Foreword - 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."

01. Culinary Introduction - Here are a few general principles that should be followed in the creation of the dishes that are given in this book. I trust that experienced cooks will forgive me for mentioning what, for them, must appear to be obvious. Nevertheless, I feel that insistence on the artistry of a profession or a hobby, be it painting or cooking, can bear repetition if it is for the benefit of those who may feel that they have not yet mastered certain techniques.

02. Recipe Terms - Beurre Manié: Butter and flour kneaded together and grad­ually added to a sauce so as to thicken it.

Blanchir: To place in boiling water so as to whiten, purify and loosen skins, principally of meats.

Blanquette: A meat stew (generally veal) with an egg-and-cream sauce and garnished with mushrooms and small on­ions.

Bouquet Garni: A bouquet of herbs basically composed of bay leaves, thyme and parsley, used to season soups, stews, sauces, and other dishes, so as to impart an added aromatic flavor.

03. Soul of Cooking - In my opinion—and it is that of countless other gourmets— Alexandre Dumaine, the celebrated proprietor of the H6tel de la C6te d'Or, at Saulieu, is the greatest chef in France today.

In the course of my gastronomic peregrinations, I have made the acquaintance of most of the well-known chefs in Paris and throughout France. But none I know of are as impas­sioned with their culinary pursuit as Dumaine

04. Chez Nous - As indicated in the Foreword, these fifty-six recipes have been selected from our own repertoire of dishes that we prepare in our Paris kitchen. These comprise economical dishes both for the family and for informal lunch and dinner parties. They are all easy to prepare; the sauces, also, that accompany some of them.

Apart from the soups for eight to ten persons, there are "laborsaving" stews, i.e. they constitute dishes pre-prepared for more than one meal and, it will be found, to everybody's satisfaction, that most of them improve on being re-heated.

05. Paris Restaurateurs - Egg Dishes:

Oeufs Parmentier (serves 2).

Oeufs au Beurre Noir (serves 1).

Tomates Lucien (serves 1).

Fish:

Daurade au Gratia (serves 4).

Palets de Morue Vieille Benoite (serves 6).

Grondin R6ti au Beurre Montpensier (serves 4).

Mouclade d'Esnandes (serves 4).

06. More Recipes - Of the thirty recipes given here, seventeen originate from bistros the names and addresses of which appeared in Paris Bistro Cookery (published in London, in 1957, by MacGibbon & Kee; in New York, in 1958, by Alfred Knopf; in Zurich, in 1958, by Rascher Verlag; and in Bussum, Holland, in 1959, by G. J. A. Ruys).

07. Back-Room Cooks - Most of my shopping is done in the Latin Quarter of Paris: we live on the He de la Cite, just by the Pont-Neuf, which leads you straight into it. Here you will find the very compact Marche de Buci and Marche de Saint-Germain-des-Pres, two of the most animated, good-value-for-money markets in Paris, where I have been buying practically everything for our kitchen since more than twenty years ago. Consequently, I have got to know intimately all the merchants, shopkeepers and cafe proprietors in the quarter.

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