Usine "Gastronomie Pratique : Etudes Culinaires" 1950 Ali-Bab

Ali-Bab

[1281] pp.

Ernest Flammarion, Editeur

1950

Eighth Edition

11" x 9" x 2 3/4"D

Text in French

Henri Joseph Séverin Babinski, (2 July 1855 - 20 August 1931), known under the pseudonym Ali-Bab, was a mining engineer, gastronome and writer. Henri Babinski was the son of a Polish engineer who emigrated to Paris in 1848 and the elder brother of the neurologist Joseph Babinski. After graduating as a mining civil engineer, he was director of a zinc mine in La Grand-Combe (Gard) and worked for more than 15 years in French Guiana and other countries in the prospecting and exploitation of gold mines. From the beginning of the twentieth century until his death, he lived in Paris. During his stays abroad, his encounter with the cuisines of each country awakened his interest in the culinary art. In 1907, he published his Practical Gastronomy under the pseudonym of Ali-Bab. This book contained not only detailed recipes but also texts on the history of the culinary art, on the food and drinks used. The book has been extensively corrected and expanded by its author with each new edition. It was one of the reference works of French cuisine at the beginning of the twentieth century. Our edition is the second, the only one with the color portrait of the author on the frontispiece! It is in its original binding in "plum" sheepskin. This book was part of the Culinary Library of Victor Michon, who was one of the greatest cooks of the early twentieth century. Even today, the Victor Michon Prize is one of the titles that many "starred" chefs are honored with. He was the cook of the Austrian-Hungarian Embassy, located at the Hotel usine Matignon in Paris at the time of the First World War.