Opera di ... cuoco secreto di Papa Pio Quint, divisa in sei libri

Cookery is another of my great passions. This work by Bartolomeo Scappi is one of the great historical cookbooks, and arguably the first, in that it includes proper recipes (almost 1000) that you could still make today. Elizabeth David was referring to it 400 years later!  Scappi was one of the most famous chefs in Italy and served Popes Pius IV and V, but this book, written after he retired, is his enduring legacy. This is the first edition – and it includes more fun illustrations!