Since the time when the third edition of the Guide Culinaire was published (May 1912), cooking, like all other professions and industries, has gone through a difficult period and even now is experiencing its disastrous effects.
Nevertheless, it resists them successfully and we believe that the time is not far off when post-war restrictions will come to an end and progress will be resumed. Meanwhile, the continuous steep rise in the price of foodstuffs is making the task of those who are in charge of the work of the kitchen even more difficult; and because, through experience, we understand the difficulties of this task, in this edition we have concentrated on simplifying a large number of the recipes, especially the garnishes without, however, altering any of the basic principles.