This cookbook, on the art of simple French cooking, has been inspired by Alexandra Dumaine, the chef-proprietor of the renowned Hôtel de la Côte d'Or, at Saulieu, who made the remark one day when we were discussing the various aspects of la cuisine frangaise, that "the simplest dishes are often the most difficult to prepare to perfection."

In Parts Cuisine (published in 1953), written in collabora­tion with James Beard, there appeared one hundred and sixty recipes, several of them requiring considerable skill and patience in the private kitchen.

In Paris Bistro Cookery (published in 1957), I aimed at giving one hundred simpler, more easily prepared dishes. Now, in The Art of Simple French Cookery, I have gone a stage further and give one hundred and twenty-eight even sim­pler recipes. All of them are new, or differ in some way from those given in the other two books. These are essentially easy dishes to cook; some may take more time to prepare than others, but none of them are complicated, neither do they require rare or expensive ingredients. Several may appear, at first sight, to be mere repeats of certain standard French recipes that are to be found in most cookbooks. But, if read carefully, it will be seen either that the cooking process has been modified, or that some ingredients have been added to, or substituted for others, in the recipes.

All of the eleven sauces that appear in this cookbook are easy to make. I have intentionally avoided those that require the use of fonds de veau (heavy veal stock), the recipe of which is given, in Paris Cuisine and in Paris Bistro Cookery for the preparation of more involved and richer sauces.

I have tried, throughout the book, to vary the nature of the dishes as much as possible, in order to cater for a cross-section of the public who, for specific reasons, may be in­terested in different methods and time limits of cooking. For example, there are dishes that are easily and rapidly prepared in a matter of minutes, such as the Foies de Volaille André.* Others, also easily prepared, take longer to cook, like the Boeuf Danois,* which you can safely leave to simmer for three hours while you do the household chores.

There are numerous very economical dishes, like the Beign-ets aux Pommes de Terre*; and I have included "labor-saving" dishes, such as the Curry a l'Indo-Chinoise* which, like several others in the book, improve on being reheated. For large families, there are soups and stews, like La Potée,* which serve eight, ten, twelve persons. Likewise, there are what I term "multipurpose" recipes, like the Pot-au-Feu a la Langue de Veau,* from which four separate dishes can be made.

Original and entertaining recipes appear, too, like the Figues au Jambon Fumé*; and unusual combinations, like Pore á l'Orange.* The use of herbs is strongly recommended for certain simple dishes as, for example, with the Grondin Rôti, Beurre Montpensier.* Finally, there are recipes that do not appear in any cookbook, such as Monsieur Quinson's amusing Irish Stew á la Provençale.*

Useful hints and suggestions for preparing and for improv­ing the dishes, appear in the text (in italics) of several of the recipes. These may prove of assistance to less experienced cooks.

Apart from the fifty-six recipes that have been extracted from my own repertoire of dishes—I have had to omit several that appear elsewhere in the book in some form or other—that we prepare in our Paris kitchen, I have collected these recipes from widely different sources; from the greatest living French chef to the humble fishmonger, and other back-room cooks of the Latin Quarter in Paris.

The proprietors of some of our favorite bistros have kindly let us in on some of their secrets, and eight new ones, with their recipes, have been added to the list of our latest dis­coveries; their names and addresses should be appended to Paris Bistro Cookery. The most famous of the Paris restau­rateurs have also come up to scratch and have divulged What They Eat When Alone.

It is hoped that this medley of recipes may be a source of inspiration to those who are keen to experiment, in their own kitchens, with simple and satisfying dishes to be enjoyed by the family, and by discerning guests who appreciate la bonne et honnéte cuisine française.

Some of these dishes have been demonstrated, by the author, on television; and others described by him in newspapers and magazines. Acknowledgments are made, therefore, to the following for insertion in this cookbook of their recipes:

B.B.C. Television Service, London.

The Daily Telegraph, London.

House and Garden, New York.

Vogue magazine, London, Paris, and New York.

Réalités magazine, London, Paris, and New York.

Woman's Day, New York.

Gentlemen's Quarterly, New York.

Cuisine et Vins de France, Paris.

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