French Cookery The Modern Cook, by Charles Elme Francatelli, was an exceedingly influential cookbook of its time. I am studying a copy of the second edition for a class at Dickinson College (Figure 1). For more information about the specific copy I am studying, read my first blog post. This blog will primarily focus on the author’s backstory and the creation of this book.

     Published in 1846, French Cookery took off, and its cultural and influential success led Francatelli to publish more cookbooks for different audiences (Habit, 2019). Since this book was published nearly 200 years ago, information on its origins is minimal. The processes are assumed to be well-known, as the era’s typical printing and publishing process is well-known.

     Charles Elme Francatelli was an accomplished chef thanks to his education, work experiences, and popular cookbooks. He was born in Italy and was the first in his family to move to France. He was educated at the Parisian College of Cooking (Flantzer, 2024). After graduating, he moved to England, where his career took off. He worked at many different clubs and typically worked for nobles and aristocrats at Fashionable Crockfords and The Reform Club (Bishop, 2021). These clubs were only accessible to the wealthy. He managed and was the head chef for these clubs. His mentor (who is accredited on the title page), Antonin Caramel, is accredited for influencing French Haute Cuisine, which is an elegant type of cooking still popular today (Myhrvold, 2019). Haute Cuisine (high cooking) refers to food that is typically seen in high-end restaurants. This style includes only the highest quality ingredients (Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, 2022). Ratatouille, Quiche, and Crème Brulé are common French Haute dishes. Francatelli’s main claim to fame was his short stint working for Queen Victoria. For two years before publishing his first book, he was the head chef for the queen. He slightly brags about this job on the title page of this book. Francatelli was such an icon of his time that in the TV show Victoria (2016), he was included as a character working for Queen Victoria (Habit, 2019). His main influence on the culinary world was popularizing the concept of two-course meals. Previous to his influence, Nobles would have extravagant meals, typically three or four courses with many options for each course. He did this through his recipes and his cookbooks. He made it the norm to have an entrée and a sweeter second dish for lunch as well as dinner (Fisher,1998). His influence is still seen today as the two-course meal is still typical for a home-cooked meal.

      Francatelli published his first cookbook, French Cookery, in 1846. Both the first and the second edition were published in the same year. I couldn’t find any information about his inspiration to publish a cookbook. French Cookery took off and had a total of 29 different editions. The different editions were published by a variety of different publishers. There was a distinct London edition that most likely only varied in what specific ingredients were being used. I could not find any information on the London edition; however, the typical variance for London editions was the ingredients. These changes were made to make cooking convenient for people as the availability of ingredients varied from America to Europe. Lea and Blanchard in Philadelphia printed this specific version of French Cookery, The Modern Cook, which is the second edition of the book; this copy is not the London edition. Lea and Blanchard, which was a part of the Carey Publishing House (the largest publisher in America), was one of the most popular publishing houses in Philadelphia in the 19th century (Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 2008). Lea and Blanchard published many popular books at the time; some of the titles include Oliver Twist, The Pathfinder, Peter Pilgrim, and The Pioneers. At the time, French Cookery was included in these iconic titles. I could find no information about the printer of this book.

      After the success of Francatelli’s first cookbook, he went on to publish three more cookbooks targeting different demographics (Bishop, 2021). The first book was mainly for upper-class families or upper-class establishments. This book’s preface talked about how some of the ingredients are very expensive and how these recipes could be wasteful if not cooked properly; showing that these recipes aren’t accessible for lower class people. His second book, A Plain Cookery Book For The Working Class, was published in 1852 and was intended as a more practical cookbook with cheaper recipes that had more attainable ingredients. His third book, The Cooks Guide and Housekeepers and Butlers Assistants, published in 1861, included the most attainable recipes through cheaper and more common ingredients. His last book, Royal English and Foreign Confectionery Book, was published in 1862 and had less of an intended audience and had more specific recipes for confectionery foods (The Cooks Guide, 2005). All of Francatelli’s books were very successful (as they all went through many editions), and with each book, he made cooking increasingly more accessible for all classes by creating recipes that included easier-to-find and cheaper ingredients.

      The specific copy of French Cookery, The Modern Cook, that I am studying was printed on an early version of wood pulp paper. This paper doesn’t include a lot of chemicals; these would become the standard later in printing. Wood pulp paper became popularized in the 1850’s. As it became more common, the paper became more acidic. The paper is flimsier, more brittle, weaker, and more susceptible to tearing than non-acidic wood pulp. Now newspapers are printed on this acidic wood pulp paper. This paper is very sturdy and strong and shows that the chemicals hadn’t been added to the wood pulp paper yet. Wood pulp paper is more susceptible to foxing, which is present on every page of the book, even without acid, the paper foxes (Figure 2). This helped decern the paper material. This book is cloth-bound and was likely bound before distribution over a cardboard panel. This book was more affordable than a book bound with leather.

      The gift plate includes a lot of information about where this specific copy came from. The gift plate suggests the owner who donated this book lived in Carlisle, Pennsylvania (Figure 3). There were multiple owners of this book. I believe Mrs. B. Stilingfleck was the original owner of this copy; her signature was included on the title page. However, the person who donated the book was Mr. A. Gram. This book was donated in 1851, only five years after its publication. In those five years, this copy of French Cookery was owned and used by Mrs. B. Stilingfleck and then somehow ended up in Mr. Gram’s possession.

Works Cited

Bishop, Amy. “The Booker T. Washington-W.E.B. Du Bois Debate.” Cardinal Tales Highlights from 2018, Iowa State University Digital Press, 7 July 2021, iastate.pressbooks.pub/cardinaltales1/chapter/rare-book-highlights-.

“Charles Elme Francatelli.” Charles Elme Francatelli (1805-1876) Chief Cook to Her Majesty the Queen, www.thecooksguide.com/articles/francatelli.html.

Collection 227B – Lea & Febiger, hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/findingaid227bleaandfebiger.pdf.

“Food: The Arts (Fine and Culinary) of 19th Century America.” The New York Times, 18 Jan. 1998, archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/01/18/home/fisher-19th.html.

“Grande Cuisine: References & Edit History.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/grande-cuisine/additional-info#history.

Habit, | By Franklin. “In the Kitchen with Francatelli, Part One.” Modern Daily Knitting iCal, Modern Daily Knitting, 15 Jan. 2020, www.moderndailyknitting.com/community/in-the-kitchen-with-francatelli-part-one/.

Larson, Sarah. “What Is Haute Cuisine?” Escoffier Online, Escoffier, 8 June 2022, www.escoffieronline.com/what-is-haute-cuisine/.

Susan, and Susan. “Charles Elmé Francatelli, Maitre d’hôtel and Chief Cook in Ordinary to Queen Victoria.” Unofficial Royalty, 9 Aug. 2024, www.unofficialroyalty.com/charles-elme-francatelli/.