Definition: Tirel Guillaume

Four manuscripts of Le Viandier are known to exist: the oldest is kept at the National Library, while the other three are held at the Mazarine Library, the Manche Archives in Saint-Lô and the Vatican. It is believed that the Viandier was written by Taillevent at the instigation of King Charles V the Wise, who was a patron of the arts and letters and liked to commission practical treatises from those of his subjects whom he considered competent. The Viandier would therefore predate 1380, the date of Charles V's death. The full title of the work is: "Hereafter follows the Viandier for preparing all kinds of meats, which Taillevent, chef to our lord the king, made for dressing and preparing boiled and roasted meats, sea and freshwater fish, sauces, spices, and other things suitable and necessary, as will be explained hereafter." The word "viande" is used here in the Latin sense of "vivenda", meaning food in general. Hence the interest of the work, initially, for the food inventory of^{the 14th} century. Numerous copies of the Viandier circulated among lords and master chefs before it was popularised by printing. The first known edition appears to date from 1490 and is composed in Gothic type; there would be eleven others until 1520. Its influence was felt until the arrival of the Florentine chefs, with Catherine de Medici and the publication of La Varenne's "Le Cuisinier Français" (1651), which introduced a new concept of the culinary arts. The essential contribution of Le Viandier lies in the importance given to spicy sauces (saffron, ginger, pepper, cinnamon) in soups and stews, which can be used to prepare meat, poultry and game as well as sea and river fish. The use of verjuice is also characteristic, as are roasted breadcrumb bindings. The main cooking methods are roasting and boiling; there are numerous stuffed or minced meat dishes (pâtés, pies, flans). Finally, it is worth noting the importance given to Lenten dishes and to cooking for days of fasting or feasting, according to the prescriptions of the Church. Taillevent's cuisine is often described as a succession of heavy, complicated or overly spicy dishes, but the recipes in Le Viandier also include simpler preparations, some of which could be made today with virtually no changes.