contemporary professional kitchens. Boards rubbed. Interior very lightly foxed.