The cover illustration sets the tone: well-fed diners, ladies with large hats, servants in formal attire, a conversationalist in a top hat, and tables covered in white linens with sparkling chandeliers above: it’s “Dinner at Pré Catelan,” a painting by Gervex (1909), a painter of high society, the demi-monde, and the ceilings of the Train Bleu restaurant at the Gare de Lyon. It is the pinnacle of an era, the height of fine dining, the nirvana of bourgeois indulgence: in “Histoire du Paris gastronomique” (History of Gastronomic Paris), Patrick Rambourg, a historian of cuisine and table manners, recounts the slow rise of Paris’ reputation as the City of Light, but more importantly, the City of Yum Yum: how did Paris become the center of gastronomy, renowned for its Michelin stars, recipes, delicate flavors, and restaurants ranging from Bouillon Chartier to the Tour d’Argent? From the Middle Ages (yes!) to the…
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Cécile Prieur
Editor-in-chief
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