Introduction

The saying of a nineteenth-century French gourmet from Brittany has fared better than his current reputation as a philosopher: “The most charming hours of our life are connected with a memory of the table.” Another Frenchman, whose name around the world has fared better than any of his sayings other than “keep it simple,” echoes the first: “Good cooking is the basis of true happiness.”

I have found that America’s best chefs all have in common their agreement with Monselet and Escoffier, the two distinguished gentlemen referred to above. The first sentiment is what got them to their stoves in the first place; and the second is what keeps them going and makes them stay there—along with one of those obscure proverbs that he/she gives nothing who does not give himself/herself. Their constant giving is what makes them the best.