Le Répertoire de la cuisine
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Le répertoire de la cuisine is a professional reference cookbook written by Template:Ill and Louis Saulnier and published in 1914; it has gone through multiple editions and been translated into multiple languages. It summarizes Le Guide culinaire by Auguste Escoffier, and adds a significant amount of Saulnier's own material.
History
Louis Saulnier, a follower of Auguste Escoffier, wrote the Répertoire as a guide to Escoffier's Le Guide culinaire.<ref>"Introduction", Saulnier, unnumbered introductory page</ref> It is a standard reference for classical French haute cuisine and has been translated into English and Spanish.<ref>Antonio Pérez, translator, Gallo Press; 1st edition, 2012, Template:Isbn</ref>
Its first edition was published in 1914 by the Maison Allard in London and its 32nd in 1976 by Flammarion.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Saulnier was a chef entremetier<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and the secretary of the Union des Cuisiniers, Pâtissiers et Glaciers Français de Londres;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Gringoire (a pseudonym for Template:Ill) was a writer and the editor in chief of Le Carnet d'Épicure (1911-1914), a gastronomic monthly in London under the auspices of Escoffier.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The first English translation was by Édouard Brunet in 1924;<ref>Template:Cite book; see {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the 15th English edition was published in London in 1979.Template:Cn The 1976 American edition has an introduction by Jacques Pépin.
Format
The style of Le Répertoire is highly condensed, even in comparison with the brevity of its inspiration; it is a sort of aide-memoire for combinations of base ingredient, sauce, and garnish,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> a codification of conventional or standard names for the combinations used in classical cooking.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The recipes provided are little more than simple descriptions of dishes, and assume a great deal of background knowledge, saying nothing about cooking techniques, timings, or proportions.
It follows the structure of Escoffier's original to simplify cross-referencing.Template:Explain
For example, this is the complete recipe for Poulet sauté Bonne-Femme (in the section on poulet sauté):
- Sauter. Déglacer vin blanc et jus lié. Garnir lardons, petits oignons, pommes cocotte.
- Sauter. Deglaze with white wine and thickened juices. Garnish with lardons, small onions, and cocotte potatoes (olive-sized, blanched and browned in clarified butter).
Reputation
The Culinary Institute of America instructor Uwe Hestnar mentions Le Répertoire alongside Larousse gastronomique and the works of Escoffier and Carême as required reading for anyone interested in classical French cooking.<ref>Ruhlman, Michael. Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking. New York: Scribner, 2009, Template:ISBN. p. xxii.</ref>