Paul Bocuse’s French Cooking.

New York: Pantheon Books, 1977. First paperback edition in English of Bocuse's classic work on French cuisine. Quarto, original pictorial wrappers. Translated from the French by Colette Rossant. Presentation copy, inscribed by Paul Bocuse on the title page, "A l'ami Jean Vergnes a mon ami... en sommelier du Cirque la plus belle cuisine de N.Y. 16.08.2008." The recipient, Jean Vergnes, was a classically trained and highly acclaimed French chef, best-known as the co-founder of the famed Manhattan eatery Le Cirque, which opened in 1974. Vergnes had a major influence on American restaurant culture for more than four decades. He began his career working as a chef at various top restaurants in Paris during World War II, with a brief stop in Bermuda before moving to the United States in 1950. Classically trained in the French tradition, he was soon working in the kitchen of the Waldorf-Astoria, then as the youngest executive chef of the legendary Colony Restaurant, and finally as co-founder of Le Cirque, one of the most dazzling culinary jewels of New York since its opening in 1974. From 1986 to 1992, Daniel Boulud was executive chef of Le Cirque and in 1995, it was awarded the James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Restaurant. In very good condition. From the library of Jean Vergnes with his tabs containing annotations in his hand inserted throughout.