[Gastronomie] Menon - Les soupers de la Cour - 1755

[MENON].
The Court Suppers, or The Art of Preparing All Kinds of Foods, to Serve the Best Tables, according to the four Seasons.
Paris: At Guillyn, Bookseller, Quai des Augustins, at the Lily of Gold, 1755.
2 volumes in small 12mo (Tomes III and IV of the four that make up the complete work).

Full calf skin binding of the period, marbled. Spine with five raised bands richly decorated with gold-tooled petals and medallions featuring pomegranate/flower motifs, with gilded cap and lower-case titles reading ("SOUPER DE LA COUR", "TOM III" and "TOM IV"). Red edges original. Uckers covered in marbled/dominot papers.

Bindings of the period worn but sturdy. Wear with scuffs and leather flaking on the boards, with head and tail caps weakened or torn and minor losses at the corners. The spine remains legible despite wear.

Interior generally clean and well-preserved on period laid paper, with some light marginal staining and minor wear around the title of volume III. Missing title for volume IV.

Original edition of the gastronomic masterpiece by the anonymous master cook Menon. Considered one of the most influential and sophisticated culinary treatises of the Enlightenment, The Court Suppers lays the foundations of the French “New Cuisine” of the 18th century, characterized by refinement, lightness, and the codification of the major banquets of the Ancien Régime nobility.
The work includes recipes with meticulous technical detail for sauces, entremets, creams, soufflés, and preparations according to the seasons.