2024-01-07 16:00:13
In 1972, actress Sophia Loren published a book of Italian recipes, of which Henri-Daniel Wibaut reveals a few pages. M LE MAGAZINE DU MONDE
Who invented the French fry? This is an old culinary debate for which, in the name of Franco-Belgian friendship, it is appropriate to take a grain of salt. Across Quiévrain, it is argued that the consumption of potatoes cooked in oil appeared for the first time in the Namur region, towards the end of the 17th century. In the country that saw the birth of Antoine Parmentier, a sure bet when it comes to potatoes, it is argued that fries first appeared on sale, on the bridges of Paris, at the start of the French Revolution.
Discussions get heated when we talk about English authorship and, in particular, this recipe for donuts (potato fritters) written in a mysterious book entirely dedicated to the glory of the potato, published much earlier, in 1733.
What if we owe the invention of fries to Madame Mérigot? Because it is to this hostess with a strong character – and of whom posterity has unfortunately only remembered the name of her husband, publisher – that we owe The Republican Cook, a collection from 1794 containing what many consider to be the first recipe for pomme frites ever written… in French, at least. This story, which does not lack salt, appears, alongside forty-nine other equally delightful ones, in the chapters of Madame Mérigot’s Fries, a work recently published by Editions 41.
From Rabelais to Sophia Loren
Over the course of these two hundred and twenty-eight richly illustrated and meticulously annotated pages, Henri-Daniel Wibaut, bibliophile by trade, owner of a specialized bookstore in Lausanne, compiles a life of literary, historical and gourmet discoveries. Through archive images from his personal collection, we discover, for example, the incredible destiny of Germain Chevet, a simple horticulturist who became a luxury caterer (after coming close to the guillotine), or that, more desperate, of this cook who, in the besieged and hungry Paris of 1870, published a collection of recipes based on donkey, dog and even horse meat.
And then we cross the path of these illustrious figures who, in one way or another, have left a mark in the history of gastronomy: Alexandre Dumas, Brillat-Savarin, Grimod de La Reynière, Rabelais, Diderot and even Sophia Loren, author of a book on Italian cuisine, published in 1972, and of which Henri-Daniel Wibaut reveals a few pages.
Finally, we delve into the origins of some iconic recipes: American lobster, roesti, Friborg fondue, cod brandade and even the real Bread and Butter Pudding. We come away from this reading with one certainty: food is one of the best ways to understand the morals and cultural habits of an era.
The most original recipe The gypsy chicken, cooked in a crust of clay, discovered in a 1911 manual intended for “singles and military”.
The graphic key The numerous period engravings, posters, drawings and menus.
The cover of the book “La Frite de Madame Mérigot, and other curiosities of gastronomic literature”, by Henri-Daniel Wibaut, Editions 41, 228 p., €23.25. EDITIONS 41
La Frite de Madame Mérigot, and other curiosities from gastronomic literature, d’Henri-Daniel Wibaut, Editions 41, 228 p., €23.25.
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