The Viandier is considered as the first printed cookbook in french. Some manuscript copies were first published in the early 14th century or maybe even as soon as the late 13th century.
Despite its name, this book is not only about meat. "Viande" (i.e. meat) meant anything that man nourishes from. Hence this Viandier is about preparing any kind of food, this makes it a real cooking book.
The book is attributed to Guillaume Tirel more famously known as Taillevent. Guillaume Tirel (circ 1310 - 1395) became head chef at the court under the reign of Charles V.
Of course because the work is meant for crowned heads and the aristocracy, the recipes are certainly very different from what ordinary people had access to. Yet the book was extremely successful and its fame was confirmed when poet François Villon referred to the book almost one century later
«allé veoir en Taillevent / Ou chappitre de fricassure, nulle part on n’y trouvera de recette pour cuire un diable.»
(went looking into Taillevent, in chapter fricassee, nowhere can be found a recipe to cook a demon)
Recipes are very succinct. There are no indication of cooking times. It is more like a long list of ingredients where spices are ubiquitous.
CIVÉ D'OYSTRES. Cyvé d'oïstres, eschauldés et lavés très
bien, pourboulés et frisés en huyle avec oygnons, afinés
gingembre, canelle, graine de paradis et saffran, prenés pain
hallé trampé en purée de poys ou en eaue boullye, avec vin
et vert jus, et mettés boulir ensemble avec les oystres.
(Oyster Stew: shucked, cleaned well (in hot water?), fried in oil with onions, seasonned with ginger, cinnamon, guinea pepper and saffron. Take some bread in a mash with wine and verjuice and stew with oysters)
One version of the Viandier can be consulted at the France's National Library:
Le Viandier at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Or a searchable version here.
Further readings:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viandier
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