The Concise Larousse Gastronomique : The World's Greatest Cookery Encyclopedia

by Prosper Montagné

Originally created by Prosper Montagne and published in 1938, "The Concise Larousse Gastronomique" serves as a source of information for the enthusiastic cook and serious gastronome alike. The encyclopaedia covers nearly every ingredient and cooking style in history.

1440 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Prosper Montagné was one of the most renowned French chefs of the Belle Époque and author of many books and articles on food, cooking, and gastronomy, notably Larousse Gastronomique (1938), an encyclopedic dictionary of the French culinary arts. While Montagné was once as famous as his friend Auguste Escoffier, and was one of the most influential French chefs of the early twentieth century, his fame has faded somewhat. In the 1920s, Montagné, Escoffier, and Philéas Gilbert—their close friend and collaborator, and an acclaimed chef and writer in his own right—were the French chefs and culinary writers esteemed above others by many French journalists and writers. After Montagné's death, the chef and author Alfred Guérot's description of the troika as the "celebrated contemporary culinary trinity: Auguste Escoffier, the father; Philéas Gilbert, the son; Prosper Montagné, the spirit" reflects the reverence in which all three were held by the French culinary community.