PORTRAIT OF A CHEF; THE LIFE OF ALEXIS SOYER - Sometime Chef to the Reform Club
Cambridge: At The University Press, 1938. 221 pages. 22 x 14.5 cm. Elizabeth David's oval bookplate at verso of front cover. Alexis Soyer was a chef and entrepreneur, originally from France, whose life was filled with some pretty extraordinary twists and turns. Soyer was a prolific inventor, creating devices such as the "Soyer Stove" - a portable cooking stove that became widely used by the British Army during the Crimean War alongside Florence Nightingale. He also developed field kitchens that improved the quality and safety of soldiers' meals. During the Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852), Soyer traveled to Ireland to establish soup kitchens and became the first "celebrity chef" to use his fame for social good. Soyer took a deep interest in the history of food, particularly the way ancient cultures approached cooking, eating, and food preservation. Laid in: Magazine article from The Independent Magazine, February 22, 1992 - Alexis Soyer by Prudence Leith. Also laid in, the dust wrapper, heavily chipped and taped. Item #4561
Sold