{"id":52958,"date":"2025-06-13T08:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T22:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/?p=52958"},"modified":"2025-07-08T10:17:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T00:17:16","slug":"appetiser-larousse-gastronomique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/blog\/appetiser-larousse-gastronomique\/","title":{"rendered":"Larousse Gastronomique: the culinary bible"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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It weighs around three kilograms, contains 2,500 recipes, runs to over 1,200 pages and is known to chefs around the world as \u2018The Bible\u2019. Since 1938, Larousse Gastronomique<\/a> has defined classic French cuisine with its encyclopaedic coverage of recipes \u2013 from escargots \u00e0 l\u2019Arl\u00e9sienne to coquilles Saint-Jacques.<\/p>\n

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In 1961, it took over 20 food experts to translate it into English. The English edition has been updated several times and still contains most of the essential recipes and methods for classic French cuisine, accompanied by scant and charmingly dated photos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe original 1961 English translation still included old French recipes for cooking cat, crow and donkey,\u201d says culinary book expert Tim White from Books for Cooks<\/a>. \u201cBut it remains an anchor of classic culinary technique, diverse dishes and, most importantly, their cultural context,\u201d he says. He notes that, at times, it can be very conservative. But it\u2019s still a foundation book in any chef\u2019s library \u2013 especially for chefs who, at some stage in their career, will cook French bistro classics. \u201cYou have Larousse<\/em> as the reference and you cross-reference your other recipe books,\u201d says Tim.<\/p>\n

Larousse Gastronomique<\/em> contains 50 different cr\u00e8me recipes, from cr\u00e8me p\u00e2tissi\u00e8re \u2013 essential for any pastry chef \u2013 to cr\u00e8me Chiboust. Cr\u00e8me Dubarry also appears \u2013 a cream of cauliflower soup named after Madame du Barry, the last mistress and favourite of King Louis XV. The soup is thickened with a roux and a blend of egg yolks and cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche, resulting in a silky-smooth texture. There are French regional dishes like tapinette from Orl\u00e9ans \u2013 a sweet shortcrust pie filled with junket, baked with eggs. It also covers the history of famous dishes, such as the first Paris\u2013Brest, baked in commemoration of the Paris\u2013Brest bicycle race in 1891. It provides brief overviews of global wine regions, biographies of famous chefs and explanations of European dishes that have become popular outside their home countries such as yakitori and goulash.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd with each new English translation, more and more outdated French recipes have been dropped, while references to Italian and Asian cuisine have increased,\u201d says Tim.<\/p>\n

Tim believes that Larousse<\/em> in 2025 is more important than ever. \u201cSince the pandemic,\u201d he says, \u201cthere has been a retreat to safety in menus. Classic bistro food is back in a big way \u2013 classic French dishes or variations thereof.\u201d He explains that there is a reason for this. Restaurants are businesses designed to make money by transforming ingredients into profit using skill, tradition and technique. French bistro recipes have been carefully honed to create delicious dishes from often cheaper and simpler ingredients. There is little waste, as Larousse<\/em> contains uses for every trim or peel. \u201cThe recipes in Larousse<\/em>, especially the classics, have cost control built into them,\u201d says Tim.<\/p>\n

While Larousse<\/em> remains an important reference, it has its drawbacks. \u201cIt\u2019s old-school,\u201d says Tim. \u201cIt won\u2019t give you modernist techniques, contemporary food presentation or even updated food safety guidelines,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd in the English edition, the names of traditional garnishes and recipes for some old-fashioned sauces have been removed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t necessarily recommend Larousse Gastronomique<\/em> for the home cook,\u201d says Tim. \u201cIt is nice to have, but there are better references, like Stephanie Alexander\u2019s Cook\u2019s Companion<\/em>.\u201d However, for a professional chef, a strong foundation in technique is essential. \u201cLarousse<\/em> provides the background for a dish, its cultural context and, in most cases, the recipes,\u201d he says. \u201cTherefore, it remains an essential classic reference for professional chefs \u2013 covering technique, context and even the proper spelling for the menu.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, while Larousse<\/em> can seem stiff, a little outdated and occasionally pompous, it still has a lot to offer any chef who is truly invested in the traditions of the culinary arts.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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As seen in winter 2025<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSee more<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Larousse Gastronomique is well known among older chefs as the culinary bible once required for all trade school students \u2014 but this iconic reference is relevant for all chefs, capturing the essence of classical French cuisine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":53030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-52958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration-trends","tag-appetiser"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52958"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53705,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52958\/revisions\/53705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bidfood.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}