The Emperor's Banquets - by Francisco Lellis

This book gathers 140 menus from the 19th century collected by D. Pedro II. The documents were donated by the Emperor to the National Library of Rio de Janeiro shortly before his death and figure as precious records among the thousands of pieces that make up the D Collection. Theresa Christina Maria. The menus are presented mostly in French and have been fully translated and interpreted, constituting a huge contribution to the understanding of 19th-century French gastronomy and its influence on Brazilian gastronomic formation.. The work also brings a chapter with the description and comments on the main 19th-century cookbooks and on the origins of Brazilian cuisine from this period.. In a somewhat more academic way, this appendix contains historical data still little known about this culinary bibliography and situates the reader with information about gastronomic production in imperial Brazil.. The novice reader in the universe of gastronomy finds the explanation of the terms and definitions that gave rise to the menus, historical images of the first printed menus, and texts on the nascent art of design and the printing process in Brazil.