One of the little secrets I learned a long long time ago was the mark of a great chef… finding the best sources of their ingredients! The other little secret…. if you can’t invent a great idea…. borrow one!
Obviously, in every chef’s secret library are hundreds of cookbooks and with the internet …. the ability to review interesting ideas , recipes and cultural offerings is virtually limitless. Here are three interesting cookbooks from an age gone by that offer some timeless ideas to enhance any modern table.
Helen Corbitt’s Cookbook
“Creative recipes that can be prepared quickly from a few ingredients, from first woman to win food service industry’s Golden Plate Award, and then Director of Restaurants at Neiman-Marcus.”
Her philosophy could be summed up with her often quoted statement that “every woman can cook.”
St. Francis hotel Cookbook ( 1910 or 1919)
“Hirtzler originally published The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book in 1910. Organized as a year’s worth of Breakfast, Luncheon, and Dinner menus with recipes displayed next to each menu, the cookbook served as a scrapbook of St. Francis occasions, as well as a recipe collection”
the Epicurean
“The Epicurean, a Complete Treatise of Analytical and Practical Studies 1894 3,500 recipes from master chef Charles Ranhofer of Delmonico’s, turn-of-the-century America’s best restaurant. Also many techniques known only to professional chefs. Includes 800 illustrations.”
Just as a suggestion, you can find these cookbooks and others at ABEBOOKS.com.
Now cook!
Roger Freberg
NOTE: Quotes from various sources at Abebooks.com