Our Own Escoffier One of the 19th century's greatest chefs was American. It is the ultimate authority. Yet there is another book from the same period that includes many of the same dishes, with even more information on equipment and technique, in many ways more elegant.
Original copies are about as rare as modern cookbooks get.
That this is so is a travesty. It is also revolutionary for those who think New American Cuisine began in the 1970s. He was the chef at the renowned Delmonico's restaurant in New York from 1862 until 1896, when that establishment was the acme of American dining. He died in 1898. He reports that Ranhofer was born in 1836, the son and grandson of chefs, in St.-Denis, France.