- Guillaume Tirel
Guillaume Tirel, alias Taillevent (
Old French : "slicewind") (born ca. 1310 inPont-Audemer – 1395) was cook to the Court ofFrance at the time of the first Valois kings and theHundred Years War . His first position was "enfent de cuisine" (kitchen boy) to Queen Jeanne d'Évreux. From 1326 he was "" (head chef) to Philip VI. In 1347, he became squire to theDauphin de Viennois and his "queux" in 1349. In 1355 he became squire to theDuke of Normandy , in 1359 his "queux" and in 1361 hissergeant-at-arms . The Duke of Normandy became Charles V in 1368 and Tirel continued in his service. From 1381 he was in service to Charles VI. He died in 1395 at around eighty years of age.He wrote a famous book on cookery named "Le Viandier" that was influential on subsequent books on
French cuisine and important to food historians as a detailed source on themedieval cuisine of northern France. During the reign of Philip VI, Taillevent was a major influence in the rise of imperial favor for the strong red wines being produced in the south of France as well as those coming out ofBurgundy . [Johnson, pg. 127]Today, many restaurants named "Taillevent" capitalize on the reputation of Guillaume Tirel. "Guillaume Tirel" was also the name of a catering business in Brussels (1989–1999).
See also
*
medieval cuisine 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 ISBN 0-7766-0174-1
*"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
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
