Paris à Table

1846

Eugène Briffault and Translated by J. Weintraub
Forward by David Downie

The first complete English translation of a seminal text in the history of French gastronomy
Text is copiously annotated in an effort to acquaint the twenty-first-century reader with the events, mannerisms, and characters of the period and provide an entryway into the world of Balzac's Paris.
The book is a compendium of some of the best "gastronomical" anecdotes up to his time, most of them told with a humorous or ironic tone.
Does not focus on restaurant reviews or personal culinary experience, or recipes, for that matter; Briffault's interests are first and foremost social and cultural.

Paris à Table

1846

Eugène Briffault and Translated by J. Weintraub
Forward by David Downie

Description

Paris à Table: 1846 is the first English translation of a seminal book in the literature of nineteenth-century gastronomy, a work described by Le Monde as "the richest view of Balzac's time seen from the table." It was written by the journalist Eugène Briffault, 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 magnum of champagne from a bell jar in a single draft and well-qualified to write authoritatively about the culinary culture of Paris. Focusing on the manners, customs, and "moeurs" of the dining scene, the author takes the reader from the opulence of a dinner at the Rothschilds through every social stratum down to 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." Briffault was also a fine storyteller, and the book is a compendium of culinary anecdotes, from the tantrums of a king deprived of his spinach to the tragedy of "the friendliest pig that was ever seen." The edition also includes the humorous drawings of the caricaturist Bertall, artwork that cleverly reinforces the witty and ironic tone that pervades the text. Along with an introduction -which provides the first modern biography of the author and analyses 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 appear in the narrative and providing an entryway to the author's Paris, the city Walter Benjamin characterized as "the capital of the nineteenth century."

Paris à Table

1846

Eugène Briffault and Translated by J. Weintraub
Forward by David Downie

Acknowledgments
Foreword TK
Introduction Dinner in the Current Age: A Translation from Paris à table
Chapter I Introduction: The Parisian Dinner
Chapter II The History of Dinner up to Our Time
Chapter III Dinner in the Current Age
Chapter IV Varieties of Dinner
Chapter V People Who Do Not Dine
Chapter VI Breakfast
Chapter VII Luncheon
Chapter VIII Supper
Chapter IX Clubs, Cercles, Tables d'Hôte, Pensions Bourgeoises, Rest Homes
Chapter X The Restaurants of Paris
Chapter XI Eccentricities

Paris à Table

1846

Eugène Briffault and Translated by J. Weintraub
Forward by David Downie

Author Information

Eugène Briffault and Translated by J. Weintraub

Forward by David Downie

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. His website is www.davidddownie.com.

Paris à Table

1846

Eugène Briffault and Translated by J. Weintraub
Forward by David Downie

Reviews and Awards

"This is a fascinating and amusing book." - Connexion

"An eye-opening chronicle ... [Briffault's] book provide[s] often acerbic commentary on the scene of his time, when Paris was considered to be the center of the culinary world. It is filled with observations that still apply, like how the newly affluent display money but no taste, how female cooks are undervalued." - New York Times Food Section

"History buffs and Francophiles get to nerd out in Paris à Table ....Briffault has (very funny) strong opinions about how his countrymen dine... Translator J. Weintraub does an excellent job of relaying Briffault'illustrative descriptions for the 21st century reader." - Bon Appetit (Culture)

"This is a must-read for social- and cultural-history buffs, especially those with a keen interest in food and eating habits." - Mark Knoblauch, Bookslist

"Historians, enthusiasts and anyone who teaches in English about nineteenth-century France will be glad to have this new translation of Briffault's famous book on the dinners and diners of mid-nineteenth-century Paris ... J. Weintraub's skillful translation maintains the breezy but serious tone of the original, and the footnotes throughout offer the kinds of explanations destined to make this a useful teaching tool as well as a good read ... Reading this book, one gains a colourful impression of the primacy of food in the life of the city, and of the multiple identities defined in relation to the types of food on offer and the places where people ate them." - Rachel Rich, Food and History

Paris à Table

1846

Eugène Briffault and Translated by J. Weintraub
Forward by David Downie

From Our Blog

Paris in Translation: EugÃ¨ne Briffault's Paris Ã Table [excerpt]

"When Paris sits down at the table, the entire world stirs'¦.' EugÃ¨ne Briffault's Paris Ã Table captures the manners and customs of Parisian dining in 1845. He gives a panoramic view of the conception of a dish (as detailed as the amount of coal used in stoves) to gastronomy throughout the city'leaving no bread roll unturned as he investigates how Paris eats. The below excerpt from Paris Ã Table (translated into English by J. Weintraub) provides statistics to capture the magnitude of the Parisian way of life.

Posted on April 18, 2018

Read the blog post