Fes Vu Par Sa Cuisine (Z.Guinaudeau)

Rabat, Editions J. E. Laurent, 1966.  Paperback. Eighth Edition. In French. 

An extraordinarily rare cookbook that we’re thrilled to offer in both its original French and its English editions. FES VU PAR SA CUISINE was first published in 1956, the same year Morocco gained independence from France. It’s a fascinating portrait of Moroccan home cooking written by Zette Guinaudeau-Franc, a French national who lived in Fez for more than three decades starting in the 1930s. In her introduction, Guinaudeau-Franc writes that she was moved to record the traditional recipes of the Moroccan families she knew (“both rich and poor”) out of concern that the cuisine of Fez would soon be transformed by European influences. The result is as much a cultural artifact as it is a cookbook, with personal anecdotes and sections on everything from table etiquette to cooking utensils to the kinds of butter available. A truly special find.