Versailles, The Gastronomic Revolution, History by the Menu (book)

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Versailles, The Gastronomic Revolution (book) by Guillaume Picon, in collaboration with Jean-Maurice Sacré. Dilecta Editions. 2023. New art box set, third installment in the “History by the Menu” collection, dedicated to Versailles and its gastronomic revolution. Limited number of copies. Brand new book in French, 400 pages. Dimensions: 9.64 x 11.81 inches.

This French-language box set is limited to 400 numbered copies.

An English version is also available. Please contact us before purchasing for the English version.

In 2023, Versailles celebrated its 400th anniversary. The political history of the château, to which the figure of Louis XIV remains attached, overshadows other forms of history, starting with the fascinating and necessary history of food.

In this regard, 17th-century France experienced a veritable revolution, with the cuisine served at the tables of the king, the nobility, and then the bourgeoisie undergoing profound changes. While evolving, this model of French cuisine and its spread throughout Europe endured until its recognition in 2010, the year the “gastronomic meal of the French” was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Versailles, more precisely, embodies this French gastronomic model and ensures its international influence.

It is this story, spanning four centuries, that is told in Versailles, the Gastronomic Revolution, the third title in the “Legendary Menus” collection. Alongside menus selected from the most remarkable documents in the Jean-Maurice Sacré collection, and precious handwritten archives, including the menu served in Louis XIV’s carriage during a court trip to Chambord in 1684 and the State and Menu of the Maison-Bouche of Louis XV for the year 1749, engravings and photographs illustrate French gastronomy and the arts of the table.

Each box set is crafted by an artisanal bookbinding workshop and covered in canvas, with the title hot-stamped. Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, the box set includes a 400-page hardcover book and five offprints reproducing engravings, one for each century analyzed in the body of the book, the last offprint featuring a work by contemporary artist Philippe Cognée.

This publication, written by historian and author Guillaume Picon, is made possible thanks to the precious collection of historical menus by Jean-Maurice Sacré and the collaboration of Nicolas Kenedi, permanent secretary of the Academy of Gastronomes.

Feel free to check out the additional photos at the top left, thank you!

If you prefer to pay in euros, =before= you start ordering, you must click on the word “Français” in orange, under the main photo above, which will redirect you to the same description in French and payment in Euros.