Dumas on Food

The reputation of Alexandre Dumas pere rests chiefly on his historical novels, especially The Three Musketeers. However, Dumas’s exuberance and vivid style found equal expression in numerous other works, and it was for his Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine that Dumas himself particularly wished to be remembered. Published posthumously in 1873, this vast and formidable work is a dictionary of culinary terms, recipes, and anecdotes, from ‘Absinth’ to ‘Zest’. The editors have selected and translated those pieces from the Dictionnaire that represent Dumas at his best, retaining all the color and delight of the original. This readable and informative work is further enhanced by a glossary describing the structure of French meals in the nineteenth century, the utensils and equipment used, as well as definitions of French cookery terms used in the text.