Critical Edition and Translation of a 1611 Culinary Treatise by Francisco Montiño, Chef to Kings Philip III and IV of Spain

FAIN: FB-58307-15

Carolyn A. Nadeau
Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL 61701-1773)

During 2015-16 and with the support of an NEH fellowship, I plan to prepare the first critical edition and translation of Francisco Martínez Montiño's, Arte de cocina, pastelería, vizcochería y conservería [The art of cooking, pie making, pastry making and preserving] (1611). The masterpiece contains some 450 recipes, seasonal and holiday menus, a chapter on the importance of cleanliness, and two "memoirs" on preserves and jellies, and was revered as the model for Spanish cooking well into the nineteenth century. My edition/translation will contextualize Spain's culinary contributions in a European context. It will also clarify food's role in the formation of Spanish culture and provide scholars, cooks, and gastronomes with primary evidence of how foodstuffs were valued in terms of their dietary and aesthetic contributions, how kitchen space was understood, and how this particular chef assessed his own position in the changing tastes and cultures of early modern Europe.