Escoffier was an acclaimed chef in his day, lauded for his sense of innovation and for the precision of his technique. He had a huge influence on classic French cuisine, making it lighter and letting the flavor of the food shine through. His motto, “Surtout, faites simple” (“Above all, keep it simple”) is every bit as relevant now as when this masterwork was published. Contemporary chefs owe a debt to Escoffier, and food lovers have much to learn from this seminal book.

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William Woys Weaver

Food historian, author, gardener, epicure

While his sun has set, in his heyday Escoffier became a guiding light in the expression of haute cuisine as practiced on an international scale. He canonized traditional French cookery thus his influence is undeniable, yet it was also his highly structuralized and fussy mode of cooking that spawned a reaction first with Nouvelle Cuisine and now with farm-to-table, “natural” cuisine, and a new search for authenticity. I do not cook from Escoffier, but I have a first edition (in English) of his cookbook just in case I want to look up the old French way of making a dish. Otherwise his food is too much smothered in sauces.

Charles Michel

Chef and Food Researcher

A bible. But what I like more are the forewords of Escoffier that really show why he was a genius, and how well he sensed the spirit of his times to create a change in how kitchen's were organised. Also, I really like some of the old techniques he uses that are sometimes forgotten, the use of essences for instance.