Described by Le Monde as "the richest view of Balzac's time seen from the table," Paris à Table: 1846 is an essential text in the history of gastronomy, along with Brillat-Savarin's The Physiology of Taste and Dumas's Dictionary of Cuisine.
Its author, Eugene Briffault, was well-known in his day as a theater critic and chronicler of contemporary Paris, but also as a bon-vivant, celebrated for his ability to quaff a bell jar full of champagne in a single draft and well-qualified to write authoritatively about the culinary culture of Paris.
Focusing on the manners and customs of the dining scene, Briffault takes readers from the opulence of a meal at the Rothschilds' through every social stratum down to the student on the Left Bank and the laborer eating on the streets. He surveys the restaurants of the previous generation and his own - from the most elegant to the lowest dive - along with the eating habits of the bourgeoisie, the importance and variety of banquets, the institutional meal, and even the plight of "people who do not dine," artists and intellectuals who fell on hungry times. He records the specialties, the decor, the patrons, and the restaurateurs and their waiters. A fine storyteller, Briffault collected culinary anecdotes, from the tantrums of a king deprived of his spinach to the tragedy of "the friendliest pig that was ever seen."
The volume includes the humorous drawings of the caricaturist Bertall that cleverly reinforce the witty and ironic tone of the text. Along with J. Weintraub's introduction - which provides the first modern biography of the author and analyzes the place of Paris à Table in the literary culture of the time - the text is copiously annotated, acquainting readers with the events and characters that enliven the narrative.
Paris à Table provides a delightful and delectable entryway to Briffault's Paris, the city Walter Benjamin characterized as "the capital of the nineteenth century."
About the Creators
Eugène Briffault (1799-1854) was an editor, journalist, theater critic, and man-of-letters, who, as a chronicler of contemporary Paris, contributed to many anthologies and periodicals of his day.
J. Weintraub is a Chicago writer, dramatist, poet, and translator. His work has appeared in many literary journals, regional publications, and such journals as Gastronomica: The Journal of Critical Food Studies.
David Downie is the author of fourteen books, most recently A Passion for Paris: Romanticism and Romance in the City of Light and A Taste of Paris: A History of the Parisian Love Affair with Food.
Industry Reviews
"In its vivid evocation of daily life, Paris a Table is pure delight, equal parts wit and social commentary. J. Weintraub eloquently situates Briffault's work within the canon of French gastronomy, and his footnotes alone offer a lesson in culinary history. By the end of this charming book we must concur with Briffault: 'When Paris sits down at the table, the entire world stirs.'" -- Darra Goldstein, Founding Editor of Gastronomica: The
Journal of Food and Culture
"Less well known today than his contemporaries Balzac and Hugo, Eugene Briffault was in many ways their equal. The introduction to this sparkling translation situates him in the literary and journalistic hothouse of 1830s-1840s Paris, while useful annotations throughout help today's readers make sense of the Rabelaisian panorama-statistical, gastronomical, anecdotal, and moral-that unfolds before them." -- Rebecca L. Spang, author of The Invention of
the Restaurant
"Paris a Table invites us to dine in nineteenth-century Paris. Drawing on keen observations and lively anecdotes the veteran journalist and bon vivant Eugene Briffault surveys the world of Parisian dining, and sumptuously so, from top to bottom, from the past to the present. J. Weintraub's translation of this classic of French gastronomy will captivate alike cultural historians and foodies of every persuasion." -- Priscilla Ferguson,
author of Accounting for Taste: The Triumph of French Cuisine
"In this new translation, Weintraub details Briffault's insightful portrayal of Parisians and their food. Weintraub's indispensable footnotes identify all the names that Briffault drops along the way as he describes not only what Parisians of varying social classes ate but also the circumstances and artifices that made dinner appealing. This is a must-read for social- and cultural-history buffs, especially those with a keen interest in food and eating habits." --Booklist
"A fascinating book for readers interested in cultural, social, and food history."--Library Journal
"An eye-opening chronicle of French dining."--New York Times
"Paris a Table has abundant charm: its history of dining, its anecdotes of famous personalities from the perspective of their eating habits, the delightful original illustrations by Bertall, and certainly J. Weintraub's scholarly and amusing footnotes."--New Criterion
"This captivating edition, translated and edited by J. Weintraub, is decorated with witty black-and-white drawings from the period by the caricaturist Bertall and has copious, informative footnotes... A terrific storyteller who loved culinary anecdotes, [Briffault] had a keen eye and an irreverent, often acerbic, sense of humor."--Wall Street Journal
