Food in the Louvre

With a foreword by Michelin three-star chef Paul Bocuse, this beautifully-illustrated volume celebrates culinary-themed artwork with insightful text and a selection of original recipes by the Grand Louvre’s chef Yves Pinard. A vital element of daily life and one of the great pleasures of the world, food in all its guises has been exalted in works of art for centuries. With a personal foreword by Paul Bocuse, this volume serves up a smorgasbord of culinary-themed art from fruit baskets to sumptuous banquet scenes to images of the hunt and still life paintings. Yves Pinard, head chef of the Grand Louvre restaurant, provides animated commentary of forty works from the renowned museum and includes a sampling of his own recipes inspired by the paintings. Details from masterpieces such as Chardin’s Jar of Olives and Delacroix’s Succulent Lobsters are complemented by opulent feasts presented against the backdrop of lavish interiors or a simple peasant meal in the countryside. From ancient Greek and Egyptian carvings to nineteenth-century oil paintings, each work is accompanied by a concise text illuminating its historical and cultural context, delivered in a light-hearted and playful tone.