Black and white photograph of Bocuse.
In a black frame with a wide white border.
Frame size 24" x 20". Actual photograph size 16" x 10.5". Unfortunately signed illegibly in pencil by the photographer on the bottom left hand corner. With a very decorative greeting card tipped in to the back of the frame. The card has a small coloured illustration of Bocuse's Restaurant at the top with a dedication written in felt tip; "Avec nos meilleurs salutations Paul Bocuse".
- An unusual item in that it shows the great chef, Paul Bocuse, in the kitchen of his restaurant “Auberge du Pont de Collonges” situated four kilometers north of Lyon on the banks of the Saône near the Pont de Collonges. He is standing at the butchers block about to carve up a raw chicken, but distracted for a moment by barking out some instructions. A chef will recognise this as a very typical vignette of a Chef/Patron in the middle of a busy service in a hot frantic kitchen during meal times. Most photographs of Bocuse usually show him standing but relaxed, dressed in crisp whites with arms folded, in an elegant restaurant dining room. Bocuse was at the forefront of the much misunderstood and abused "Nouvelle Cuisine" movement of the early 1970's. It had a huge impact on the methods of cooking and serving food in fine Restaurants. It very rightly endeavored to break away from the heavy, overly rich classical cooking that was a legacy of the war years and after and with the subsequent rationing that followed till the 1950's. Quite wrongly, Escoffier's name was used to brand the old style of cooking in reaction to the lightness and freshness demanded on the day. This was erroneous as anyone can see, should they read the preface of Escoffier's great cookery classic 'Le Guide Culinaire'. Therein, Escoffier demands fresh ingredients, reductions and light sauces compared the the heavily produced dishes of the classical Bel Epogue era before the wars. Bocuse and others of the Nouvelle Cuisine movement eventually changed cooking quite dramatically. Interestingly, Escoffier has now had a revival in appreciation, and is being once again understood for the great Master that he was. Ironically the term 'Nouvelle Cuisine' was also used to describe the new ways and dishes that Escoffier was writing about in 1903 after the publication of his first book. This photograph of Bocuse is a very scarce unique item especially with the yellow card bearing his signature .
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Ephemera category
ref number:
11184