Carême
The First Celebrity Chef
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publishing:8th May '25
£10.99
This title is due to be published on 8th May, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

NOW A MAJOR APPLE+ TV SERIES, Carêmetakes readers on a chef’s tour of Regency-Era Europe and weaves together recipes and biography to unveil the life of the first celebrity chef
NOW A MAJOR APPLE+ TV SERIES
'Magnificent' ANTHONY BOURDAIN
'Irresistible' HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL
'A classic' DAMIAN BARR
From historian and screenwriter, Ian Kelly, comes the legendary story of Carême, the original celebrity chef.
Recounting the fairy-tale-like rise of Antonin Carême from Parisian orphan to a household name synonymous with culinary luxury, Carême offers a unique conflation of historical biography, social history and cookery guide. Kelly lifts the veil on one of the most momentous and sensuous periods in European history: First Empire Paris, Georgian England and the tsarist Russia of War and Peace, depicting Carême’s entanglements with the social and political elite of his age, from King George IV to Napoleon, the Romanovs to the Rothschilds.
Alongside this story of Carême, the trail-blazing celebrity chef, culinary artist and revolutionary food writer, Ian Kelly brings to life the recipes themselves.
As Carême wrote, ‘You should try this yourself, at home’.
A magnificent work. Ian Kelly is at the vanguard of the new rock’n’roll of culinary literature -- Anthony Bourdain
I was really truly bowled over -- Giles Coren
Delicious * Mail on Sunday *
Absolutely irresistible -- Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
In this well-researched book, Ian Kelly deftly recounts the exploits of this remarkable man -- Jacques Pépin
Ian Kelly brings Carême's restless spirit back to life along with a tableau of la grande cuisine two hundred years ago -- Anne Willan, founder of École de Cuisine La Varenne
Ian Kelly has done a wonderful job, not only of depicting Carême's culinary genius beautifully but of introducing us to his extraordinary personal life as well. I enjoyed reading this book immensely and recommend it to culinary historians and food buffs everywhere -- Daniel Boulud, founder of Café Boulud
Ian Kelly's valuable and pleasurable addition to the literature of food combines an eye for the richness of historic detail with a solid sense of culinary crafts. While stimulating our palates, it breathes a life into a critical period in the building of modern Europe -- Mark Kurlansky, author of Cod, Salt and Milk
Carême invented a new way of cooking and Kelly cooked up a new way of writing about food. Wild, delicious and rarefied. A classic -- Damian Barr, author of Maggie & Me
ISBN: 9781526689771
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
320 pages