Guillaume Tirel (), known as Taillevent (, "wind-cutter" i.e. an idle swaggerer) (born ca. 1310 in Pont-Audemer – 1395), was an important figure in the early history of

French cuisine French cuisine is the cooking traditions and practices of France. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a Court (royal), court chef known as "Taillevent", wrote ''Le Viandier'', one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France. In ...

. He was cook to the Court of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the time of the first Valois kings and the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

. His first position was ''enfant de cuisine'' (kitchen boy) to Queen Jeanne d'Évreux. From 1326 he was '' queux'', head chef, to Philip VI. In 1347, he became squire to the Dauphin de Viennois and his ''queux'' in 1349. In 1355 he became squire to the

Duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple in 911. In 924 and again in 933, N ...

, in 1359 his ''queux'' and in 1361 his

serjeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms or sergeant-at-arms is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin , which means "servant". Historically, serjeants-at-ar ...

. The Duke of Normandy became

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

in 1368 and Tirel continued in his service. From 1381 he was in service to Charles VI. Guillaume Tirel is generally considered one of the first truly "professional" master chefs. He died in 1395 at around 80 years of age. He expanded a collection of recipes as '' Le Viandier'', a famous book on cookery and cookery technique, thought to be one of the first professional treatises written in France and upon which the French gastronomic tradition was founded. The book is split into three sections. One outlines the proper way to present a dish, another focuses on using spices in dishes and the third highlights the importance of separating meat and fish from sauces when preparing a dish. It had an inestimable influence on subsequent books on

and is important to food historians as a detailed source on the

medieval cuisine Medieval cuisine includes foods, eating habits, and cooking methods of various Culture of Europe, European cultures during the Middle Ages, which lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. During this period, Diet (nutrition), diets and cooking ch ...

of northern France. During the reign of Philip VI, Taillevent was a major influence in the rise of courtly favor for the strong red wines being produced in the south of France as well as those coming out of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

. Editions of ''Le Viandier'' may be found in the

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and other public collections. Guillaume Tirel is still influencing cooking around the modern world. Today, many restaurants named "Taillevent" capitalize on the reputation of Guillaume Tirel. "Guillaume Tirel" was also the name of a catering business in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

(1989–1999). Additionally, there is a hospitality school, the Lycée Hôtelier Guillaume Tirel, which has 4 training restaurants and focuses their practices on the foundations of Guillaume Tirel's work in Le Viander. Guillaume Tirel's tombstone is preserved at the church of . He was buried in a tombstone created to show him wearing armour and carrying three cooking pots and a shield.

Footnotes

References

* Johnson, Hugh, ''Vintage: The Story of Wine''. Simon and Schuster, 1989. *''Viandier of Taillevent: An Edition of All Extant Manuscripts''. University of Ottawa Press, 1988. *''Le Viandier de Guillaume Tirel dit Taillevent'', le Baron Jérôme Pichon et Georges Vicaire, Paris, 1892 (reprint by Slatkine Reprints, Genève, 1967). * Online version of ''Le Viandier'', translated by James Prescott: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/prescotj/data/viandier/viandier1.html

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tirel, Guillaume 1310s births 1395 deaths French chefs French male chefs French food writers French male non-fiction writers

See also

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References

External links