Defining Culinary Authority

The Transformation of Cooking in France, 1650-1830

Nonfiction, History, Western Europe, Food & Drink
Cover of the book Defining Culinary Authority by Jennifer J. Davis, LSU Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jennifer J. Davis ISBN: 9780807145357
Publisher: LSU Press Publication: January 2, 2013
Imprint: LSU Press Language: English
Author: Jennifer J. Davis
ISBN: 9780807145357
Publisher: LSU Press
Publication: January 2, 2013
Imprint: LSU Press
Language: English

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, French cooks began to claim central roles in defining and enforcing taste, as well as in educating their diners to changing standards. Tracing the transformation of culinary trades in France during the Revolutionary era, Jennifer J. Davis argues that the work of cultivating sensibility in food was not simply an elite matter; it was essential to the livelihood of thousands of men and women.
Combining rigorous archival research with social history and cultural studies, Davis analyzes the development of cooking aesthetics and practices by examining the propagation of taste, the training of cooks, and the policing of the culinary marketplace in the name of safety and good taste. French cooks formed their profession through a series of debates intimately connected to broader Enlightenment controversies over education, cuisine, law, science, and service. Though cooks assumed prominence within the culinary public sphere, the unique literary genre of gastronomy replaced the Old Regime guild police in the wake of the French Revolution as individual diners began to rethink cooks' authority. The question of who wielded culinary influence -- and thus shaped standards of taste -- continued to reverberate throughout society into the early nineteenth century.
This remarkable study illustrates how culinary discourse affected French national identity within the country and around the globe, where elite cuisine bears the imprint of the country's techniques and labor organization.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, French cooks began to claim central roles in defining and enforcing taste, as well as in educating their diners to changing standards. Tracing the transformation of culinary trades in France during the Revolutionary era, Jennifer J. Davis argues that the work of cultivating sensibility in food was not simply an elite matter; it was essential to the livelihood of thousands of men and women.
Combining rigorous archival research with social history and cultural studies, Davis analyzes the development of cooking aesthetics and practices by examining the propagation of taste, the training of cooks, and the policing of the culinary marketplace in the name of safety and good taste. French cooks formed their profession through a series of debates intimately connected to broader Enlightenment controversies over education, cuisine, law, science, and service. Though cooks assumed prominence within the culinary public sphere, the unique literary genre of gastronomy replaced the Old Regime guild police in the wake of the French Revolution as individual diners began to rethink cooks' authority. The question of who wielded culinary influence -- and thus shaped standards of taste -- continued to reverberate throughout society into the early nineteenth century.
This remarkable study illustrates how culinary discourse affected French national identity within the country and around the globe, where elite cuisine bears the imprint of the country's techniques and labor organization.

More books from LSU Press

Cover of the book Discretionary Justice by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book Modern Baptists by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book Becoming Cajun, Becoming American by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book The Southern Political Tradition by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book The Strict Economy of Fire by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book Late Stevens by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book Reporting the Cuban Revolution by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book Black Aperture by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book Hispanic and Latino New Orleans by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book The South's Tolerable Alien by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book A Rebel Wife in Texas by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book Poe and the Remapping of Antebellum Print Culture by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book Rereading William Styron by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book Carnival in Louisiana by Jennifer J. Davis
Cover of the book Desegregating the Altar by Jennifer J. Davis
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy