Gusto Essential Writings in Nineteenth-Century Gastronomy

The French invented the restaurant in the late eighteenth century. Not long after, they invented gastronomy, the modern art of eating well: English society discovered the French chef and the English-speaking world has never been the same.

This delicious anthology brings together the major English and French nineteenth-century writings on the arts and pleasures of the table. Included are essays by Grimod de la Reyniere, Brillat-Savarin, Alexandre Dumas, Charles Lamb, William Thackeray and lesser-known works by pseudonymous authors such as Launcelot Sturgeon and Dick Humelbergius Secundus.

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Preface, by Harold Bloom
Introduction: Nineteenth-Century Gastronomy, by Denise Gigante
Premier Service: The Gastronomic Philosopher
Second Service: The Culture of Gastronomy
Dessert: Gastronomy as a Literary Genre
1. Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de la Reynière (1758-1837)
from Almanach des Gourmands [Gourmands' Almanach] (1803-12); trans. Michael Garval
On Hosts (1805)
Some thoughts on Cutlery, as it relates to Dining (1805)
On Indigestion (1805)
On Gourmands and Gourmandise (1806)
On the Importance of Invitations (1806)
Essay on Gourmand Geography (1806)
On Porcelain, as it relates to Dining (1806)
On Distractions at the Dining Table (1807)
On Gourmands' Visits (1807)
On Commitment, Relinquishment, and Dis-invitation (1807)
On Savoir-Vivre (1807)
On the Ambigu (1808)
On Dinners, Blond and Brunette (1808)
On Pièces de Résistance (1810)
On Gastronomic Changes (1810)
On the Progress of Culinary Art in the Nineteenth Century (1812)
from Manuel des Amphitryons [The Hosts' Manual] (1808)
Treatise on the Dissection of Meats: General Principles
Definitions and General Principles Concerning Menus
Elements of Gastronomic Etiquette: Preliminary Considerations
2. William Kitchener (1755 [?] -1827)
from The Cook's Oracle (1817)
Introduction; Invitations to Dinner
from Peptic Precepts (1821)
3. Launcelot Sturgeon (pseudonym)
from Essays, Moral, Philosophical, and Stomachical (1822)
Introduction; Moral Maxims and Reflections
On the Advantages of Giving Dinners, and the Qualifications and Duties of Amphytrions.
On Modern Manners; Containing Hints to Grown Gentlemen
On the Theory and Practice of Dinatory Tactics
On the Nature, the Intent, and the Value of Invitations
On Modern Architecture, and the Comparative Miseries and Comforts of Dining-Rooms
On the Physical and Political Consequence of Sauces
On The Importance of Forming Good Connexions; and on the Moral Qualities of the
Stomach
On Roasting Beef, including Considerations on its Domestic and National Impotance
On the Virtues, the Qualifications, and the Consequence of the Ancient Family of Hogs
On Coffee, and Liqueurs
On the Nature and Properties of the Braise.
On the Philosophy of the Stomach.
On the Financial Importance of Teeth, Containing Some valuable Hints to Statesmen
On Education, and the Application of the Science of Mnemonics
On the Qualifications Of Cooks
4. Charles Lamb (1775-1834)
A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig (1822)
Grace Before Meat (1822)
5. Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)
from Physiologie du Goût (1826); trans. A Handbook of Gastronomy (1884):
Aphorisms of the Professor
Of Taste: Mechanism of Taste; Influence of Smell on Taste; Analysis of the
Sensation of Taste; Succession of the Divers Impressions of Taste;
Supremacy of Man; Method Adopted by the Author
On Gastronomy: Origin of Gastronomy; Definition of Gastronomy; Various
Objects Treated on by Gastronomy; Use of Gastronomic Knowledge;
Influence of Gastronomy on Business; A Gastronomic Academy
Special Kinds of Food: Of Bouilli; Poultry; The Turkey; Turkey-Lovers
On Gourmandise: Definitions; Advantages of Gourmandise; Influence of
Gourmandise; Women Are Gourmandes; Effects of Gourmandise on
Sociability; Note of a Patriotic Gastronome
On Gourmands: Napoleon; Gourmands by Predestination; Sensual Predisposition;
Gourmands by Virtue of their Profession
On the Pleasures of the Table: The Pleasures of the Table; Origin of the Pleasures
of the Table; Difference between the Pleasure of Eating and the
Pleasures of the Table
6. Dick Humelbergius Secundus (pseudonym)
from Apician Morsels; or,Tales of the Table, Kitchen, and Larder (1829):
Stomach and Appetite
A Short Dissertation on the origin of Dentiscalps, or Toothpicks
The Origin of Forks at Table
The Knotty Point; Something About Breakfast; Dinner Time
On Table Ceremonies Between Host and Guest
To Procure Town Invitations
Of Indigestions Occasioned by Inebriety, and Other Causes, &c.
Nutritive Varieties: Epicurean Parallel, &c.; l'Abbé d'un Jour; the Useless Sop; or, the
Convalescent Gourmand Outwitted; The Difficult Point; the Cunning Capucin
The Ultimatum or, Chapter Last. A Trio: The Cook, the Author, and the Bookseller.
7. Thomas Walker (1784-1836)
from The Original (1835)
Aristology, or the Art of Dining
8. William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-63)
from The Book of Snobs (1847)
Dining-Out Snobs
Dinner-Giving Snobs Further Considered
9. The Alderman (pseudonym)
from Knife and Fork for 1849
Hints to Gastronomical Students: On Taking People as They Are
A Geographical Catechism
On the Treatment of Hostesses
On Mutton
On Toothpicks
On Tit-bits
The Alderman to his Brother Alderman
10. Dining, Considered as a Fine Art (Anonymous) 365
from Harper's New Monthly Magazine (December 1858)

11. The Epicure's Year Book and Table Companion. (1868)
Art of Laying the Table
Point of the Knife
New and Cheap Foods
Francatelli's Literary Dishes
12. Alexandre Dumas (1802-70)
from Dictionary of Cuisine (1873)
A Few Words to the Reader
Dedication to Jules Janin
One More Word to the Public

Appendices
A: Joseph Berchoux (1760-1839)
from Gastronomy; or the Bon-Vivant's Guide (1801; trans. 1810)
The Dessert
B: Subjects of the Frontispieces
from Grimod de la Reynière, Almanach des Gourmands (1803-12)

Denise Gigante is Assistant Professor in the Department of English at Stanford. She is the author of Taste: A Literary History.